Goldwater Institute: Learn to protect yourself

I thought this comment by Byron Schlomack of the Goldwater Institute, when asked if the money proposed for the Wall Street bailout would be better spent helping people who were duped into financial products they don't understand, pretty much sums up what it is Republicans believe:

"People need to protect themselves," he said. "They need to learn to protect themselves. They shouldn't ever depend on a government program or a government agency or a government guarantee to protect them from the unscrupulous."

Isn't this philosophy, that government should not protect consumers against fraud or predatory lending, what got us into this mess in the first place?

Now, when it comes to protecting us against gay marriage, will conservatives make the same argument? If you think same-sex marriage is so dangerous, then protect yourself by marrying someone of the opposite sex, but don't expect government to protect you from it. That's not their job.