I'm trying to understand the conservative mind:

It's okay for healthy young people to choose, and not be required, to get health care insurance. There's nothing wrong with those who are healthy and become sick to freeload off those of us who are responsible and pay health care premiums. That's freedom.

It's not okay for healthy down on their luck people to live on food stamps, use section 8 vouchers and be on welfare. They're wrong to be freeloading off those who are responsible enough to have jobs and bring in a paycheck. Freeloading in this case is bad.

or...

People should be free to smoke anywhere they want to, and higher taxes only penalize the poor smoker.

Yet people who smoke and don't take care of themselves are making our health care costs rise to new heights. If we only got people to live healthier lives, and stop smoking, we could bring down costs.

How can they miss the contradictions?