Dear Mr. President:

As you continue to advocate for health care reform I wanted to take a moment to express my concern. First, I am pleased with my current health plan—both the health care itself and the price I pay for it. Second, I am a conservative, which means I fear large government.

I tell you this at the outset so you understand that the current state of health care in this country suits me and my family just fine. Thus, in asking me to support your plan to revolutionize that status quo, you must realize that you’re asking me to jeopardize a good thing I already have and to deny my deepest political instincts about the dangers of large government. I might be willing to do both, but only if you give me the right answers to a few questions. This means that I’m the conservative you ought to want to talk to. But, so far, I’m not impressed.

All your adamant hand-wringing and bold assertions about the necessity to do something have not convinced me. I’ve heard you talk about the importance of clear, simple language in financial instruments (which I like), but then you offer me a thousand page document and ask me to blindly trust you that’s it’s exactly what we need. You tell me that it’s important to set a civil tone in Washington, but then you accuse pediatricians of being vicious money-grubbers who perform unnecessary tonsillectomies on children just for the money. And when people I respect raise what seem like legitimate concerns about your plans, you accuse them of “bearing false witness” and resisting the Biblical mandate to care for our fellow man.

As a conservative, I should tell you that I do, in fact, want all people to get the best health care they can. If it were up to me, I would probably run a hospital into the ground by giving away too much of everything I have. If it were up to me, I would gladly provide health care to illegal immigrants and even export health care to other countries because I don’t believe that the only people who matter are the ones who happened to be born within our borders. And although I am often accused of the opposite, I care deeply about children and their needs. I have three of them so far myself, and I’m the guy who cries when I hear stories about parents who can’t give their kids everything they need. Also, I don’t believe health care in this country is perfect. It cost us around $400 to have our first child and $4,000 to have each of the other two, all three of which were perfectly normal, without complications. They’re well worth the price, but those medical bills seem outrageous to me.

So with all this in mind, I have a few simple questions for you. If you answer them adequately, I can’t promise I’ll be with you, but I can promise that I’ll feel much less like I’m in a fight to the death to preserve my way of life and the principles that I have long believed this country stands for. In short, I won’t feel like you’re betraying this country any more, even though I may still oppose this particular agenda item. I don’t believe that the only way for my country to be secure is for me to always have my way. I didn’t vote for you, but I did go on the air the day after the election to proclaim that you were my president-elect. But if you want me to continue being the loyal opposition rather than an organizer of the revolution, I need some answers, and I need them fast.

1. Bad Ideas to Avoid

First, I want to know whether you think there are any ways government could make health care worse. If so, what does your plan do to avoid these pitfalls? I’m worried you might actually believe the federal government will make things better in health care merely by getting involved in it, regardless of what it actually does—as if government is a magic wand that can fix anything if only we’ll wave it fast enough at the problem. And if you can’t show me you’re aware of the danger areas and unwise options for health care reform, then I’m left thinking you do believe government will improve things no matter what it does.

A big part of knowing how to succeed in anything is knowing what mistakes not to make. This is true in warfare, business, relationships, lawn care, whatever. Show me you understand the distinction between bad government involvement in a field and good government involvement in a field by telling me the health care changes government intervention must not make. I know you’re convinced the status quo is unacceptable, but please reassure me you understand there are ways the federal government could actually make things worse.

2. Commitment and Criteria Continued...