The government shutdown is behind us, but the Republicans, it seems, still can’t let Obamacare live. “Now, they’re focussing on the problems with the rollout,” Ryan Lizza says. “They’re not really talking—at least in Congress—about defunding Obamacare, although there’s still a little bit of talk about delaying the individual mandate. … What is the point of that oversight? Is it to fix it? To expose how the exchanges can get up and running in a better way?” Lizza joins Amy Davidson, John Cassidy, and host Dorothy Wickenden on this week’s Political Scene podcast to talk about the health-care law and the political battles on the horizon.
Aside from the issues with Healthcare.gov, though, Davidson notes that there actually isn’t much for the G.O.P. to grab onto. “A lot of Obamacare is already rolled out—the end on restrictions on preëxisting conditions, keeping young people on their parents’ health insurance until they’re twenty-six—and is working quite well.”
In politics, though, it can take some time for realities to set in. “My pet theory,” Cassidy says, “that it takes three defeats to turn a party around seems to be playing out well here.” If you’re waiting for a more moderate Republican Party, try setting your clock for 2016.
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