We woke up on Wednesday, November 8, 2006, in a changed America. Many of the leaders we trusted to limit government, lower our taxes, and advance liberty were replaced by a band of collectivists, central planners, and social engineers. How did we come to this?

At some point along the way, the leaders we trusted got caught up in the ways of Washington, D.C., compromised their principles, and ultimately lost course. They paid the price at the electorate’s hands — and rightfully so. But their loss is not our country’s gain. If the old Congress coupled lower taxes with massive spending, the new Congress will couple higher taxes with massive spending. Instead of the half-full glass of the optimist, the glass will be wholly empty — sucked dry by the insatiable appetite of a government that cannot say no to itself.

The new Congress believes that the answer to all our problems is massive spending. But we know that’s an illusion. The massive growth of spending did not end poverty. It did not protect liberty. That’s why the Pacific Research Institute’s message of freedom, individual choice, limited government, and personal responsibility has never been more urgently needed.

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