Wamp: Healthcare a ‘privilege;’ Obama plan ‘step toward socialism’

Healthcare is a privilege, not a right, Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) said Thursday, while arguing that President Obama’s healthcare plan is a “major step toward socialism.”

“This is almost class warfare for him in order to be able to say ‘everyone now has healthcare,'” Wamp said today on MSNBC. “Healthcare is a privilege…for everyone, frankly, it’s not necessarily a right.”

Wamp, a rumored candidate for governor of Tennessee in 2010, harshly criticized the administration’s proposed healthcare reform package and its price tag.

“It’s probably the next major step toward socialism,” he alleged. “I hate to sound so harsh, but this is another at least trillion-dollar proposal.”

“This literally is a fast march toward socialism, where the government is bigger than the private sector in our country, and healthcare is the next major step,” Wamp added. “Just because Republicans made a lot of mistakes doesn’t mean it’s okay for Democrats to make those same mistakes times five or times ten.”

Yesterday, Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) similarly criticized the Obama administration’s economic plans, characterizing them as aiding a slide toward a dystopian society as depicted in the novel “Atlas Shrugged.”