James of England posits that things are going really well. I replied:

Our government is the Leviathan. It is always expanding its reach, limiting our freedoms . This is not, of course, merely a matter of spending. It is a matter of crushing regulations, seizures of all matter of property without even a nod to due process, ridiculous overreach in attempts to make US regulations apply in every corner of the globe, automatically giving coercive and violent power to bureaucracies that do not need them, and cannot be trusted with those powers. It is a matter of blind obedience to stupid rules without any recourse to common sense. In other words: the Right may win elections. But the bureaucracies are winning the country.

But I would go further than this: The Federal Bureaucracy has become hopelessly politicized. When Joe the Plumber’s records were “leaked” seven years ago, it was not done at Obama’s command. It was a voluntary act by a government employee who was genuinely trying to help. More recently, we’ve had the IRS target and destroy political opponents.