In other words, Republicans oppose Obama’s policies, not the man, because they believe the president will so inexorably change the structure of our social and economic system by mandating and punishing human behavior that nothing less than individual freedom is at stake. Under present circumstances, this hardly seems delusional. Does anyone really believe that subsidized policyholders with preexisting conditions won’t eventually face other mandates and penalties related to their lifestyle choices?

Finally, Democrats incessantly seize upon their prize trophy: The U.S. Supreme Court validated Obamacare. True-ish. The high court didn’t endorse Obamacare as a good idea. It didn’t even find the individual mandate constitutional. It ruled that the mandate/penalty is constitutional only if the penalty is viewed as a “tax.” If one were to examine this gift horse’s mouth, one would have to note that, funny, but throughout the health-care debate and oral arguments, and even now, Democrats have insisted that the penalty is not a tax. Paging George Orwell.

Whether the ACA survives the new timetable remains an open question. The plan sinks or swims on the basis of young, healthy people signing up, which, for now, they cannot do except in dribs and drabs. Further, the ACA clearly needed the canceled policyholders to buy new, more expensive policies to underwrite subsidies and preexisting conditions.