Jim Pinkerton and I have been going
back and
forth over my
criticism of Bobby Jindal's health care
op-ed in the Washington Post earlier this week.
Today he has a
new post up in which he acknowledges that conservatives and
libertarians often agree on economic issues, but writes that the
Republican Party is more open to a larger role for the federal
government. On that point, he'll get no argument from me.
However, just because Republicans have embraced policies such as
the Medicare prescription drug plan, it doesn't mean that doing
so has proven either successful practical politics or good
governance.
When it was being debated, Republican supporters of the drug bill
made many of the same arguments that Pinkerton is making now.
They thought it would help the party close the gap on health care
with Democrats and overcome the image of the party as a bunch of
scrooges. But it did nothing of the sort. In the 2000
presidential election, those who identified health care as their
most important issue voted for Al Gore by a 64 percent to 33
percent margin over George W. Bush, according to
exit polls. Yet despite signing the prescription drug bill
during his first term, in the 2004 election, Bush actually fared
worse among health care voters -- which John Kerry
won 77 percent to 23 percent.
Meanwhile, the bill added $9.4 trillion to our long-term entitlement
obligations and helped cement the image of Republicans as a
fiscally irresponsible. While this wasn't the primary basis for
GOP defeats in 2006 and 2008, it did reinforce the broader
critique of Republicans as incompetent.
I've written about this more
extensively in the past, but a big problem we face is that
because many conservatives have neglected health care as an
issue, it has created a sense of desperation that allows a Jindal
or Romney to come out with a proposal that substantially embraces
the Democratic vision for reform, and get credit for being a
Republican saying something about the issue. But
I, for one, refuse to accept this false choice between
indifference or acquiescence on the most important domestic issue
of our time. That's why, in addition to criticizing Democratic
proposals, I've written a lot about how to improve the health
care system by expanding individual liberty (see
here,
here,
here,
here, and
here). I'd much rather spend my time trying to argue in favor
of such ideas -- win or lose -- than handing out gold stars to
any Republican who shows up to the debate.
