The healthcare debate: What does it portend for future legislation?

When I worked in the Senate for Idaho’s Frank Church, it was a very different
place. There were still very strongly held opinions on both sides, but there
was a sense of camaraderie and fairness. There was, most importantly, a driving
desire to get things done, to solve the critical problems the nation faced. That
often meant real coalitions and real compromise in order to pass legislation,
not just score political points.
 
What bothers me about what we have experienced this past year is that the
future could get worse. Approval of Congress is below 20 percent — AIG probably
does better than that! So few people have confidence that Washington can solve
the big problems, they have almost given up. And so have many in Congress.
 
Think about it. How will we solve the problem of our budget deficits when we
won’t attack entitlements? Or won’t reform the tax system? We know where Social
Security is headed. And Medicare. We know pension and retirement savings are
terribly underfunded. We know our education system is slipping badly. We know
our states are going broke and cuts are on the way for essential services — firing
teachers, shutting down schools, laying off police and firefighters. We have
put off infrastructure changes, such as the building of high-speed rail, for
decades.
 
Can Washington tackle these problems head on, or will it kick the can down the
road, play politics, watch the pendulum swing back and forth so fast it can’t
help but create voter whiplash? Will we actually fan voter anger in this town
because we fail to confront these tough problems? The public is asking the very
simple question: “Why did we elect you in the first place if you aren’t going
to deal with energy and the environment, entitlements and deficits, Social
Security and Medicare, education and infrastructure, Wall Street and the
economy?”
 
Sure, the problems are not easy, but they are going to get a heck of a lot
harder as each year passes and Washington is paralyzed. We better find the key
to the gridlock. Voters have had it, and it isn’t about Democrats or
Republicans, it is about the system not working.