Have Republicans finally surrendered on ObamaCare?

Sen. Rand Paul
(Image credit: (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))

After more than 50 failed attempts at repealing the Affordable Care Act, it seems Republicans are quietly changing their message on President Obama's signature health care law.

Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-Wash.), one of the GOP leaders of the multi-year repeal effort, told the Spokane Spokesman-Review over the weekend that it's unlikely the health care law will be repealed now that more than 600,000 Washington residents have signed up for health care insurance on the state exchange.

She added: "We need to look at reforming the exchanges."

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Meanwhile, The Hill notes that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told students at Harvard last week that repealing the law is increasingly unlikely.

Said Paul: "I think it's going to be difficult to turn the clock back. People get assumed and accustomed to receiving things, particularly things that they get for free."

These comments echo the sentiments of many other Republicans who have watched more than eight million Americans sign up for health insurance through the law and millions more receive health coverage under an expanded Medicaid program.

ObamaCare may still not be a very popular law — and the debate will continue to rage on — but it's becoming clear that repealing it is becoming even more unpopular.

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won — Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA TodayBoston Globe, San Francisco ChronicleChicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.