Conservatives vs. Republicans

Grover Norquist, Republican power broker and anti-tax crusader, often talks about his desire to shrink the government. But he is widely known as the initiator of the K Street Project, designed to create a network of connections between lobbyists and the Republican Party in order to keep the Republicans permanently in power. One of Norquist's most cherished goals is the creation of a permanent Republican majority.

Forgive me for being rude, but if Norquist ever thought he could shrink the government by moving the country toward a one-party system, he's a total fool. One of the most talented, brilliant fools in the country, maybe, but a fool nonetheless. Who could possibly think that one political party, given unlimited power, would voluntarily choose to shrink the government it controls?

Now the cracks are beginning to show. Republicans control all branches of government for the first time in many decades...but government spending has increased massively. Some in the conservative movement are understandably furious...but, having rejected the Democratic party utterly (when they rejected the moderate Clinton), they have no one but the Republicans to turn to.

Conservatives would be well-advised to look at some examples of one-party states, such as China, Russia, and (effectively) Japan. Such countries don't have a very good record of shrinking their governments. Political parties, at their core, don't follow ideologies; they exist to gain more power for themselves, and that's all. That's why a functioning democracy needs two of them if it ever hopes to really keep the government off people's backs.

The question is, what are conservatives going to do now?