Sometimes, the best way to defeat someone is to hand them rope and let them run amok until the self destruct. When a flawed concept goes from fantasy theory into implementation, hard reality is the best weapon to burn off naive ideas and assumptions. When this happens, the process leaves a burnt out husk ready for the trash bin of history.

While not the intentions of voters in 2008, the result of that election year has been clearly the same when it comes to the battle between big government liberalism and small government libertarianism. For years – since Regan’s terms – there has been a social issue haze covering the true battle for the heart and soul of America. This battle waged over issues such as abortion, sexual preference, prayer in school, science vs faith, etc.

But underneath all of these cultural frictions was the bigger question – should we have a large, invasive and partisan government or a small, lean and neutral government. The side show of failed social issues, along with the massively dysfunctional government programs and debt we have seen since 2009, have focuses the nation on looking hard at the size and role of government. After the liberals went nuts in 2009-2010 on spending – yet still failed to fix a damn thing – it has become clear it is better for everyone (including those worried about social issues) for government to be lean, neutral and limited. The era of big government is now certainly over.

Here are some of recent signs this is the case. First, a laughable observation from one of the old (and stale) liberal guard in Congress:

“This is the first time that I can remember being confronted by members of the Congress, my colleagues, who say, ‘I don’t care if I get reelected or not, I want to cut the budget by $100 billion or whatever,’” said a bewildered Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), who was first elected to Congress in 1964. “I’ve never seen that kind of a member before. … It’s a dangerous point of view from my perspective.”

And cheers go up across the land!

Conyers has given the entire GOP field the rallying cry for 2012. If, as the last election indicated in a massive wave, the electorate has turned libertarian (as opposed to activist social conservative), then Conyers is the poster child for why the nation needs to keep cleaning house on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Another indication is the success many states are having in cauterizing their red ink through reforms on public unions. For example, NJ has joined WI, OH, NY and many others in requiring civil servants to carry a small portion of the cost of their health and retirement benefits:

The legislation will sharply increase what state and local workers must contribute for their health insurance and pensions, suspend cost-of-living increases to retirees’ pension checks, raise retirement ages and curb the unions’ contract bargaining rights. It will save local and state governments $132 billion over the next 30 years, by the administration’s estimate, and give the troubled benefit systems a sounder financial footing, mostly by shifting costs onto workers.

Note the overly dramatic headline: “New Jersey Lawmakers Approve Benefits Rollback for Work Force”

Actually, not a single benefit has been rolled back or cut. But the cost of obtaining and keeping the benefit has gone up. And the whining from the public sector unions only confirms it is about time they began to pay some of their way – like the rest of us.

And there was much rejoicing throughout the land as private sector workers were not asked to lose more of THEIR income to cover freebies for the civil servants.

And it seems the folks at the Obama White House are now in full panic mode as the true depth of the backlash is becoming more and more clear:

I have been sharing with you the internal polling data for some time. These internals have started to leak out to others. Pat spoke to this publicly a couple weeks back. They show the president as increasingly vulnerable across the board. By that I mean to say, the president is losing support from the very groups that made his election in 2008 possible. These internal polls are done regularly. If the results reflect positively for an administration, the results are given to certain media outlets and used to promote a president’s standing. For over a year the results of these internals have been shut down for the simple fact that time after time they have shown Barack Obama to be far less popular with American voters than the media has been attempting to spin. Obama’s actual approval numbers are now hovering between 38 and 40 percent, and even lower in some of the most critical swing states. He has lost ground most significantly in recent months with seniors and union members. Without those two groups, Obama cannot win re-election, and the White House is downright panicked about it.

Barring something major, Obama will be the 2nd coming of Jimmy Carter, but with the addition distinction that he destroyed the Democrat representations in Congress and in state houses across the land. By 2012 there will only be suffering islands of liberal governance left (think CA and its road to implosion).

The liberals took the reigns of government with great gusto and energy – and drove themselves at incredible speed straight into the brick wall of reality. So confident in their simpleton policy beliefs, they did not even plan for contingencies where their plans would fail. No experimentation, no proof of concept programs. Just a massive scale of Keynesian, government trickle-down, government-controlled messes.

And Conyers wonders why the halls of Congress are filling up with newly elected Libertarians? Probably because they are coming to clean house of liberals like him!

And the country rose up as one, rejecting and ejecting their failed leaders and bringing a new morning to America.