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The Repeal Fantasy

Looks like an uphill fight even within the Republican Party, reports Suzy Khimm:

Before the health care vote, the GOP position was one of all-out opposition to the bill—House Republican leader John Boehner described the legislation as "armageddon" that "will ruin our country." But Guthrie is not the only conservative expressing qualms about his party's stampede to reject the legislation outright—raising questions about whether Republicans can pull off a "throw-the-whole-thing out" strategy.
Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, the poster boy for the conservative insurgency, said on Monday that he wasn't sure whether he'd support overturning the health care law, calling moves to do so "a little premature." As ThinkProgress notes, Rep. Phil Gringrey (R-Ga.) told CNN's Rick Sanchez that he "does not want" to throw out everything in the bill, noting there are many provisions—including health insurance exchanges, electronic medical records, greater coverage for dependents, expanded Medicaid, and increased consumer protections—that he supports. Rudy Giuliani, speaking on MSNBC Tuesday morning, also opposed repealing the bill. And the Chamber of Commerce—the business lobby group which often backs conservative causes and which spent some $144 million campaigning against health care reform—has said it won't support a GOP effort to throw out the legislation.

Of course, you're seeing a lot of defiant, macho rhetoric from the base about repeal. I hope the party follows along. I doubt it will, though.