Wonkbook: Obamacare is driving the GOP off a cliff

By Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas, WashPost, Updated: September 13, 2013

In 2010, congressional Democrats lost a lot of seats as a consequences of voting for Obamacare. The expectation was that much the same might happen in 2014, as the GOP took advantage of the various glitches and hiccups sure to manifest during the roll-out.

But congressional Republicans are increasingly worried that Obamacare is going to lead them to losses -- or at least stand in the way of key wins -- come 2014.

The issue isn't that Obamacare is suddenly popular. It's not. But it's so unpopular among Republicans that the party's right flank is embracing desperate and destructive tactics to oppose it.

Consider this sentence from today's Times: "Just five scheduled legislative days stand between the House and a government shutdown that has loomed for months. As of now, Republican leaders appear to have no idea how to stop it."

(More here.)