As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been busy with college this term. It just started and already I’m reading full books and analyzing The Federalist Papers. For those who have gone to college for any extended period of time, I’m confident you know what I’m talking about when I say that sometimes going to class can really open your eyes to what’s really happening in our world.

My “American Political Thought” teacher is a moderate Republican. And yesterday, I talked to him about a paper I wrote about Thomas Paine because I didn’t really like the grade he gave me on it (B). While he was talking to me about analysis and writing, he said something that struck me rather harshly. He exclaimed “When I was on city council, I thought I believed in limited government. But when I looked back and saw all the things I voted to put into law, I asked myself ‘Do I really believe in limited government?’”

His internal question struck me as something that conservatives are missing. Do conservatives really believe in limited government? I know we all pay lip service to “limited government” as a core belief of overall modern conservative thought. But I haven’t seen politicians come out in favor of repealing any legislation lately. Yeah, there may be new laws put in place for modern circumstances or situations that need to be fixed, but even if a common sense bill gets passed into law, it further restricts freedom. It seems like nobody is really paying attention to that fact.

When the government puts a new law on the books, it forces people or businesses to do something. And because laws force people to act a certain way or restricts certain behaviors, our freedom gets limited. But I thought conservatives believed in limited government! Show me by repealing legislation, by getting out of the way of the economy, or letting people have a choice with how they run their own lives. Repealing legislation or simply not acting to correct a “problem” with the market are some ways conservatives in government can promote this core belief. It is not necessary to cure over-bearing government legislation with more legislation! Just repeal the original stuff and get out of the way!

Conservatives need a true gut check about what they really claim to support, including the principle of limited government. But unfortunately, I believe most things many conservatives say these days is a bunch of lip service to get more votes.