The Great Debate

William McGurn says liberals have won the arguments about whether less advantaged people deserve help. The remaining debate with conservatives, and it's a big one, is how it's done. The GOP's proposed Medicare reforms are an example:

[Rep. Paul] Ryan proposes a simple but dramatic shift: helping people afford private coverage. Under this reformed system, seniors would have their private premiums subsidized, and the poorest would get the largest subsidies. The hope is that over time it would have the opposite effect of the present system. Instead of increasing the dependence of the middle class, it would help make all seniors consumers.

Same with Richard Nixon's health care proposals in the 1970s, which would have enabled virtually all workers to purchase private health insurance. They were torpedoed by Ted Kennedy, who held out all his life for for a single-payer system.
Hat tip to Buddy Lang