February 3, 2008 10:26AM 

# Would You Vote to Put this Statist in the White House? 

By [Daniel J. Mitchell](https://www.cato.org/people/daniel-mitchell) 

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Last month, I [wrote on this site](https://www.cato.org/2008/01/17/a-republican-worth-supporting/) about a Republican who genuinely believed in limited government. The bad news is that my example was not from this year’s campaign, but instead came from a [1920s-era video](http://www.archive.org/details/coolidge_1924) featuring Calvin Coolidge. After further research, I’ve discovered a more recent video that captures the words of someone who is getting a lot of attention in this year’s GOP campaign. Sadly, this high-profile Republican uses class-warfare rhetoric to condemn tax cuts. He urges more income distribution and a bigger role for the federal government. He even claims that corporate profits cause inflation. Would you vote for someone who gave [this speech](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJDhS4oUm0M)?

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics) 

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