Thanks for the read and comment!

In general, you're correct - Republicans have done very little, and most of what they've done is because it was politically expedient to do so.

Shortly after FDR left town, Republicans had to play the game, so they did, for awhile. Even Nixon proposed a national health care plan. I would argue that things went to hell when Reagan was elected. He managed to convince millions of people who might normally think otherwise that big government was bad, and that we don't need taxes to pay for things.