The next panel is on “is small government a big joke” and prof olasky is currently discussing why we need to not reject compassionate conservatism just because the Bush administration has screwed it up so bad.

One of his strongest points has been how much more effective small non-profits were at katrina relief compared to the Feds. He advocates a charitable 500 tax credit whereby you direct 500 to a non-profit of your choice. Interesting idea.

Paul Ryan and Pat Toomey also spoke on the panel and have spent a lot of time talking about why small government wins. Pat shared that a recent gallup poll showed 61% of americans said big government is the biggest threat to america. (The other options being big labor, and big business).

He also noted that the C4G poll on the eve of the election showed that the american populous thought the democrats were the small government party. Ugh.

Another interesting point Pat is currently making is that middle class entitlements are “the biggest driver for big government”

This has been a great conference so far up next is a debate between Ralph Reed v Ryan Sager on where do religous conservatives belong in the party