The American Health Care Act (AHCA) has sparked a fierce debate online, in the media, and among policymakers: Is health care a right all people are entitled to?

https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/841049916113739780

https://twitter.com/mitch_huested/status/841761199922462720

https://twitter.com/activist360/status/841446665127153664

https://twitter.com/GeorgeTakei/status/839510413721145345

https://twitter.com/Gormogons/status/841672733893238784

Former Senator Gary Hart, who co-chaired the United States Commission on National Security, spoke last Friday at a luncheon of The Denver Forum.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, in introducing the senator, said, “Gary Hart is one of our wisest public servants.”

No thoughtful person would challenge that.

No one.

Gary Hart served the people of Colorado and America for 12 years in the United States Senate. He’s the author of 21 books, holds degrees from both Yale Law and Yale Divinity, and a Ph.D from Oxford in England.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was, perhaps, one of the most unusual governors in any state’s history -- but not just because he was a celebrity weightlifter and movie star. He was also extremely nonpartisan.

Whether he was “successful" as the "Governator" of California is up for debate. But what isn’t up for debate is his steadfast support for reforms that try to reduce the level of hyper-partisanship that pervades politics these days.

Closed party primaries have shifted political power from mainstream Americans to the lunatic fringes of both major political parties. Each party has a large, though not necessarily majority, percentage of activists that demand extreme responses to public policy issues.

When closed primaries are held, even relatively small groups have dramatically enhanced influence over the outcomes. This is true even when gerrymandering is not an issue.