It was hard not to feel hopeful on the first full day of the Americans for Prosperity annual “Defending the American Dream” summit.

On Friday afternoon, with the Capitol building in the background, our Missouri delegation, about 45 strong, was part of a throng of about 2,000 other like-minded activists, lifting our collective voices over health care – or the version that the Washington politicians and the Obama administration are trying to foist on us. We heard from a few people who put some important points in perspective, but from different perspectives.

First, there was Shona Holmes, a Canadian who was told that she would have had to wait months in country to get care for a brain tumor. For example, she was placed in months-long queue of other sick or potentially sick Canadians just to get an MRI. So Shona did what any sensible Canadian with means could do: She headed south to the United States for treatment.

It was hard listening to her story and not wonder: What is the crisis do we need to fight? (Indeed that point was made several hours later by conservative radio and television commentator Laura Ingraham, in a rousing, and oftentimes very funny talk.) Why is this country close to spending a trillion dollars or more to solve something that doesn’t need to be solved? And why would we want to seek a health care system that mimics Canada’s rationed, state-managed system?

We heard from Tracy Walsh, a breast cancer survivor from North Carolina, whose message was simple and profound: We must not switch to a health care system that limits patient choice. That’s the primary fear if the government gets deeply involved in health care. Eventually, the government, not patients and doctors, will set the standards of care. Choice would take a back seat to federal mandates and “oversight.”

After the rally, AFP-Missouri took a couple of side trips. We delivered a special video to U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. At her town meeting over the summer, the senator heard from many people, but there wasn’t enough time to listen to everyone. So we taped everyone who had a comment and gave the disc to her. She wasn’t around on Friday, but we’re confident she’ll get it. It’s important that the senator hear from everyone who has something to say.
After that, we took a side trip to Rep. Ike Skelton’s office. At least Sen. McCaskill held a town meeting. In his 30 years or so in office, Skelton has never held one. So we held one in his absence, and we had a disc for him to see.

The final, important business involved awarding Missouri activist of the year to Robert Brenner. This is a guy who’s there whenever you need him. There are a lot of terrific activists in our state who selflessly give their time and energy. Rob is a relative newcomer to this, but he’s taken to it with unbridled enthusiasm. He’s always there for us.

Rob was given his award at the end of Tribute to Ronald Reagan dinner.

I’ll have more to say about the dinner tomorrow.