Now or never

A TABLOID without a spread on Paris Hilton. A snowball in July. A humble Yankees fan.

Pick your metaphor. None would be as rare as the opportunity now presenting itself to the Democratic majorities in Congress and the California Legislature.

In each case, a Republican executive has signaled his eagerness to sign into law a long-standing progressive goal: President Bush on legalization for illegal immigrants, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on universal healthcare. That convergence represents a unique but fragile asset in today's polarized political culture. Both sides may regret it for years if they fumble these opportunities.

Failure might be most inexcusable in California. With both the state Senate and Assembly approving plans to significantly expand coverage, and Schwarzenegger committed to covering all of the uninsured, California could soon finalize the most comprehensive state-level plan yet to guarantee healthcare for all residents.

First, Schwarzenegger and state Democrats must resolve their differences. Last week, Democratic leaders merged competing Senate and Assembly health bills in a way that, on most key points, made it tougher for Schwarzenegger to accept.

Like Schwarzenegger, the legislators agreed to require employers who don't insure workers to pay a share of their payroll into a state fund that would subsidize coverage for the uninsured. But while Schwarzenegger set the fee too low at 4%, Democrats responded with an aggressive 7.5% rate guaranteed to inflame business opposition.

Democrats also rejected Schwarzenegger's proposal to match that employer mandate with an individual mandate, which would require all state residents to buy insurance. Liberal interests, led by labor unions, hate the idea because they consider it unfair to working families. But an individual mandate, if combined with state subsidies and limits on out-of-pocket expenses, could help cement a final agreement built on shared responsibility.

As they maneuver, both sides should remember that their decisions will reverberate far beyond the state. Success in California "would be the most significant thing to jolt the healthcare system" toward national reform, said Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, a major force in Democratic healthcare politics. Conversely, Stern notes, "If we have a California failure, it just adds to the weight of this being an issue no one can solve."