By Rep. Samuel E. Rohrer

As the federal government in Washington, D.C., plots to take over America’s personal health care market, those of us who value liberty would be well served to remember the story of the Trojan horse.

According to legend, the Greeks attacked the city of Troy for more than a decade, but were unable to overtake it. Finally, the Greeks built a large hollow horse, inside of which a select force of soldiers was hidden. The Trojans pulled the horse inside the gate and, once night had fallen, the Greek soldiers leaped out and opened the gates to the city so their brethren could enter. This was how the Greek army successfully destroyed the city of Troy. The federal government is attempting to infiltrate America’s personal health care system using its own version of a Trojan horse: The so-called “public option.”

Proponents of the public option continually attempt to reassure Americans that it does not mark the beginning of the journey down the road to socialized medicine. However, even if this were the case, it still does not justify the intrusion. First of all, the federal government has no authority to get involved in our country’s private health care system. Anyone who took the time to read our nation’s constitution would know this. That historic document includes many enumerated powers for Congress and the president. I assure you, none of the powers granted in our Constitution allow for a federal takeover of America’s personal health insurance market.

Second, and on a more practical level, previous public options in other sectors have not fared so well. For example, the two public options in the mortgage industry – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – helped to create the housing bubble that resulted in the current international economic recession. By lowering lending requirements and handing out loans to severely under-qualified borrowers, these organizations bent to political pressures. That, in turn, helped bring about the “Great Recession” we are now suffering through. Will the health care public option likewise succumb to political pressures? The vast welfare system is the nameless, faceless “public option” of charity. Decades after it was introduced and billions of dollars later, many Americans still live in poverty. Will the health care “public option” fail just as miserably in its goal, wasting vast amounts of taxpayer resources in the process?

Furthermore, think about how well (or unwell) the federal government takes care of the responsibilities it already has. Just look at our crumbling interstate highway system and our nation’s deteriorating bridges. Consider how long it takes to get a pot hole fixed on your local highway. Now, what if it took that long for you to get the medical care you need? Do you think for some reason that a large federal health care bureaucracy will be more responsive than the large transportation bureaucracy? Finally, despite the ongoing rhetorical battle between the right and left over this issue, it is not one that should be viewed solely through the lens of Democrats versus Republicans. In fact, the liberals who believe in government right now – because the people they voted for are in power – should be cautious. They may be anxious to hand over their health care to the federal politicians now that Democrats like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Obama are in charge. But, if there’s one thing for certain about the political pendulum, it is that it always manages to swing back the other way.

Would the same liberals have been willing to turn over their health care to George W. Bush, former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert or former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist? Having turned over control of your personal health care to the government, there is nothing to prevent a conservative from one day taking office and changing things to meet his or her ideology. Are you prepared to reap what you have sown?

Long ago, the Trojans were deceived into believing they could have something (a large wooden horse) for nothing. Their blunder lives on in infamy. Will America succumb to the same fate, voluntarily surrendering our personal health care system for the Trojan horse known as the public option?