If the health care law really is a starter home, then what President Obama has been doing is effectively letting the Republicans rip out the house’s copper plumbing to be sold as scrap for pennies on the dollar.

I have said before that I think this bill is deeply flawed and, most importantly, does not provide an clear pathway to eventually getting real reform. But now that this bill is the new reality, now is not the time to stop fighting. I do not plan to stop fighting until we have achieved real health care reform. Like it or not, we are effectively forced to work from this new starting point. All the groups that were saying this bill must pass because it is a “positive first step” now need to quickly begin preparing for the next step.