How the GOP can milk ObamaCare's failure for all it's worth

Republicans stand to benefit politically from the website's disastrous launch… if they can avoid overreaching

Healthcare.gov contractors
(Image credit: (Alex Wong/Getty Images))

Only a week ago, Republicans were at a nadir. The party's seemingly quixotic focus on repealing ObamaCare had dragged it into a deeply unpopular fiscal showdown. Polls showed the public overwhelmingly blaming the GOP for the shutdown crisis, dragging the party's approval rating down to historic lows. Many asked if Republicans could lose control of the House in 2014.

But now, the disastrous rollout of Heathcare.gov has fallen into the party's lap like manna from heaven. What was initially reported to be teething problems turned out to be integral, systemic errors in the site's architecture. The White House has been forced to do the unthinkable and extend the enrollment period to buy health insurance through the federal exchange, giving Americans six extra weeks to sign up before being taxed for not doing so. It's not quite a delay to the mandate, but it's a step in the right direction as far as the GOP is concerned.

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Dan Stewart is a senior editor at The Week magazine. Originally from the U.K., he has been living in the United States since 2009.