Red Dawn Flickers in Kansas - The American Interest

This is what rational Republicanism looks like.  I still ain't one. For example the phrase "core government functions" would not come from me as a limit on government.  As a socialist of some sort I have no inherent preference for private over public in a wide range of things.  Efficiency, yes.  But "that government is best which governs least", no.  But there will always be two sides of that debate. - gwc
Red Dawn Flickers in Kansas - The American Interest
by Walter Russell Mead
....What about another path: enacting reforms in the way government works and the role it plays in society, then cutting taxes as these policies either a) reduce the cost of government b) grow the economy and therefore the tax base or c) a mix of the two? The goal would be a virtuous circle: more efficient government plus smarter policies yields faster growth and lower taxes…

Very often, especially at the state level, the real barriers to growth aren’t the cost of income, sales, and property taxes. It’s the weight of regulations administered slowly by inefficient bureaucracies, impeded by NIMBY lawfare and licensing, zoning, and other policies intended to protect entrenched interests. The tort system in many states is a huge barrier to growth and cheap government alike, imposing large burdens on all economic activity and especially on health care. Policies that chip away at the size of bureaucracies by streamlining their operations, limit government to its core functions and then execute those core functions quickly and effectively, and begin to dismantle and where necessary reform and update the encrusted and outdated regulatory structures and methods—and then progressively return the savings to taxpayers in the form of lower taxes…that’s governance. That’s what a political movement looks like that can shift the ground in American debates.

Red Dawn Republicans started out as insurgents—peasants with pitchforks and torches. But political movements have to evolve and grow to do lasting good. In the last few years we’ve seen that the Tea Party and associated insurgent Republican movements were, unlike, say, the much ballyhooed Occupy movements, real political movements that could change the electoral landscape. What remains to be seen is whether these movements can offer real solutions to the country’s problems—as opposed to serving as protest movements that vent steam but don’t lead to lasting changes in the way the country works.

With the tax increases in Kansas, it looks as if Red Dawn 1.0 has come to an end in that state. The question now is whether Kansas Republicans can bring in an upgrade that fixes the bugs and enhances performance.