Starting over: Congress should take break, then get back to work

Someone needed to push the reset button.

So while there might be some people who are upset that after 16 days of shutdown and bickering, many members of Congress are heading home for a few days off, it is really good news that they are taking a break.

It is understandable that many people might want them to work without any time off, since the in-fighting and finger-pointing have inconvenienced many people in the last couple weeks.

But the truth is, this battle is not over yet -- and it shouldn't be.

We learned a lot during this shutdown.

First, we found out that Obamacare is not ready for implementation and that the idea of postponing its debut was not such a bad one after all.

We learned that politics is at the heart of this budget/health care debate and that the president and the Democratic caucus are about protecting their interest, not about making the system work.

And we learned that the Republicans still do not really have a united front or a coherent alternative when it comes to the Affordable Care Act.

And while we learned all this, something else fell by the wayside: The need to do something about this nation's ballooning debt.

That's a reality that is not going to go away -- no matter how much the politicians muddy the waters.

So, taking a break is a really good idea.

It clears the air; ends the strife; and gives members of Congress the chance to take a fresh look at the next looming deadline -- and to talk about the realities of a new health care law that the president feels he can alter at will, but for which he refuses to discuss any compromise.

We hope they learned something. We hope they come back fresh and ready to get to work.

And we hope that they can get a deal reached before another deadline is just days away.

Otherwise, we will be going through this all over again -- and no one wants that.

Published in Editorials on October 18, 2013 1:27 PM