Did I use enough descriptive adjectives?  Some of you may have some a bit more colorful but those work for me.  The Government shutdown has once again exposed the glaring need to Drain the Swamp, Dismantle the Deep State, and Reduce the Size of the Federal Government.  The hoopla over the disastrousness of a shutdown, which is not a shutdown at all is laughable but serious.  The danger is that far too many get their positions from outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, and the various Left Wing Liberal Media Outlets as well as Google and Facebook.  We have created a monster with an insatiable appetite and if we do not reign it in, it will eat us alive.

Politicians always test the resolve of the other side in a stalemate or standoff and I pray that President Trump has the needed intestinal fortitude to stand firm on the Wall and the so-called shutdown.  The fraudulent characterization of this move that the president has made is far more damaging than in negatives in a temporary pause in some government actions.  In fact, we find in this incidence as we have in the past, many parts of government a totally unnecessary and repetitious.  We do not need 3-10 agencies doing the same thing we need one efficient department for the needed functions and need to eliminate the redundancy.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, 75% of the government is fully funded through September of 2019.  I did not say 75% is unfunded but FULLY FUNDED!  I would argue that the State Department is largely unnecessary and has outlived its usefulness.  I’m sure that will raise some eyebrows because, after all, the State Department deals with foreign governments, so it is vital, right?  Only if you insist on using antiquated means and communications tools and are a stickler for pomp and ceremony.  If the president, any president wants to talk to another world leader he can send an email, call him on the phone, have a video conference, or even text him.  They all have each other’s numbers or can easily get them. 

To be honest, I do not want to totally do away with the State Department because in a limited fashion it could prove useful.  However, how many sub-departments are there in State and every other Cabinet-level department?  Hundreds if not thousands and with the way Congress has set up regulatory agencies they are virtually a government unto themselves and many of them are under the leadership of some incredibly partisan persons.  Some of those departments view it as their duty to be weapons against the political enemies of their ideological agenda.  That is not just dangerous it is destructive.

Let me suggest, as have others, that we could completely close several cabinet level departments at significant savings and not lose anything in the process.  In fact, if we returned the oversight of many of those departmental tasks to the States would, the American people would be far better served, and our government could become more efficient.  Some have suggested closing the Department of Energy reducing the budget by $32.5 Billion annually.  Eliminating the Department of Commerce would save us $61.8 Billion and the Department of Education would save taxpayers $59.9 Billion.  I believe very strongly in the Tenth Amendment and in State’s Rights and believe that the individual states are far better equipped to regulate and decide what is best for their citizens than the federal government. 

The Department of Education was created in 1979 and I don’t know how anyone could argue that education is better today on a national level. No one truly believes that commerce would cease if we did not have a Cabinet Level Department of Commerce.  But, Roy, what about all the people working in those departments?  That is one of the sticking points but if we did what corporations often do in a downsizing we could offer early retirement to the non-essential federal employees who have been ‘shut down’.  How about forcing Congress to return to being, the Legislative Body responsible for creating laws rather than abdicating its responsibility to various agencies and let them do the work?  Novel idea, right?  If we followed our federal constitution and returned power, as it was intended, to the state and local governments we would become far more efficient and far less redundant.  Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, who would have thought of such a concept?  Not politicians in Washington for they are like the Sanhedrin in Jesus’ day, doing all they can to protect their position and place.

If we follow the desires of extreme Socialist like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, we will not only see the government grow but explode exponentially at a cost impossible to sustain.  Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has offered a ‘Green Policy’ that would destroy our economy in a very short period of time and place most Americans in violation of the law.  Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker among others have embraced her plan to Eliminate fossil -fuel consumption in the United States.  There are at least 40 House Democrats onboard with her plan.  That should get your attention.

 Her plan would force every home and business in America to ‘upgrade’ not just to make them more energy efficient but to become totally dependent on alternative sources of energy such as solar, wind, etc.  How much would that cost?  Nobody truly knows but the most conservative estimates are that it would be in the tens of trillions if not hundreds of trillions.  It would cripple agriculture, transportation, and virtually plunge us back into the 1800s before electricity.  How would you like to walk or ride your bicycle or horse to work?  How would you like to no longer have access to the internet or your smartphone?  Her plans don’t stop there they include a massive expansion of the power, size, and scope of the government.  She can’t tell you how to pay for it except, “We just pay for it.”  Throw in the mix free education for everyone including illegals and free healthcare and we are more than bankrupt in a very short period of time.

Yes, I believe, and have for a long time, that we MUST reduce the size of government and WE THE PEOPLE once again take control and exercise oversight.  Has the mule already gotten out of the barn and closing the gate now, too little too late?  Quite possibly but we must try!

God bless you and God bless America!