Peter Rockwell (“’Centralizing power letter’ misleading,” Yuma Sun, January 17, 2012) is correct, of course!  The Republicans have been the war mongers of the 20^th century.  Take WWI, for example, 117,000 American casualties, and 12 million people worldwide.  Oh, wait a minute, that was Wilson, wasn’t it?  Well, take WWII then, 1 million American casualties, 19 million worldwide.  Oh, wait.  Wrong again.  That was FDR, another Democrat.  The Korean War was Truman’s (130,000 casualties) and Vietnam the Kennedy-Johnson affair (211,000 casualties). 

                I better quit being so “lazy and downright manipulative.”  Whether for good or ill I know not, but Republican administrations have gotten us involved in the Middle East killing 100,000 Iraqis and causing 120,000 American casualties.

                 Maybe the wars were not justifiable, but the constitution does give the federal government power to conduct war.  Our military is pretty good at that. It is also the constitutional responsibility of the federal government to protect our borders. It is not constitutional for the federal government to employ 2.5 million people to interfere in the affairs of the 50 states and manage our personal lives.

                I thought I made it clear in the first paragraph of my original letter that I was not distinguishing between Republicans or Democrats.  We have had many progressive Republicans who have led us down the big government path, and there are many Democrats in both the house and the senate who would restrain the federal government.

                 President Obama would have us believe it was the Tea Party Patriots in the House who practically shut down congress; however, even when Democrats controlled all three branches they could not agree on a budget.  Harry Reed wouldn’t bring to the senate floor the 15 budget proposals that the 112^th congress sent up because he knew that the more classically liberal Democrats would support them and they might pass. 

                 Our founders knew the danger of a large intrusive federal government.  Benjamin Franklin said, “We have given you a republic if you can keep it.”  We have not kept it very well.  We have spent our progeny into servitude.   We have a federal government that, sometimes with the best intentions, wants to use its power to solve problems and in the process corrupts itself by currying favors and buying votes. 

                  "To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." -Thomas Jefferson

             “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” - John Adams