Something that we conservatives have to come to realize is that we have to be in this fight for the long haul. That means we have to be willing to win our battles incrementally. Most Americans are not comfortable with the concept o less government because most of us are dependent on it in one way or another.

For instance, my wife and I, due to a fluke of governmental generosity, have VA benefits. Neither of us was in the military for over 6 months, and we were unaware of it until 1990, but as we get older, the idea of losing this is pretty scary. Right now, we just use it for check-ups and her meds, but there have been a couple of surgeries that would have broken us financially if we hadn’t had it.

I am not a proponent of single payer, government run health care. I prefer the concept of medical savings accounts coupled with high deductible catastrophic insurance. People need to be educated about this as an option. An acceptable transition toward this would be some sort of Federal matching grants toward the account that would sunset after 10 years. This would get people acclimated to the idea of being self-sufficient on health care.

Yes, there will always be some losers who will never take any responsibility at all. Let them stand in lines that wrap around the block for “free” care. But let working people have the dignity of managing their own lives.

As President, that same man appointed the first female Supreme Court Justice. This guy sounds pretty open-minded. He couldn’t have been a conservative, right? Wrong. His name was Ronald Reagan.