Years before "Obamacare," congressional Republicans saw political gold in expanding government's role in health care by adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul says the "Part D" drug benefit is a reminder that the GOP sometimes can't resist the temptation of big government.

"I'm not all that optimistic (about repealing the Democratic health care law) because when we did have the chance, when the Republicans were in charge, they actually expanded government health care with the prescription drug program," Paul said in a July 16, 2011, interview with the Nashua Telegraph in Derry, New Hampshire. "We've got a long way to go on that."

Because memories can be short, we thought it would be worthwhile to explore whether Paul was right that the GOP was responsible for such a big increase in government.