The New York Times has a great little piece about Earl Blumenauer, a liberal congressman from Portland, Oregon. Blumenauer was one of the earliest supporters of Senator Obama’s bid for the Presidency and he is one of the strongest supporters of the public option. In the article Blumenauer talks about his upcoming vote on health care legislation and whether he could vote for a bill that falls short of his wish, “It is still something that I am struggling with.”
But the nut of the article talks about the problems that liberals and progressives are having in Washington today, but also the light at the end of the tunnel.
“We are going to be working on climate, on health care, on the economy for every minute of the next two Congresses and beyond,” he said. “Will the public be patient enough? Will the political process hold together?
“This is not going to be easy,” he said, “but I think we are seeing a process that makes me actually optimistic, even though it is not exactly like I would have liked.”