The Government Brand

Remember how the Bush administration imperiled the Republican brand of "competence" with its mismanagement of the aftermath of the Iraq war, and (to a lesser, much more media magnified distorted extent), Hurricane Katrina?

So, here's a question: Does progressivism depend on government being competent?  What about honest, incorruptible, beneficent? 

Part of how progressives justify the never ending expansion of government is by arguing that "government is just another name for doing things together", that it's a noble, compassionate, effective entity that can justly and dispassionately regulate evil and redistribute resources for the betterment of all.  "Who could be against that?" they ask.  (Conservatives arguing about freedom and choice get tarred as hard hearted troglodytes who would strangle and dismember Santa Claus if given the opportunity.)

Of course, a bedrock of modern conservatism (classical liberalism) is the distrust of government - and that distrust has evolved to encompass many forms: the classic fear of power and tyranny, the awareness that corruption and waste accompanies concentrations of power, a belief in the inefficiency of top down, central planning.

What happens when the government is increasingly seen as negative by its citizens?

When it's seen as:
- partisan and abusing power (IRS partisan targeting of tea party groups)

- Abusive and secretive (NSA spying allegations)

- Spiteful (Park service shutdowns of open air monuments and parks)

- Incompetent (Obamacare exchange roll out)

- Negative impact on quality, choice, price (Obamacare impact on insurance options - admittedly, I'm assuming here so I may be wrong; Obama has been very free with his power to waive/exempt groups from the law, will he be able to do the same with the laws of economics?)

That government tends towards arrogance, waste, corruption, and abuse is an article of faith among conservatives which is why we tend to seek to shrink and limit it to areas of absolute constitutional necessity.

What happens when the people that progressives depend on to support their expansions of government no longer are seduced by the belief in the "goodness" of government?

What happens when you damage the brand so much that people will no longer buy it?