Reduced to bickering over who will destroy us the slowest

Actually, it's a shame we are reduced to bickering over political parties and individual bad players. The real point is that defenders of a free market don't claim that individual players are necessarily virtuous just by the fact they are acting in a free market -- the whole deal is a systemic problem.

Even criticizing statism because there are bad players in government is beside the point. The point is that a free market and a limited government sets up a system that exposes bad players in the market and prevents bad players from acting with government power.

If politicians don't have the power to sell favors then bad players are prevented from circumventing regulations.

If bad players in the market are exposed, they fail -- with no bailouts.

In a free market courts can handle fraud and the public can handle discrimination -- the lending industry for example -- If a lender discriminates and the public is made aware, then the lender is excoriated in public. Borrowers can go to lenders who do not discriminate. A free society can take care of bad players -- bad players will go out of business.

An unlimited government with the power to decide winners and losers attracts the manipulation of bad players both in business and in government -- a limited government would prevent this vulnerability.

The system of free enterprise and the system of government both need to be adjusted so that bad players have no support to continue their actions. As long as we are depending on the good behavior of individuals in government to regulate and legislate good behavior in the market we have the possibility, and actuality, of corruption and favoritism -- decisions being made for political reasons and reasons of power.

There needs to be a complete separation of the government from our economic activity, except as government is needed to decide disputes and uphold the laws limited to preventing coercion in the form of fraud and such.

The real argument should be, not about which party will exert the least control over us, but how much government needs to be limited and how much freedom we allow the markets.  It's not a matter IF government programs should be cut, but how many government programs. Should we do away with the Dept. of Ed and the Dept of Transportation? Should we institute a consumer tax and do away with the IRS?

As long as we are torn apart in opposing camps by the manipulations of a statist government we will neve cooperate in freedom to solve our problems and take responsibility for dealing with bad players. The government must be limited in order to gain control of our destiny, to establish the personal freedoms that are not to be taken away. Left or right, it makes no difference, our freedom is our freedom and no one should have the ability to enforce morality, no matter what flavor.

It's doesn't make sense that there is a special class of people with government power established to control our free interactions and choices as long as these interactions and choices are not violating the rights and freedoms of others.

To hell with those who think they have superior knowledge and moral judgement and know how I should live my life, who I can do business with and how. The government should be under our control, paid by us to protect rights and freedom -- and that is all. They shouldn't be buying banks, forcing banks to make bad loans, deciding who wins and who loses, hamstringing some while favoring others, taking our money by force and spending it on every frigging whim that comes to their heads.

We don't need to be fighting one another over which gang of clowns has control, we should be working together to create prosperity,  freedom to create, grow and innovate. It's a pathetic situation we have now where we accept what these incompetent buffoons dish out. I don't want to be forced to pick between evils and spend my time justifying something i hate, finding myself defending the party who will do the least amount of damage. It's senseless for us to sit by and allow government to grow and take more and more power, spend more and more money. We must limit government.

I've been a business man for years and get sick of myself when I start complaining and moaning about problems, or listening to others complainiing and moaning about problems while no one is looking for solutions. The solution is a limited government and a free market -- the way there is to vote only for representatives who will get this done -- and QUIT voting for the status quo -- then demanding that they follow through.