Why the GOP is so frantic over Obamacare

I've been racking my brains trying to figure out just what the Republican obsession is with Obamacare and why they seem so adamant about repealing it. They're even threatening to do the unthinkable - destroy the American economy - if Democrats and Obama don't agree to their demands.

While repealing Obamacare has certainly ranked near the top of their to do list since the 2010 midterms - let's not forget the House did pass 40 repeal bills - even throughout the tumultuous debt ceiling fiasco in 2011, they weren't prepared to go all in on repeal.

But now that the law is set to go live, they're absolutely frantic about repeal. In fact, that's practically all you hear from them these days. The Party that couldn't talk enough about balanced budgets has suddenly developed an acute case of repeal turrets.

And I know why. Basically, the GOP is scared shitless that this law that they've railed against for three years might actually be a success. And if it is indeed a success, if, as it turns out, insurance costs go down, as they appear to be doing in many states, and the law works as it was intended, they are finished nationally as a party and they know it. Their only hope is to either delay its implementation, which was what Eric Cantor was trying to do, or flat out repeal it, which is what the bulk of the House Republicans are pushing for.

Think about it for a moment. If you knew that your political opponent had passed a piece of legislation that was an unmitigated disaster - I believe the term Republicans are using these days is trainwreck - what would you do? Well I know what I would do. I would shout as loud as I could about how awful I thought it was, then I would get out of the way and let it become law, knowing that once it fell flat on its face, I could rush in, do my "I told you so" routine and then defeat them in the next election cycle.

That is what shrewd politicians do for a living; they feast on the mistakes of their opponents. The reason Democrats swept into power in '06 and '08 was due principally to the disastrous presidency of George Walker Bush.

But the strategy being employed by Republicans, particularly House Republicans, has nothing to do with shrewdness. In fact, just the opposite. It suggests that the GOP knows full well that their time is running out. Once Obamacare is fully implemented, it will be too late to stop it. So they are literally betting the ranch on this one last-ditch effort at repeal that will enable them to save face, not only with their base, but with the rest of the country.

Rather than just admit the obvious - that they were wrong all along about this healthcare law, and that it isn't the end of civilization as we know it - they would rather take the whole damn country down with them in a ball of flames.

Proverbs 16:18 says "pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." King Solomon may have been the wisest man who ever lived in his day, but I doubt that the GOP is capable of heeding his warning.