Where Were You?

Democratic activists are trying valiantly to defend the way Obama and Pelosi have rammed healthcare "reform" down our throats but are having a hard time. When asked to provide reasons, they provide red herrings.

When conservative opponents say we can't afford this partisan power grab of one-sixth of the U.S. economy, they say, "Where were you when George Bush was running up huge deficits?"

I'll tell you where we were. We were there, complaining. The previous president did many things right, and some things wrong. Allowing an evenly split Congress to run up huge deficits was one of the things he did wrong, and many conservatives said so.

But even if we didn't, so what? You liberals did. If it was reckless and wrong for a Republican administration to run up deficits equaling 2 percent of the nation's GDP then, why is it now right for Obama and Co., who control all the levers of power in Washington, to run up deficits in excess of 5 percent of GDP? And you're accusing us of hypocrisy?

Other apologists for the IRS Full Employment Act of 2010 say, with a note of triumph in their voices, "Where were you when George Bush spent all that money in Iraq, based upon a lie?"

First, it was not a lie (unless the whole world, including Democrats, was also lying). Second, Obamacare spending is going to cost a lot more of this nation's treasure than Iraq ever will. Third, national defense is a constitutional responsibility of the federal government; healthcare is not. And Obamacare will cut deeply into our capacity to defend ourselves in a dangerous world.

If conservatives say that Obamacare, which the American people have manifestly said they do not want, represents a giant stride in the direction of socialism, liberals retort, "Where were you when the federal government created Social Security and Medicare, two immensely popular programs, which also represent what you would call socialism?"

First, many of us (for good or ill) voted for these programs. Second, while they attempt to provide a safety net, they do not take over whole industries, as Obamacare will. Third, however popular they are, both Medicare and Social Security are heading toward financial insolvency. Why in the world would we create another huge entitlement that will lead this nation that much faster to bankruptcy?

The question "Where were you?" doesn't stand, at least when applied to conservatives. Unfortunately for all the liberals and "moderates" who voted for this monstrosity, the American people will be asking it of them.