My must read of the day is Peggy Noonan's column "Now Is the Time to Delay Obamacare" in the Wall Street Journal:
Here is why the rollout is so damaging to Obamacare: because everyone in America knows we spent four years arguing about the law, that it sucked all the oxygen from the room, that it commanded all focus, that it blocked out other opportunities and initiatives, and that it caused so many searing arguments—mandatory contraceptive and abortifacient coverage for religious organizations that oppose those things, fears about the sharing of private medical information, fears of rising costs and lost coverage. Throughout the struggle the American people must have thought: "OK, at the end it's gotta be worth it, it's got to give me at least some benefits to justify all this drama." And at the end they tried to log in, register, and see their options, and found one big, frustrating, chaotic mess. As if for four years we all just wasted our time.
I never agreed with the logic behind the defunding endeavor. The Affordable Care Act was doing fine failing on its own, and if Republicans had waited a couple of weeks people would've seen their premiums increase, and that would have worked in party’s favor.
Instead, they went with what appears to be a largely symbolic government shutdown, and all they have to show for it at the moment is a 28 percent approval rating.
Regardless, Noonan makes a very valuable point through an anecdote about the "Tonight Show" and the Affordable Care Act. Despite this atrocious approval rating, the Republicans who believe this legislation is bad for the American people should not buy into the rhetoric that if the shutdown fails they've lost. Obamacare has proven on it's own that it is not the same law the Democrats and President Barack Obama have been guarding the past four years. It is filled with flaws that the public is now experiencing first hand.
It would be a huge mistake for Republicans to completely abandon the fight. Defunding it was never plausible, but delaying it is.
Should they negotiate? Yes, but don't give up the ship.