The lie propagated by conservatives: When government fails, conservatism can't be held responsible

[Ardent15]

The conservatives love to say this, to avoid taking responsibility for any kind of failure. Ronald Reagan, hero and Saint to the movement, had to deal with a Democratic Congress, so that is why he wasn't successful in shrinking government they say. George H. W. Bush was a traitor for breaking his "Read my lips" pledge, so that is why he failed. Newt Gingrich didn't have the spine to stand up to Bill Clinton. And when the three branches of government were finally taken over by hard-right Republicans, the problem was that they weren't conservative ENOUGH.

All of this is flatly not true. Reagan and Bush Sr weren't as bad as Bush Jr because there was a Democratic Congress slowing down the damage they were doing. Bill Clinton managed to keep the Republican Congress at bay by compromising with them. Bush Jr, however, went along with the whole conservative agenda. It succeeded ideologically speaking, but it failed the people by design. And this was intentional, because conservatism is inherently a hypocritical, arrogant, flawed, undemocratic, and ultimately dangerous ideology.

In other words, conservatives can't take responsibility for their actions because doing so would admit that their entire ideology is wrong.

[Chulanowa]

1. It's the same with neoliberalism

Whenever a country went extreme capitalist, it repressed freedoms and more often than not was brutally violent. Yet the neoliberals who engendered the economic hcange would insist that the brutality had nothing to do with the economic plan.

And when that economic plan then failed - and they have always failed - the argument has been that the markets weren't "free" enough! No regulations, no state companies, no unions, no trade barriers, nothing in the way of the free market... but it would still fail and the failure would be clamed on something like workers still receiving a salary or something.