Yesterday Dan Mitchell noted there are now three types of Republicans.
Long-time readers can probably guess that I am one of Mitchell’s “Reaganites,” or in today’s terms “freedom conservatives.” Big government run by your preferred party is not an improvement from big government run by your not-preferred party,
So who is the small-government conservative’s best choice? Paul Bedard:
Of all the Republicans running for president, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley can be trusted most to make good on promises to limit government, cut taxes, protect free speech, and ensure election integrity, according to a new score card.
The recently formed Institute for Legislative Analysis looked at nearly 10,000 votes and executive actions of top GOP candidates and gave Haley seven “A” grades out of a possible 10. She also received three “Bs.”
The report from the group founded by former executives of the American Conservative Union said, “Haley’s tax and fiscal record shows a consistent and strong commitment to limited government principles surrounding spending and controlling government growth.”
The other Republicans also scored well on the report, though former President Donald Trump got dinged on taxes despite signing a successful tax cut. “Trump’s tax and fiscal record shows a below-average commitment to limited government principles surrounding controlling spending and government growth,” the group noted.
Those graded were Trump, Haley, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former Vice President Mike Pence, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. All got good grades, and there were none below a “C” in the 10 categories tested.
The group’s goal isn’t to pick candidates but to inform voters.
“We are excited to finally provide Americans with an unbiased resource that dissects and clarifies the policy records of elected officials to help citizens across the political spectrum identify which politicians best align with their views,” CEO Ryan McGowan said. “Americans deserve access to information that accurately reflects the real interests of the leaders making the policies affecting their day-to-day lives.”
President Fred McGrath added, “Our mission is to share our research with other liberty-minded groups and help them build score cards as well. Hope this way we as a movement can better hold lawmakers accountable.”
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says he would eliminate five federal agencies if elected.
Ramaswamy, a successful entrepreneur and businessman, says he is eyeing the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Education, and the Commerce Department, Axios first reported Wednesday. The Republican hopeful also targets the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“The CEO, the leader of the executive branch, does indeed have the authority to decide who is and is not hired in the executive branch,” Ramaswamy said Wednesday in a speech at the America First Policy Institute. “Speaking as a CEO, if somebody works for you and you can’t fire them, that means they don’t work for you. It means you work for them.”
Pulling the plug on the six government agencies would mean a 75% reduction in the 2.2 million civilian employees in the federal workforce over four years, the candidate said.
Other Republican presidential candidates have talked about the need to rein in the federal bureaucracy, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Ramaswamy argued during his speech at the think tank started by former Trump administration officials that under civil service laws a president could fire a mass number of employees if it’s under an official reduction in force. He contended that those laws prevent firing only individual employees.
“Large-scale mass layoffs are exactly what we will bring to the D.C. bureaucracy, both because it is necessary and because it is sanctioned by the law of the United States of America,” Ramaswamy said.
He said he was separating myth from fact about federal personnel law. He said the myth has misguided presidents from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump.
He would ensure that Cabinet secretaries and other agency heads who are presidential appointees would be required to carry out such layoffs, Ramaswamy added.
“I think it should be a litmus test for anybody who serves in a Cabinet position, a litmus test, that that agency head is prepared to carry out mass layoffs, large reductions in force, as laid out in the statute,” he said.
However, Ramaswamy said, if those presidential appointees didn’t act, federal law “does give the duly elected president of the United States the power to single-handedly execute those large-scale layoffs.”
In an interview with Axios, he also said that “30% of these employees are eligible for retirement in the next five-year period.”
“So it is substantial—no doubt about it—but it’s not as crazy as it sounds,” he told the outlet.
I am all for large-scale government employee layoffs at the federal and state levels. The Education and Commerce departments (and the Energy Department) should go, though the National Weather Service probably needs to stay.
Talk about ending the IRS is understandable. But operating the federal government without tax revenue is unlikely, to say the least. And if you have federal taxes (or any taxes assessed by any unit of government), you need a collection mechanism and an enforcement arm for those who try to illegally evade taxes.
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 
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