Government overreach is a term thrown around frequently by conservatives. To most of us it doesn’t mean very much–until our ox is gored. Well, today I stumbled across a story that illustrates the impact it has on all of us.

John Hinderacker posted a story at Power Line about a new book, Cardiac Arrest: Five Heart-Stopping Years as a CEO On the Feds’ Hit-List. The book was written by Howard Root, the founder and CEO of Vascular Solutions, Inc.

The article reports:

Howard was the founder and CEO of Vascular Solutions, Inc., a successful medical products company that was set up as a victim by Barack Obama’s hyper-politicized Department of Justice. For five years, Obama’s DOJ persecuted and harassed Howard and his company with bogus claims. Thankfully, Howard Root had both the financial resources and, more important, the courage–he was facing prison time–to stand up to the DOJ’s bullies.

Ultimately, a jury acquitted Howard and Vascular Solutions on all charges. One of the jurors wrote Howard to say that what the government tried to do to him was a disgrace. Still, Howard had to leave the medical products industry, as he knew that he could continue to be a target of vengeful prosecutors, to the detriment of the company that he had led since its founding. Last month, he sold Vascular Solutions.

Think about this for a moment. What if he had not had the financial resources to stand up to an overzealous Department of Justice? How much were the company and the products it sells impacted by the money that had to be diverted to legal expenses? Did the cost of the product sold increase because of the mounting legal expenses?  Isn’t it sad that an overzealous government agency can force a man to sell a business he has spent years building?