Republicans hate domestic spending, but their hatred is not completely indiscriminate — the general pattern is that social programs offend Republicans to the degree that they benefit the poor, sick, or otherwise unfortunate. Despite what conservatives want you to believe, this is not a fight about the role of government — conservatives have no trouble with government interventions they benefit from, but ask them to give up a dollar to help the less fortunate and it's another story. Atul Gawande on Obamacare rollout, Obamacare obstruction. You can't sabotage Obamacare and then whine about its glitches. This is what the Republicans were afraid of: Washington was shut down because Republicans don't want Obamacare — on the other hand, Obamacare was nearly shut down because so many Americans wanted Obamacare. Ezra Klein and Sarah Kliff on everything you need to know about buying insurance under Obamacare (and more). From TNR, why Obamacare is not the cause of Republican insanity; Mark Schmitt on what we need to fix Congress: More partisanship; and how the Radical Right has taken over Washington — here's how we get it back. This madness will never end: So long as there's a Democrat in the White House, the fever will never break. Larry Bartels on how Americans are more conservative than they have been in decades (and more: “We're still living with the toxic political legacy of 9/11”).
