Author Rick Perlstein has an excellent opinion piece on TomPaine.com. He argues conservative values, specifically the idea of limited government, are responsible for the dwindling ability of the FDA to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply. Perlstein argues that budget cuts are responsible for the FDA's inability to preempt contaminated food crises. When the FDA does act it is often too late, as it was with the recent peanut butter incident: This was the system working as it is presently designed. Barn door: closed. Cow: already long gone. That, basically, is as good as it gets in the modern FDA. The arguments in the column aren't all that surprising to me. (Conservative values have been making me sick for years.) But I do hope the idea of sticking up for big government flourishes. America's character has long been one of progress and inclusion. Government ought to go to extraordinary lengths to ensure health, happiness, and opportunity for each and every one of its citizens. Conservatives have done a remarkable job tarnishing the reputation of government. It's time for the rest of us to get up off the mat. Big ideas need Big government, and Big government needs Big ideas. America deserves no less.