>...On the one side you have "starving the beast" (think Grover Norquist, Tax Pledge), defunding critical programs to the point of dysfunction.
With overall taxes paid as a percentage of GDP about the same as they were in the post WW II era it isn't clear how there has been much "starving the beast" https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/FYFRGDA188S
What has changed since after the WW II era, is that the spending on the safety net is many times larger than it was earlier. Even with overall spending going up, this has resulted in less spending on federal R&D, infrastructure, NASA, etc.
>...anti-government free market fundamentalism ...
Offhand, I don't know of any economist or politician who has said they believe in "free market fundamentalism" - as such I don't think the term is useful as it just becomes a label used to poison the well and prevent meaningful discussion.
The Dems fail to provide an alternative narrative; they let the GOP frame every issue and the debates are over before they begin.
Lecture brought to you by The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA (http://www.computerhistory.org/)
TL;DR: The foundation for the SV was laid by the US government in WWII. Only on that basis did private enterprise build the industry.
From today's point of view, WWII saw today unimaginable spending - huge waste! - by the government. On research, research, more research and infrastructure, and more infrastructure, and even more research. Imagine even half the amount they spent back then announced today (in today's dollars). The cries about government overreach and waste and "oh my god the debt!" would shake the North American continent down to 5 km below the surface.
The trend since Reagan / Thatcher years (neoliberalism) and anti-government free market fundamentalism threatens this constructive partnership where private sector and government were both rivals and partners.
On the one side you have "starving the beast" (think Grover Norquist, Tax Pledge), defunding critical programs to the point of dysfunction. Does it surprise anyone that the IRS is underfunded by Congress to pursue tax evaders, as Congressman are lobbied to keep loopholes open?
Another calamity is NASA's Earth Sciences, the part that studies Earth itself (climate change, etc).
On the other side of the isle, the dems have failed to make government /efficient/ and a visible positive force in the daily lives of average people.
(1) https://www.amazon.com/American-Amnesia-Government-America-P...