Rep. Tom DeLay bade a defiant farewell to the House of Representatives last week, declaring, “I exit, as always, stage right.”

But does he?

In his farewell address, DeLay castigated liberals for seeking “more.” By which he meant “more government, more taxation, more control over people’s lives and decisions and wallets.”

But if that is what liberalism is all about, what is “conservative” about the policies of Mr. Delay and the current Republican regime in Washington?

We’re talking, after all, about a partnership between the legislative and executive branches of government that has, over just the last few years, presided over the biggest increase in inflation-adjusted federal spending since Lyndon Johnson – even if one excludes spending on defense and homeland security.

Furthermore, according to a report issued last year by the Cato Institute, we’re also talking about an inflation-adjusted increase of 27 percent in the combined budgets of the 101 largest government programs that Republicans vowed to eliminate in 1995.

Could liberals have done a better job of increasing the size of government?

For that matter, could liberals have done more to increase government control over people’s “lives, decisions and wallets” than this regime has done since 9/11 in the name of national security?

National security aside, we’ve seen such federal intrusions in people’s lives as the Bush Justice Department attempting to use federal drug laws to thwart Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act, which allows terminally ill patients to opt for physician-assisted suicide. We’ve also seen the Bush administration actively promoting an amendment to the constitution that would deny gays and lesbians the right to marry – the first constitutional amendment since Prohibition that would limit rather than expand individuals’ rights.

We’ve seen, in short, the same kind of federal meddling, bullying and nannyism that used to be regarded as the hallmark of big-government liberalism.

Granted, Republicans have cut taxes rather than increased them, but by their reckless spending they have created a mountain of debt that will eventually have to be paid off – most likely through higher taxes.

If this is “conservatism,” then I’m Rosa Luxemburg.