Opponents ought to focus on the “individual mandate” part of Hillary’s health care plan, which grows more disturbing the more you look at it, much like Britney Spears. I keep seeing its defenders compare it to car insurance; that because the government requires drivers to have car insurance, this is basically the same thing.

But that argument doesn’t hold water. As they constantly told us in driver’s ed class, driving is a privilege, not a right. If you don’t want to pay for car insurance, you can take a taxi, public transportation, walk, etc. You only need an insurance policy to legally drive a vehicle. You can ‘opt out’ by choosing not to exercise that privilege.

But in the Massachusetts plan, Hillary’s plan, and any national “individual mandate” plan, there is no ‘opt out.’ You need health insurance to work (Hillary herself said she could envision when “you have to show proof to your employer that you’re insured as a part of the job interview like when your kid goes to school and has to show proof of vaccination”), be a resident of the state… basically, you have to buy health insurance to ensure your right to breathe.

At least in the Massachusetts plan, if you really don’t like the state’s mandate, you can move someplace else.

I understand the free rider problem, and I realize that most people like having health insurance. But most of these plans are essentially banning your right to not have a health insurance policy, and the day we allow the federal government to force us to buy something, it’s all over.

UPDATE: Fred Thompson’s latest video from the road is much in this theme: “Hillary says don’t worry about this, the exact punitive measures will come up from Congress. There’s a thought that will make you sick.”

I think a lot of conservatives will appreciate the somewhat weary, “aw, cripes, not this stuff again” mood.