That's why we trust them with our money.

As a migraine sufferer, I found myself recovering at home with the television tuned to the Healthcare Summit for the entire day. I was taken by a comment made by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) a good conservative and a Medical Doctor. One would think that Senator Coburn would be one of the brightest lights in the Republican sky regarding opinions on the US healthcare industry.

He made a comment that astounded me and was hailed by many of the pundits as visionary: he suggested we need to begin to curb the billions of dollars in annual fraud in healthcare by employing the use of “undercover patients”. All rise for Senator Coburn and his refreshing new look at the healthcare fix!

Mind you, we all were watching the President—the world’s most powerful human being—the Vice President, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and a collection of forty hand-picked senators and representatives. Arguably, the best braintrust these people in Washington can assemble to tackle what profound domestic problem in over half a century. A problem that we are constantly reminded comprises over one-sixth of the entire US economy.

This was truly a collaborative endeavor of the highest order, and one from which the American public had every right to expect intellectual greatness.

What did we get for our efforts?

We were witness to the most respected, nimble, and erudite minds in the nation discussing the prospects (and indeed, the absolute necessity) of the government engaging the aggressive use of “Secret Shoppers”?

Forgive me, but this is the best example we’ve seen in a long while as to why government should not intervene in the private sector. For eight hours, all of America was able to watch as forty-three powerful officials recited their own particularly unique justification for using the police powers of the United States to intrude into the lives of its citizenry.

Joe Biden said it about as plainly as anyone. When a Republican made the assertion that they were debating a fundamental difference, namely, whether government should intervene, the Vice President pointed out that everybody in the room was for government intervention. They were simply discussing the extent of the intervention.

Out of the mouth of babes—leave it to Joe Biden, the master of the gaffe, to utter the naked truth. Face it, Republicans can’t resist the temptation to regulate our lives. They know what is best—and what is best is regulation, but less regulation, and not as quickly implemented.

God save us from ourselves.