Conservatives Lose on Health Care Mandate

American Thinker ^ | 2/17/2012 | Jason Pappas

[WPaCon]

The recent Obama mandate for universal birth control gave the Republicans an opportunity to fight for individual liberty -- and they missed it by a mile. Instead of attacking government-imposed health care as a violation of liberty, they only selected a minute fraction of the leviathan and subjected it to very narrow criteria. This was an opportunity to aim for the heart of ObamaCare, but critics asked for only a minor adjustment -- and that's all they got.

Government-mandated health care violates individual rights. The objection of Catholics to the funding of contraceptives is just one example of forcing people to fund and purchase the government health plan. Catholics aren't the only ones who have rights. Everyone -- including atheists -- has rights. Any basis or no basis at all is legitimate to opt out of funding and accepting a government program. There is no reason why an employer, or better yet, an employee can't contract for the exact health insurance that fits his or her needs.

The recent uproar by conservatives gives the impression that only the religious have rights. How about the rest of us? What if an agnostic objects to elements of government laws on principle or, perhaps, merely on a prudential basis? There was an opportunity to put the whole government-run health care system in the crosshairs. A passionate defense of individual rights could have and should have been the emphasis. But this wasn't important to conservatives. What did they do instead?

[stephenjohnbanker]

You too, Gilbo!