[roastbeef]

What about Republicans? Libertarians? Why do you assume that Democrats are the majority or that their opinion has any more weight than anyone else? As the darling President of the Democrats, Obama has increased the surveillance state more than anyone before him.

[nine_k]

Many Republicans don't mind big government. I wish more Libertarians were in Congress or otherwise existed %)

Democrats are not only the main,opposition to the president; they are the force that kept adding surveillance.

[rayiner]

Republicans don't purport to oppose "government" (they're not anarcho-libertarians). They use "small government" to mean keeping government within its legitimate functions, which includes defense and maintaining moral order. When you say to a Republican that expanding the defense department necessarily means expanding "government," you're not pointing out some inconsistency they thought of. You're simply playing games with the words and talking past them.

[eropple]

> They use "small government" to mean keeping government within its legitimate functions, which includes defense and maintaining moral order.

Unless they like those purportedly illegitimate functions, like using the federal government to put the boot on the neck of states that are OK with gay people having rights.

I get that you're good-faithing here, but the credit bank on that one went dry a long time ago.