Socialized health care, smoking bans, tyranny

For those who are tempted to let the health care debate alone in order to focus on immigration or terrorism, etc., I sympathize. But we must remember that George Soros' employees never rest and never give up a battle. The war to turn control of this country over to Soros will be fought on many fronts, including health care. We must remember that socialized medicine is a stepping stone to greater government control. In fact, it is the biggest stepping stone - bigger than the gun grabs, bigger than taxes, bigger than McCain-Feingold, etc.

So let me just say that I think socialized health care is the single biggest factor in transforming the relationship of the individual to the state. In fact, once it's introduced it becomes very hard to have genuinely conservative government - certainly, not genuinely small government. I think I say in my book that in Continental cabinets (and in Canada) the Defense ministry is somewhere you pass through en route to a really important portfolio like Health.

Mark Steyn

It will be very hard for you to campaign for gun rights, lower taxes, free speech, etc. when the government has full power to decide whether your child can see a doctor the next time he gets sick. A society that depends on the government for its medicine is a silent, subservient, feeble society.

See also Tim Harford for a discussion of how the government's control of health care allows the government to regulate more details of our lives.