"All too often, conservative ideologues who now honeycomb the halls of our great public buildings in Washington have promoted the idea that government is an alien institution that illegitimately confiscates and redistributes resources to no great purpose other than sustaining our armed forces at the absolute minimum of effectiveness. These ideologues have viewed government, even the federal government they control from top to bottom, as a necessary evil to be tolerated, an obstacle to be overcome and undermined, a "beast:" to be starved. And worse yet, when their plans to dismantle government are thwarted, they tend, not surprisingly, to view federal agencies as little more than a vast patronage opportunity for fellow-partisans who don't much believe in the missions they are supposedly pledged to perform." - - - Gov. Tom Vilsack