Conservatives might take heart from a recent poll showing a decline in Americans' trust in government. But Chris Cillizza sees it as a "depressing reality." So wrote Cillizza in his "Fix" column in today's Washington Post. Indeed, Cillizza's headline, "Are we in the end times of trust in government?", suggests that he finds the development nothing short of potentially apocalyptic.
Let's consider what Thomas Jefferson's had to say about the need for a healthy distrust of government—and speculate as to why the polling news has Chris bummed out. More after the jump.
[Jefferson] regarded the people as the ultimate defenders of liberty. Distrust of power, especially power concentrated in a central government, was central to his political views. He held 'jealousy' rather than 'confidence' in government to be the proper attitude -- jealousy being understood not in the modern sense of envy, but in the sense of distrust and vigilance.
I find Cillizza among the fairest of MSMers. But why would Cillizza bemoan a decline in the public's trust in government—unless he were among those that want to see an ever-bigger one?
