Every time a new Congress takes office, but especially when there has been a major shift in partisan power as we see with this iteration, there is talk of how regardless of the new political fault lines, it is imperative that all members come together to work for "the good of the country."
The federal government is not the apparatus by which wealth and happiness are generated, it is the mechanism by which we preserve liberty so that prosperity and comfort can be individually sought and earned.
Talk of a collective Congress joining hands and working together for the common good horrified me and reeks of blind majoritarianism, autocracy, and an erosion of liberty.
The best possible thing Congress can do is to stagnate, except in times of national emergency. And only in a few national emergencies- war, for example- should federal activity be increased. (Under certain trying times, economic stress, for example, it would be ideal for Congress to be active in cutting federal activities: taxes, regulation, spending, and USG waste.)
Now is such a time.
I hope the incoming Republican leadership resists the temptation to implement simply more rules and more spending under the guise of conservativism. What a disappointment GWB was when he took office and embarked on an eight year trampling of liberty, expansion of the federal government and debt, and disastrous nation building extravaganza.
What I hope for with this Congress is that they are active, only in the sense of repealing that ridiculous health care package which was passed, as much of the stimulus as possible, and ideally getting the USG out of the business of empire running, fiat currency juggling, social welfare planning, and every other big government adventure we have become involved in since the Constitution was pushed to the side by FDR.
Sensible libertarian views on nearly everything- except foreign affairs.