Big day today. First day of the Vermont Health Connect website.

And yes, there were some glitches. Slow logons, failures to connect.

But quite a few people actually got on board. There was no cataclysmic crash, no utter failure to launch. Which, if there’s any justice in the world, ought to drive the final nail in the coffin of Randy Brock’s political career.

Because, in a much-publicized opinion piece on VTDigger last weekend he said, and I quote, “The system doesn’t work.”

Yeah, you wish.  

It’s too bad that Brock is reduced to hoping for the complete collapse of health care reform. (And Darcie “Hack” Johnston is reduced to running ads seeking a delay in VHC’s launch, since she has no hope of defeating it.) But it’s the only card in his deck. The only chance for him, or any other Republican, to run a competitive race against Governor Shumlin in 2014 is if VHC goes bust.

On Day One, that seems highly unlikely.

As for the glitches, they are to be expected. This is a huge, complicated transition. Made necessary, lest we forget, by the real failure of the current health care system to (a) provide coverage to all Americans, or even get close, and (b) bring costs under control. You wanna talk glitches, just take a close look at that hot mess.  

Imagine health care as a cracked-up, pothole-ridden highway littered with hubcaps and other automotive detritus. The period up to October 1 was the reconstruction of the highway. And while the new route reopened on time, the work isn’t quite done. A few bumps, lines not yet painted, rumble strips and guardrails still being installed. That’s where we’re at today.

And I’ll gladly accept a bumpy transition if the result is a smooth, broad Health Care Highway that can provide care for a lot more people at a reasonable cost.

And, as Governor Shumlin keeps promising, that will be a temporary measure on the way to single-payer health care. On Day One, glitches notwithstanding, I’d say we are well on our way.