Conservative Hypocrisy

And all my instincts
They return
And the grand facade
Soon will burn
--Peter Gabriel

Jacob Hornberger wonders why conservatives, who frequently claim to support free markets and limited government, are currently fixated on repealing Obamacare. If they truly supported free markets and limited government, then why aren't conservatives going further to repeal the entire socialized health care system which includes Medicare and Medicaid? After all, these programs have long been the elephants in the room when it comes to federal spending and escalating future liabilities.

Conservatives might counter that you can't transform the system in a day. You have to start somewhere and build a stream of compromises toward a longer term goal. The ends justify the means...

A counter to that argument is that there is little evidence that previous compromise approaches have been effective. There is an equally if not more compelling argument that the compromise strategy is prone to move in the other direction--i.e., away from freedom and toward the institutionalization of State programs however poorly conceived and implemented.

The evidence suggests that, going back at least to Lincoln and the early days of the Republican Party, conservatives, while often talking a good game, are prone to act similar to the statists that they claim to oppose.