Don't Let Good Be the Enemy of Perfection

Stop it, please. Please don’t let the search for perfection get in the way of a good healthcare reform bill.

Today I received two emails. The first was from MoveOn.org asking me to vote on whether or not MoveOn should support a healthcare bill if it looks like President Obama's recent proposal. The second was from CREDO Action which stated, "If senators no longer support the public option, we need to hold them accountable," and they asked me to sign their petition to "hold the fire to their feet."

Listen, I would love a public option, actually, I think we need a single-payer healthcare system (like Medicare for everyone), but it is not going to happen this time around. There wouldn't be enough votes in the Senate to pass a bill with the public option.

Needless to say, I didn't sign CREDO Action's petition.

As for MoveOn's poll, I clicked on it and voted to support legislation if it looks like President Obama's recent proposal. I was shocked to read arguments from people who said that it is not liberal enough and isn't good enough.

That is the key word: "good." If you say it isn't good enough, then you are still saying it is, indeed, good. If we continue to scrap bills because they aren't good enough we will never pass a bill.

The fact of the matter is that this bill will cover millions of uninsured Americans; we shouldn't waste any time in covering those Americans. In the future, after we pass a healthcare bill, then let's fight for more reform; let's fight for a public option and a single-payer system. But for now let's work with what we can, and that is a bill without the public option and with some Republican ideas.

President Obama's proposal is good, it's an enormous step up from the status quo, and we’ll aim for perfection in the future, but for now, don't let good be the enemy of perfection.