It's not about the role of government

E. J. Dionne—probably my favorite big-daily columnist—thinks liberals need to make a direct, full-throated defense of government:

If progressives do not speak out plainly on behalf of government, they will be disadvantaged throughout the election-year debate. Gov. Scott Walker’s victory in the Wisconsin recall election owed to many factors, including his overwhelming financial edge. But he was also helped by the continuing power of the conservative anti-government idea in our discourse. An energetic argument on one side will be defeated only by an energetic argument on the other.

Hmm. I share Dionne's frustration with the success of anti-government conservatism in recent years, as well as the positive view he goes on to present of government's singular role in stimulating the economy and creating jobs (the main policy focus of his column). But more generally, I'm not convinced that the answer is to match anti-government attacks with equally fierce pro-government rebuttals. I consider myself a fairly mainstream liberal when it comes to economic issues. I think that enacting Rep. Paul Ryan's slash-and-burn budget would be a huge step backward in the struggle for a just, fair society. And I'm no fan of Bill Clinton-style neoliberalism, of weakening the social safety net and sticking it to unions (and staying good and hawkish on defense, but I digress) in the name of saving liberalism from itself.