The Plot Thickens...

Our first real blog post is conveniently timed just after Obama's speech Wednesday evening. This has been a tough month, as no actual legislating work could possibly proceed as Congress was on its August recess.

Now, with Labor Day over and our various representatives reconvening in Washington, we should set the stage for what could potentially be an enlightening speech to a joint session of Congress.

• Our senators and House reps spent their summer vacations being shouted at by the most fired up of their constituents. Democrats managed to lose more ground in what was already an uphill battle for moderate votes as "government-run takeover" talking points proliferated and were promptly yelled at representatives across the nation.


• A robust, "immediate" (in 2013, that is) public-option is seeming more and more unlikely. What was once described by the White House as a "necessary" part of reform has been relegated to merely "a good tool."


• Polarization is tumbling along at an alarming rate. We have the most liberal House members digging in their heels FOR a public option, while many moderate senators have declared total opposition to such a plan. Each representative that takes an uncompromising, make-or-break position damages these efforts of bipartisanship that they all profess to crave so deeply.

So, each day we are seeing the debate crystallize while the possibility of an actual compromise arising continues to diminish. If we proceed along the current path, we will end up at a disappointing choice of outcomes: an incredibly-weak bill(albeit one that might be a compromise! Huzzah!), a steam-rolled bill shoved through the reconciliation process, or no bill at all and an utter loss of confidence in the Democratic administration and Congress.
...and the health care situation will not be solved by any stretch.

So, the ball is in your court, Mr. President. For all the flashy CNN graphics declaring August to be "HEALTHCARE MAKE-OR-BREAK MONTH," this is the last chance before any hope of effective reform rolls off the cliff. Obama doesn't seem to be planning to present a full bill on Wednesday(login required for link), yet without a definite road map the constant back and forth that is tearing apart any congressional collaboration will continue.

It's go time!