Let the games begin.

Proving that it’s never too early or too late for political theater, the major players are assuming their positions in the legislative circus: Republicans in this ring; Democrats opposite; and finally, occupying the center ring, the main attraction — health care.

Health care reform is being referred to as a “litmus test” for Congressional Democrats, some of whom show signs of harboring Presidential aspirations. Meanwhile, paralysis on the Republican side enables political loitering of the Affordable Care Act, in all its half-baked ineffectiveness.

The moment for “The ACA isn’t perfect, but it’s better than nothing” has passed. Most Americans want a better plan. Substantially better. Statistically better. Something more comprehensive and efficient. Universal healthcare, known as “Medicare for all” in its pithiest nomenclature, currently enjoys expansive renown. Polling confirms the popularity of “universal” health care expressed as “Medicare for all.” An April Economist poll put the percentage of supporters at 60 percent and named a plurality of Republicans in that figure; the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed a 53 percent level of support in July, and a Pew study mirrored the April 60 percent figure.

The difference between the present and four years ago is stark, not just in terms of statistical measures but also as seen in the extent of Congressional enthusiasm.

Bernie Sanders floated a single-payer proposal in 2013. It fell flat before an audience of Congressional cold shoulders. Not a single Democrat supported it. Presumably, voters weren’t ready for any non-corporate solutions to the health care crisis, especially ones involving government.

Are we ready now? Just last year, Hillary Clinton insisted we weren’t. Candidate Clinton’s proposals for gradual reform clashed with the “radical” rhetoric of candidate Sanders. Never mind that single-payer health care has been proposed for more than a century by the likes of Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Lyndon Johnson. Clinton supporters mounted a defense against Sanders’ “pie in the sky” socialism, decrying anything other than “incremental” adjustments to health care.

But has reform ever happened incrementally? Votes for women? Abolition of slavery?

At some point, someone has to make a “radical” change: A Constitutional Amendment; an Emancipation Proclamation.

Fast forward to this past July and Senator Steve Daines’ single-payer amendment to the Republican healthcare bill. The amendment was a ploy to expose Democratic opposition to this particular brand of health care, and it worked. The amendment sank with 57 no votes, including five from red-state Democrats. Unwilling to buck the electorate with a “nay” vote and loathe to buck corporate insurance with a “yes” vote, most of the Democratic caucus rendered a uniform, noncommittal vote of “Present.”

Political gamesmanship by the Republican caucus? Of course.

Political gamesmanship by the Democratic caucus? You bet.

But wait — it’s not over yet.

Now Bernie Sanders has introduced a “Medicare-for-all” bill that has key Democrats scrambling to reform their lackluster 2013 relationship with health care reform. Corey Booker, Kamala Harris, and Kirsten Gillibrand have signed on to support the Sanders bill. Coincidentally (or not), these three are all looking like Presidential contenders. Other newly-minted single-payer enthusiasts include Elizabeth Warren and Al Franken, themselves the subjects of Presidential buzz.

Wow, that’s a lot of sudden enlightenment! Here’s a brief review. 2013: “Medicare for All? No thanks.” 2016: “Health care reform must be gradual, incremental.” July, 2017: “We’d rather not say.” And finally, the present: “Well, it looks like more voters support it than not, so count us in.”

Congress is caught between a rock and a hard place. Whether they bear an R or a D after their names, our legislators know who butters their bread, and it isn’t us moneyless masses. Yet we are the chorus of citizens demanding that this nation catch up to the rest of the civilized world. Poll after poll bears that truth out. Can it be the legislative spotlight has finally reached the silhouetted masses occupying the periphery of the circus tent?

If that’s the case, let’s make sure the spotlight stays right there.

Renee Gravelle is a Dunkirk resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com