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Sometimes, the best thing to do with a child throwing a tantrum is to let them have it and wait for them to wear themselves out. Could the GOP-after voting to repeal Obamacare more than 50 times-have finally grown tired of its own screams? For the first time in quite some time, Republicans' congressional calendar over the next few weeks is clear of any hearings or votes about the health-care law. According to The Hill, "The lack of action highlights the GOP's struggle to adjust its message now that enrollment in the exchanges beat projections and the uninsured rate is going down."
- The reason? Sign-ups have beaten expectations, people are paying their premiums, and the rate of uninsured is plummeting. In total, 17.8 million people now have health-care coverage because of Obamacare.
- "There is absolutely zero evidence that any Republican is talking about Obamacare less," says the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Just like climate change, huh?
- It may be futile given conservatives' contempt for charts, graphs, and stats, but Jed Lewison has plotted mentions of the health-care law in Fox News transcripts, which shows a precipitous drop over the last few weeks.
- At The Washington Post, Greg Sargent goes over the latest polling, which shows Republicans-and only Republicans-want the health-care debate to continue and are convinced, all evidence to the contrary, that the law has failed. A solid 61 percent of Americans overall want to keep the law in place.
- But there's still plenty of moaning and groaning if you look at Senate primaries in places like Nebraska, notes the Washington Monthly's Ed Kilgore.
- Or perhaps it's just that Benghazi fever has taken over? No matter, writes Jason Easley at PoliticsUSA, "The louder that House Republicans scream about Benghazi, the more obvious their defeat on Obamacare becomes."
