The assault on government.

• Position: By Republicans

Governor Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey scored big when she delivered the Republican rebuttal to the State of the Union address in January. Whitman was interrupted by applause over and over again as she repeated the words "reduce spending" and "cut taxes" no less than twenty-three times.

If there was any doubt what the Republicans stand for, Whitman got the message across: ask not what government can do for you (or for anyone else for that matter), ask what dismantling government can do for your wallet.

The Republicans are taking us on a short ride to economic and social disaster. Yet so far, at both the state and federal levels, they have been able to sell their cynicism and shortsightedness as some sort of populist uprising.

"In November, the revolution came to Washington," Whitman said. "People want results."

The results, of course, are exactly what Whitman will avoid in New Jersey if she manages to make her move to national office before the bill for her own taxi-cutting spree comes due. Likewise, the other Republican governors she credits with leading America's tax revolt are embarking upon slash-and-burn campaigns in their home states that will leave behind a trail of destruction long after they march on to the next stage in their political careers.

The assault on government is being waged on two fronts. First, the Republicans are intent on defunding government at both the state and federal levels. Second, they are taking a blowtorch to legislation and regulatory agencies that protect citizens and the environment.

Under their proposed balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, the Republicans in Congress would slash $1.3 trillion out of the federal budget over the next seven years. In order to fulfill their promise to balance the budget without cutting defense spending, Social Security, or Medicaid, they will have to do away with 30 to 50 percent of current funding for domestic programs.

How much can government hack away before society collapses? The states on the cutting edge of the Republican "revolution" provide an example.

The day before she took the podium as the spokeswoman for the Republican tax revolt, Governor Whitman announced a new round of income-tax cuts for New Jersey, bringing the total cuts under her administration to 30 percent. Columnist Bob Herbert described Whitman's cuts in The New York Times as a "shell game," pointing out that the property tax in New Jersey is soaring as a result of income-tax relief...