My first thoughts as I sat down at my computer this morning revolved around the attempted coup, or insurrection, or sedition, or whatever you want to call the storming of the U.S. Capitol back on Jan. 6. I planned on writing about how so many commentators were getting the lessons of that day exactly wrong (a tad arrogant of me, I know). Far too many talked about the close call we had in almost losing democracy when the mob of selfie-taking bullies invaded that sacred space. 

I had planned on droning on about how, rather than almost losing democracy that day, we actually saw how strong our nation’s system of government really is. Democracy is not a building, and while the mob attacked the Capitol and stole lecterns, door signs, and envelopes, they utterly failed in their goal of keeping former President Trump in office. The system worked, albeit messily and loudly. But at the end of the day, literally, the seditionists were ejected from the grounds of the Capitol and many now face very serious criminal charges – hardly what they expected as they thought they were acting on Trump’s orders. The Senate and House resumed their business and certified Joe Biden’s win in the election. That day showed us villains and heroes, bravery, and cowardice. The American experiment in democracy faced another test and passed. Huzzah for democracy.

But I’m not going to write about that…

Instead, I want to write about my old boss, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, and his proposed legislation to create a “health force” of sorts, as explained in a recent Colorado Politics story. I’ve written before about Bennet and his quiet yet powerful work behind the scenes to improve the health of those in Colorado and around the nation. Bennet (who I’ve heard explain many times spells his name “wrong” with only one T) is what we old retired political science professors call a “workhorse.” Those types of senators don’t really care that much about being in the spotlight, but rather care about getting things done. There are workhorses on both sides of the aisle, and while they don’t necessarily avoid attention from the media, neither do they seek it out as the lifeblood of their time in office. Bennet, working with other senators, has introduced a bill that would fundamentally shift how our national health infrastructure works. And in the time of COVID, we really do need a new approach.

Trump, whether out of indifference or spite, showed us what happens when a global pandemic hits and you just, well, pretty much ignore it. Sure, there were some efforts made, and lots and lots of briefings about things like injecting bleach and wearing a mask if you felt like it, but there was no coherent national strategy. The Trump pandemic team wanted states to compete with each other, or at least was OK with such competition, over PPE and other vitally needed supplies. Heck, our own governor decried Colorado’s loss of ventilators and more due to such bizarre and contrived rivalries. 

Bennet’s bill would recognize that which Trump never seems to have understood: pandemics are, well, pan, as in all over the place. The virus does not respect state borders. Shorting Colorado on supplies in order to score some political points elsewhere is not only bad policy, it is potentially deadly.

Bennet’s proposal would recognize the national dimension of such struggles and would embrace a national approach. And before my friends on the right decry nationalizing such efforts with shouts of “state’s rights” and such, please recall that after 9/11, then-President Bush recognized the piecemeal and fractured approach a number of national security-related agencies had taken, and created the Department of Homeland Security, to create a national strategy. Pandemics deserve nothing less, especially one that is each day claiming as many American lives as were lost on that one horrible day in 2001.

Not every problem requires a national response. The Founders were wise to create a system of federalism, wherein the various levels of government – national, state, and local – would each have their own specific areas of responsibility. That is why your county fixes your potholes and your local board of education controls your schools, and a national army protects you from invasion. But clearly some issues truly do need a national response, and health care is one of them. 

I’ve made no secret of my admiration of my old boss. Bennet has a passion to serve the people of Colorado and the nation, and even when you disagree with him, I would hope you would see that workhorse mentality. While Ted Cruz and his ilk posture in front of TV cameras, Bennet got to work. And note that this is a re-introduction of the health force legislation. Under the previous GOP-controlled Senate, Bennet’s bill was dead on arrival. Why? Well, not on the merits, that’s for sure. But with Moscow Mitch now (and I really like typing this) the “minority leader,” there is a good chance Bennet’s bill will get a fair hearing and heck, might even become law. 

The proposal is not free, with an estimated price tag of $40 billion per year. But that’s a bargain if it dramatically reduces health care cost in the U.S., to say nothing of saving lives. Now that the Republicans are in the minority, I suspect they will suddenly remember that they oppose deficit spending. But hopefully a few will think of the greater good and will support the revamping of our health care system that is addressed by the Bennet bill and is so keenly needed.

Ted Cruz won’t support it, but maybe he’ll miss the debate because he heard there was a TV camera outside the chamber.