As I am writing this, the debate over current health insurance reform legislation is coming into the home stretch. By the time this runs, it will be over, and you, the five faithful readers I have, will be looking at it from a perspective either of elation or disappointment.

As I watch the final shots fire off from both sides of the debate, it becomes painfully clear that there will be fights like the one we have witnessed over the past year throughout President Obama’s time in the Oval Office.

Conservative objection to health reform started early, and forced Democratic leadership to relent on attempts to implement a public option system of coverage. One would think that after such a significant victory, the opposition would be open to some kind of compromise. But, sadly, this hasn’t been the case.

Congressional Republicans continue their collective vow to oppose health reform, no matter the changes that have resulted. At a time when millions of Americans go uninsured, to say that no change to the system is needed is ignorant, though, thankfully, that absurd idea is only stated outright on the talk shows. Frustratingly, none of the other reasons for opposing reform seem to have gelled into a coherent set of complaints.

Prominent conservatives have insisted on a few occasions that whatever legislation Democrats are supporting is a give to insurance companies. But, these complaints are rarely accompanied with anything resembling reason to back it up. Perhaps this is because insurance companies will be harmed by the major changes. The initial plan, featuring a public option, would have created a tough new competitor for existing companies, and even further revisions have placed blocks on rate hikes. Aside from that, even the most recent version of the bill has included a provision banning companies from denying coverage based on patients’ preexisting conditions, a personal favorite of mine.

The constant screams of reform being too expensive are far more reasonable. But, even still, the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan entity, recently published a report saying that the current version of the bill would reduce the national deficit by over $100 billion during the next decade.

With this, and other arguments in mind (the point is now moot until the next time health reform comes up), I just have to worry about the tone of future major debates in Congress. Progressives have been frustrated both by conservative obstructionists and moderates looking for favors in return for votes. Conservatives will either be terrified of what else the Obama administration might push through, or emboldened to block everything significant on its agenda, regardless of the benefits.

Maybe I’m just cynical. No matter how the current reform debate goes, people are more galvanized about it as an issue than they ever have been in this country. That, in itself, should guarantee progress. We can only hope that those who continue to stand in the way of health care reform do so for a better reason than the sake of perpetuating partisan conflict.

— Cohen is a senior from Topeka in political science.