As revealed by John Samples in his essential new book, the
battle over the size and role of government has been raging for
decades. Arriving at a critical time, with clashes over limiting
government occupying more battlefields than ever, The Struggle
to Limit Government expertly chronicles this war's history, as
well as its implications for the future.
In examining the high and low points of the nearly 30-year
struggle, from the Reagan revolution to the Obama administration,
Samples first provides a fascinating look at the institutions and
policies created by progressives from 1933 to 1968-the New Deal and
Great Society-and their influence on all that has followed. "The
institutions and policies of the old regime created both a politics
of entitlement and a people who favor the persistence of such
benefits," writes Samples. "It fostered a dependence on government
amongst a people culturally disposed to liberty."
Samples then assesses the rise, successes, and failures of Ronald
Reagan, the historic 1994 elections, and the ensuing unsuccessful
struggles to fulfill Reagan's goal of reversing government's
growth. He traces the drift of the Republican majority in Congress,
and the epic battles within and between the Republican and
Democratic parties, Congress and Bill Clinton, which left us
nowhere-with "neither limited government nor enduring
majorities."
The book then examines the trauma of George W. Bush: his high
spending, his mixture of religion with government, and his
floundering crusade to bring democracy to the Middle East. The 2006
and 2008 elections, Samples shows, were a repudiation of the Bush
presidency, not of limited government.
Samples does not simply point and critique; he also includes
extensive prescriptions for improvement. With its political
analysis of major government programs, from Medicare and Medicaid
to Social Security and taxes, The Struggle to Limit
Government is an energetic, sobering, and essential guide to
the political battles of today and tomorrow.
