Criminalizing Health Care...again

Why is every time the Dems come forward with their version of great health care, it always involves punitive actions alongside the proposed healing?

This year's entry comes from John Edwards:

"It requires that everybody be covered. It requires that everybody get preventive care," he told a crowd sitting in lawn chairs in front of the Cedar County Courthouse. "If you are going to be in the system, you can't choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years. You have to go in and be checked and make sure that you are OK."

So I guess the other shoe that has yet to drop is what Edwards' proposal would outline as repercussions for those who chose not to go to the Doctors. Jail? Fines? A stern talking to about personal responsibility?

I think this would be a great subject to discuss in one of the many upcoming 'Townhall' forums that the Dems love to stage. Someone should ask the question, "Mr Edwards, given your position on universal healthcare, would you have the federal government spend more time and effort hunting down American citizens who have not gone to the doctor, or people who have chosen to enter out country illegally?"

Additionally, given the record of socialized medicine "solutions" around the world, exactly how are we going to handle our annual appointments, when it takes 12 months just to the top of the list?

Hat Tip: Ann Althouse & Instapundit