The good news is that outfits like the Concord Coalition (www.concord coalition.org) and Fixthedebt.org -- the offshoot of the Simpson-Bowles debt-reduction commission -- are attracting a larger following among the public and business interests -- in part because of the grass-roots efforts of folks like Henderson and Burdick. ... 

Sara Imhof, a onetime nurse and General Accounting Office analyst, worked with Burdick and Henderson as Midwest director of the coalition.

"The politics is still about bipartisan bickering." Imhof said. "Some Democrats say leave entitlements out of any bargain. Republicans say no more taxes. If politicians asked their constituents for shared sacrifice, I think the response would be good. We're encouraged by that."