Power to (a Few) People

   "There you go again." -- Ronald Reagan, during a televised campaign debate.

   Here we go again.
   The federal fiscal year ends in just two weeks, and there are signs that the GOP is going into reverse gear to shut down the government unless they get their way. And the hostage, again, is likely to be universal health care.

   My way or no way.

   Where is Mitt Romney, now that we need him? Why do we need him? To acknowledge that the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was based on a statewide universal care measure -- also known as Romneycare -- that he engineered for Massachusetts when he was governor. As a result of that program, fewer than 5 percent of that state's residents lack health insurance. Moreover, on a national level, we need him to acknowledge that universal, government-sponsored health care can work. It works in other countries with similar cultures, and there's no reason it can't work here.
   It's an easy step to conclude that the rest of the nation also wants in on such a program, which is now becoming available. And that's one reason why Romney lost the election.

   Reality, however, has seldom interfered with preconceived notions of extremists, whether on the Right or the Left. Witness the House vote 40 times over to repeal the Affordable Care Act, knowing such an effort is futile. What's up with that?
   Compromise, though sometimes harmful, is what helped form America -- indeed, compromise is crucial to any democratic society -- and continuing compromise is what enables government to function. Without compromise, government ceases to function.
   Now, because of an obdurate few, we have a dysfunctional government.