It is the politicians who don’t. In fact, to a great degree the very temperament that makes somebody likely to run for office makes them an unlikely candidate for shrinking government. It is often, even usually, that it is a desire for power that motivates candidates. It is the need to limit government power that lies at the root of the conservative insight.
The good news is that Americans are sick and tired of phony politicians who cater to public opinion in order to gain votes. They are, in fact, hungering for candor and leadership, a willingness to assert American values at home and protect them abroad.
And therein lays the hope and room for optimism. If we can recruit articulate, conservative, and principled candidates for political office, the future will be ours. The external conditions are all in our favor; all but the most rabid leftists are generally in favor of freedom and free markets.
The future is in our hands. Each of us needs to get involved in the political process—especially the candidate recruitment process—or we will be faced with more mediocrity and deadweight loss to our economic and political freedoms.