Re-elected House Speaker John Boehner is reportedly promising to fight President Obama over spending cuts and the debt ceiling. In order for that to happen, Boehner must not be afraid to say no and be portrayed as the cold-hearted bad buy who wants to grandma to eat dog food. He must also learn to passionately defend the virtue of self reliance and to point out the self-centered greediness of those who want fewer and fewer people to pay the freight while more and more people collect benefits. If Boehner can do that, this country will have a fighting chance. If he can’t, our current $16.4 trillion in debt is peanuts when compared with what’s to come in a country that has transformed itself into a welfare state that demonizes producers and assigns virtue to dependency. It is entirely possible to be a kind, compassionate nation that cares for its vulnerable and disabled without becoming a welfare state for the middle class and a public subsidy machine that enables crony capitalism. That is my hope for our country.