Obamacare is doing pretty well.

The numbers aren't just better than they were this winter, they're better than many supporters of the ACA allowed themselves to hope they would be. 

The law is far from perfect. The rollout has not been flawless, either, even beyond the deliberate sabotage inflicted upon it in many states. 

But at this point, the unreconstructed failure narrative -- the essential GOP talking point of the past few years, rising in volume with the website fiasco late last year -- sounds like a press conference conducted by Baghdad Bob.

None of which necessarily gets Kay Hagan reelected.

But the good news on ACA -- which is to say, good news on healthcare and good news for millions of Americans -- doesn't just give Kay the green light on those Hal Riney-esque ads I've been pitching.

It creates a nasty wedge issue to use against her eventual opponent.

As noted here, "GOP [...] strategists have started to hint that flat opposition - repeal with no alternative that provides something like the same range of benefits - may no longer be viable from a political standpoint."

My guess is that a lot of hardcore Obamacare-haters in NC are not ready for that reality. So if Tillis is the nominee and mouths some ACA-lite platitudes, the base will be furious; if he tries a harder line, he risks his credibility with the rest of the voters.

And if Tillis is not the nominee, Hagan's chances look better from the start.

Comments

[Fec]

We cancelled all visits for Easter. The Teatards are very fragile right now.

[Fec]

The truth is I've been doing Obamacare victory laps around the house and the Wife is concerned.

[Fec]

I just think it would be really cool if sometime tomorrow, when the fat old racist farts are eating their Easter ham, someone got up and trotted around the dining room table in honor of the success of the ACA.

[Fec]

Who am I kidding? I'm still in trouble for suggesting that Jesus was gay at Xmas.