Staff Reports
On November 20, 2025, Vice President J.D. Vance made it plain in a Breitbart fireside chat that the current healthcare system is “screwed up for the American people” and that Democrats “broke it.” He quoted President Trump as saying “we need to fix it, so let’s go and do it. Politics be damned,” a welcome break from the usual Washington cowardice that cowers from tackling real problems. Vance’s bluntness is exactly what the moment demands — honesty, not the usual political spin.
Americans are living the result of that broken system: sky-high premiums, dwindling access, and bureaucratic nightmares at every turn. Analysts warned that if enhanced ACA subsidies expire at the end of 2025, millions will face steep premium hikes and even sticker shock that could reach into triple digits for many families, a direct consequence of policies that patched problems instead of fixing them. Every hardworking family deserves concrete relief, not political theater from the party that created the mess.
Vance didn’t just complain — he recounted that Democrats even came to the Oval Office asking for fixes after creating the problem, then walked away and shut the government down rather than negotiate in good faith. That shutdown — the longest in modern history — proved once again that the left prefers headlines over solutions, weaponizing Americans’ pain for political leverage. If Democrats want to help, the door is open; if they prefer obstruction, they’ll own the fallout.
President Trump and his team deserve credit for saying they won’t be paralyzed by the so-called “graveyard” of healthcare politics and for floating a plan that could win broad support if Democrats are serious. Conservatives should stop treating healthcare like an electoral boogeyman and start treating it like what it is: a life-or-death pocketbook issue for families across the country. Returning power and money to patients, encouraging market competition, and cutting bureaucratic red tape should be conservative priorities, not political liabilities.
Republicans must seize this moment with policies that actually lower costs: price transparency, interstate plans, medical malpractice reform, and expanded Health Savings Accounts are commonsense reforms that help patients and protect taxpayers. We shouldn’t accept half-measures or the status quo of rising costs and shrinking access; conservative governance is about delivering results for real Americans, not bowing to the Washington consensus. Now is the time to put principles into practice and stop pretending politics trumps people.
This is about defending the dignity and financial security of hardworking Americans who get up early, pay their bills, and expect their government to work for them. Vance’s straight talk should be a rallying cry for the conservative movement — fix the system, cut the cost, and hold the architects of the mess accountable. If Republicans deliver a real plan and force Democrats to either help or own the consequences, voters will reward leadership over excuses.
