In all the ways that Congress and the Donald Trump administration have tried to depress participation in the Affordable Care Act individual markets, they are actively trying to make the nation worse, in hopes that some good will come of it eventually.
As I've said all year, and as far back as Barack Obama's first term, the best option all along for Republicans on health care may well be to just call "Obamacare" something else and call it a day a "pretend and rename" strategy.
It's not too late to avoid the trap, or at least the worst of it. Yes, if the bill dies in the Senate, Mitch McConnell and some or all Republican senators will take the blame and some Republican activists may hold it against them.
What if the Supreme Court rules against the government in King v. Burwell, and the Obamacare subsidies end in states that have chosen not to set up health care exchanges?
If Republications win the King vs. Burwell case regarding PPACA, will Republicans in Congress find their constituents demanding a solution to the loss of Obamacare?
We don't know whether the Supreme Court's decision in the King case will be to take away subsidies for people who signed up for insurance through healthcare.gov, the exchanges. If that is what happens, however, the legislative politics of a fix are increasingly clear.