Paul Krugman definitively proves something in his column today – he is such an intellectual lightweight that he does not understand one of the basic tenets of conservatism.

Most conservatives are more careful than Mr. Kristol. They try to preserve the appearance that they really do care about those less fortunate than themselves. But the truth is that they aren’t bothered by the fact that almost nine million children in America lack health insurance. They don’t think it’s a problem.

Actually, Paul, most of us do think it is a problem. Indeed, I’d argue that all of us agree that it is a problem. Where we depart company with you and your fellow socialists is on the solution to the problem. You think that government is the one-size-fits-all solution to this and every other “crisis” that you and your fellow left-wingers discover in the world. We recognize that the private sector, either through business or private charity, can solve these problems easier and more efficiently – and often has in the past.

As one example, consider the fact that most of the hospitals in most communities around the country have (or had) religious ties. They were, at their outset, hospitals designed to provide care to both paying customers and to charity cases who could not afford treatment. What happened? Government happened, and with the advent of Medicare and Medicaid these hospitals were relegated to government contractor status that undercut that charitable mission. After all, government imposed regulations imposed great limits on free and reduced-price care for private individuals – because that discount given to a poor family would become the benchmark from which all payments from government would be determined. As the 800-pound gorilla in the room, Big Government is able to demand – and legislatively enforce – the most favorable terms on its own behalf, and if that means that St. Miscellaneous Hospital is no longer able to engage in the sort of charity it used to, that is just too bad. And if the cost in red-tape and paperwork increases the cost of medical care for all of us, to the liberal that just proves how badly government needs to be involved in a field where it had no business in the first place.

Krugman, of course, isn’t content to merely disagree with his opponents, or even to misrepresent their ideology. Instead, he ascribes moral and psychological deficits.

What’s happening, presumably, is that modern movement conservatism attracts a certain personality type. If you identify with the downtrodden, even a little, you don’t belong. If you think ridicule is an appropriate response to other peoples’ woes, you fit right in.

And Republican disillusionment with Mr. Bush does not appear to signal any change in that regard. On the contrary, the leading candidates for the Republican nomination have gone out of their way to condemn “socialism,” which is G.O.P.-speak for any attempt to help the less fortunate.

So once again, if you’re poor or you’re sick or you don’t have health insurance, remember this: these people think your problems are funny.

As, opposed, to the Left, which tends to attract megalomaniacs who believe they should control the lives and destinies of others, and weak, dependent personalities who are psychologically inclined to accept such domination. So if you are poor, or sick, or without insurance, remember this: these people think you are children to be coddled and slaves to be controlled.

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