Now, going back to the policy issues, the reason I don't fully oppose a federal health care option (note, not a mandate, an option) is that the health care industry is incredibly corrupt and efficient to an extent that truly boggles the mind. The reason we have very high health costs in this country is twofold. Reason number one is that health care in the United States is of a higher quality than everywhere else on Earth, which is a good thing. Reason number two is that health insurance providers and health care providers can get away with what amounts to systemic price gouging. And on top of that, many health insurance providers routinely decline to pay for items covered by policies purchased by lower-income families because they know that lower-income families cannot afford to sue them when they also have to pay medical expenses. Efforts to reform the health care industry have all failed spectacularly, and given a relative lack of options, I would not automatically dismiss the notion of a federal health care option that would present a degree of competition to health care providers, thus forcing prices down to fair market value. I don't like the idea much, but in the case of health care, it may well be that our current system is worse.

Also, the security of our border is an issue of national security. As the border region is a powder keg waiting to go off (well, maybe not waiting) and attempting to solve this issue at the local level could cause more problems than they solve. As the INS already has all the powers given to Arizona officers under the Arizona Immigration law, I'd prefer it if we'd just make them do their actual job, rather than muddle the situation further through varying local response.