Ayotte calls for ObamaCare 'time out': How long can Dems do nothing?

It's easy to scoff when a northeastern squish like Kelly Ayotte calls on Democrats to accept a "time out" on ObamaCare, whatever that means. After all, if establishment types like her hadn't run for the tall grass when Ted Cruz and House Republicans were trying to use their leverage to force changes before implementation, we might have avoided the cancellation notices, the web site disaster, etc.

Then again, you could argue that Democrats were so committed to ObamaCare, and so convinced they would "win" the political showdown, there was nothing anyone could do to get them to budge on it. Is that still true, even as the true nature of the thing is becoming clear and their lies about it are collapsing all around them? Reuters:

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"Why not convene a group to see how we can work together, on issues like the 29-hour workweek ... people being denied their current plans, issues like rising healthcare costs?" said Ayotte. "The administration, in the way this is being rolled out, is a mess." On Wednesday Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will face angry Republicans such as Ayotte when she testifies before the Senate Finance Committee about the online federal insurance exchange. The site, where individuals from 36 states can purchase health insurance, is a key component of the law passed more than three years ago. Some states operate their own exchanges. Within hours of the state and federal exchanges going live on October 1, the federal site hit snags. The problems have persisted. From late Saturday through early Sunday, the Department of Health and Human Services took the site offline for "extended maintenance." As members of Obama's administration rushed to apologize and promise improvements by the end of November, new complaints have emerged that there are no conclusive measures of how many people used the site and that insurance companies have canceled policies, forcing people into the exchanges. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that in 2010 administration aides such as healthcare adviser Zeke Emanuel and Larry Summers, then director of the National Economic Council, warned no one was "up to the task" of constructing the exchanges and carrying out the law. Fear of Republican opposition caused agencies to slow down or keep secret their on-the-ground work, according to the newspaper.

The Democrats were very effective holding together their troops before ObamaCare implementation started. They could keep insisting it was going to be the greatest thing ever, and while Republicans were warning of disaster, that was easy to dismiss as partisan rhetoric so long as the MSM didn't treat the issues Republicans were raising as serious and worth exploring. And the MSM did not do that. It merely focused on who was winning the political battle, which is a self-fulfilling prophecy because the political winner is usually whoever benefits from the spin the media decides to put on the issue. Democrats could hold firm and give away nothing. Republicans would eventually cave. The media would write stories about the Democrats' "victory" and write stories speculating about whether "public anger at Republicans for the shutdown" would throw the House to Democrats in 2014. Then something happens that completely blows up this narrative. The ObamaCare rollout actually begins. And it's, um, not good. Obama's lie about letting people keep plans they like is exposed. Premiums soar. The web site is an unmitigated disaster. More people are losing their coverage than signing up for new coverage under ObamaCare. Government incompetence suddenly becomes a problem for Democrats because it's not just happening inside the stately buildings of Washington D.C. It's now having a direct and disastrous effect on real people - exactly the opposite of what Democrats promised, and exactly in line with what Republicans predicted. In this environment, can Democrats continue to just sit there and insist that nothing be changed? It's no longer about who's winning the spin war. It's about the damage being felt directly by real people. It's no longer a matter of rhetorical back-and-forth whether ObamaCare is good or bad. It's a matter of experiential evidence that ObamaCare is terrible. In calling for a "time out," Kelly Ayotte's leverage is not a budget deadline or the debt ceiling. It's what's happening to real people. The problem is this: She's thinking too small. The only solution to this mess is repeal. And even if you don't think you can get that, it should absolutely be your opening demand. There was always a plurality of the public that wanted ObamaCare repealed. Don't you think, in the current environment, that will turn very quickly into a majority? And how exactly will Obama, Reid and Pelosi defend their determination to keep this train rolling toward the edge of the cliff? They can't for long. If you think the electorate had a conniption fit in 2010 when they only suspected ObamaCare would be terrible, what do you think they'll do in 2014 when they know it is?