Paul Waldman asks the right question. Now that the Affordable Care Act is no longer a bugaboo and is becoming part of the landscape of everyone's files and family history, what's left for conservatives and extremists to wail about? Gay marriage? Oops: that's settled, too. Say! How 'bout finding a nice ground war? Does that get you goin'? ... Uh ...
Ted Cruz admitted to Sean Hannity back in July that "If we don't [defund Obamacare] now, in all likelihood, Obamacare will never, ever be repealed. Why is that? Because on January 1, the exchanges kick in, the subsidies kick in," and they'll be unable to take away something people are benefiting from. And he's surely not the only Republican who gets this, which is part of the explanation for the ferocity with which they're fighting now. But in our future scenario, the fight over the law will be basically over. There might be some debates about adjusting parts of the law, as Democrats will want to do, but that won't concern Republicans too much. Once there's no possibility left that it can be killed, they'll likely lose interest.
I think that's the most plausible picture of what things will be like in, say, 2015. The question is, if eventually they have no choice but to accept that the argument over the ACA is settled, what on earth will Republicans do with themselves? Because over the last four years, opposition to Obamacare has taken on such an extraordinary power within the movement that all other issues have paled before it.
Sure, they could revert to the old standbys—Cut taxes! Cut regulations! Strong defense! But those are just positions you can take. Obamacare was a war to be fought. And nothing galvanizes, energizes, and defines us like our wars. That's particularly true of the zealots who are driving the Republican party and form such a key part of its base. And if they aren't fighting Obamacare, who will they be? ...PaulWaldman,AmericanProspect
And, while we're asking questions, has it become "common knowledge" that Republicans will have majorities on both sides of the Hill come 2015? How do they get there? Sure, the phony Congressional districts give them some advantages, but I'm not so sure they'll get much else.
Women? Increasingly iffy. Minorities? Fuhgeddabahtit. What about people who are relieved to find themselves on Obamacare and realizing it works? Hey, and anyone else tired of fights and cliffs?
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You think Republicans aren't in that bad shape? The Hill has the latest poll:
CBS released parts of the poll earlier in the day, which found that the public blames Republicans more than Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown by a margin of 44 to 33.
The full poll reaffirms this in a number of ways – 72 percent said they disapprove of how Republicans are handling the negotiations, compared to 61 who disapprove of President Obama and the Democrats.
A plurality, 48 percent, also believe the Democrats are more concerned about what’s best for their families, compared to 37 for the GOP.
In addition, 61 percent said Republicans are only opposed to Democratic positions because of politics, rather than ideology.
The Republican position of using the shutdown as a bargaining chip to defund or dismantle ObamaCare is also deeply unpopular. ...The Hill
