A Party of Personal Responsibility

Today on Meet The Press, Karl Rove stated that he believes in the values of the republican party. Those values being (to paraphrase) small government, a belief in the ability of individuals to make choices, and the rights of all people to life freely. No one can argue with these values-but it seems that George W. Bush does. His record consistently contradicts these principles.
Small Government: Bush watched over the federal government's move from the greatest surpluse in its history to its greatest deficit. In that time, he does not have the prudence to veto a single spending bill. What happened to being fiscally conservative?
Responsibliity of Individuals: The republican party asserts that they stand for a small government that gives people more control over their lives-that they don't want big brother micromanaging their lives-but who does? Easy answer: George Bush does. George Bush's patriot act which is both ineffective (note how many terrorists Ashcroft convicted because of it) infringes on the civil liberties of all americans-anyone who believes in a small federal government should be troubled by the bounds it oversteps. Furthermore, Bush believes that he, along with religous conservatives know what is in the best health interest of a woman-not a woman and her doctor. To top it all off, President Bush believes in expanding the federal government so much that he wants to tell consenting adults who they can marry. If we believe that people should be taxed less so that the money is in their hands-if we believe that social security should be privatized so that individuals can make choices on how to save for retirement-then why do we not trust people with their social freedoms? If we truly want a government that places responsibility on individuals and not the federal government to make ethical decisions, we must limit the social engineering that is going on within the Bush administration.
The Right To Freedom and Liberty: President Bush firmly believes that the United States should bring Freedom (which he believes is God's gift) to all people- hence, we have Iraq. This is obviously a noble goal. But how about starting at home first by not opposing the equal protection of the law be extended to all people and by not opposing the reproductive rights of women.