I Want the Weiner Plan

I'm still figuring out where I stand on the current incarnation of the Senate's health care bill. Nate Silver makes a pretty convincing case here, but on the other hand, Dr. Dean says "Kill the bill." So I'm torn.

In the meantime, I'll just point out how this debate has shown how much ideological ground is left entirely uncovered in our two-party system. The Democrats ruled out single payer from the get-go, and even failed to enact a public option that enjoyed the support of most of the population. The Republicans, meanwhile, demagogued on the specter of death panels and Medicare cuts, essentially freezing out the fiscal conservative voices of the party.

Under a more open system, I could definitely see a couple Greens, Socialists, and Libertarians making their way into Congress. You know, other than Bernie Sanders and Ron Paul.