True enough. But my friend seems pretty confident that they’re paying more attention and interested in the info, which seems to me to be better than not caring. Obviously, being this vague, and second hand, and anecdotal, I don’t expect it to convince anyone or count as evidence, but I know him and trust him that there is a difference.

“If anything, the issue is that the middle management is terrible, there is terrible bloat in government”

I’m sure there is bloat and inefficiency. Perhaps if Republicans made good on their threats they would take care of the bloat, but I don’t think Americans want the baby thrown out with the bathwater. There are certain functions that many of us feel the government has an obligation to fulfill. So yes, get rid of the bloat, but do it because bloat is inefficient and not because you want the government to be small enough to drown in a bathtub.

If anything, the issue is that the middle management is terrible, there is terrible bloat in government, and process is probably one of the least efficient means. Everything is trickle-down so thus everything has to come from Washington, regardless of whether or not those people have done your job or not. They have a say in it.

Democrat - led Congress is better for government? No way. Processes still aren’t changed. You’re just asking for more reports at the top. The whole thing is flawed, so changing the output won’t mean a thing.

David, I think you’re right, in that the Republicans as a whole don’t really seem to have the will to make the kinds of cuts they talk about. Part of the reason for this may be because they realize that large segments of America actually *want* many of those programs. The social security debacle was a good example of this.

I’m all for “dismantling unnecessary programs”, but I do think there are areas where the government should be taking a role, so I’m sure I’d differ with you and other Republicans as to what counts as “unnecessary”.

Anglico: Thanks for stopping by. That’s a good point - it’s very strange that people who hate government would want to center their lives around it. To be sure, not all Republicans *hate* the government, but maybe the ones that do see themselves as making a sacrifice (making it their career) to try to reduce government for themselves and others. Whatever the case, it does seem like they would be less likely to govern effectively, if they’re mostly focused on dismantling things. If they don’t feel that the govenrment should be doing something, they have no incentive to make sure it’s being done well.

I am for excellence in government. I think the best of government should outperform private sector counterparts . . . and that people should get paid what they’re worth.