God forbid we foster dependence on government

Another part of the Democrats' script on Iraq, as exemplified by Sen. John Edwards on "Meet the Press" last week: Edwards not only opposes President Bush's plan to reinforce US troops in Iraq, but wants an immediate withdrawal (or would that be "redeployment"?) of 40,000 troops.

Borrowing from the tough-love lexicon of the therapeutic culture, Edwards said of Bush's plan that "all this does is enable continued bad behavior, political bad behavior, that we've see over the last several years" (the flag went up for me with "enable").

"What we need to do instead, in my judgment, is to shift this responsibility to them," Edwards said, referring to Iraqis. "It is the most likely way to create this political reconciliation."

I'd have an easier time believing that Edwards and other Democrats are sincere in this claim if they'd show a semblance of willingness to extend this principle beyond Iraq -- seeing how the Democratic Party's primary basis for existence is to foster greater, and endless, dependence on government (let me amend that -- a twofold basis for existence - government dependency and thwarting Bush at every opportunity).

The correlation has been clear for decades -- less dependency on government, fewer Democrats. They need big government the way a vampire needs blood, and turn in horror when anyone casts sunlight on the correlation.