Republican candidate Jesse Kelly, who is facing Democrat Ron Barber in the special election to complete Gabby Giffords' congressional term, is getting national attention today for his statement that health care is a privilege to be earned, rather than a right. Along the way, Kelly expresses his standard belief that health care, like everything else, would be better if government had no involvement at all. Kelly's words:

My belief system is this. The health care for anybody but especially for our nation. The highest quality and lowest cost can only be delivered without the government. What I believe is that all things we drive, we do, health care, anything, is a privilege to some extent. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, those are inalienable rights endowed by your creator. If you’re claiming a right, if you’re going to say anything’s a right, if you’re going to say you have a right to a cell phone, then who has the responsibility to pay for it? That’s what I believe.

Wonkette compares Kelly to Miss South Carolina Teen USA.