but, let's take a step back on this.

we know that the koch brothers are not stupid people, at least. so, if we take them at face value - and let's keep in mind that these people are all about choices. as neil peart said, even if you haven't made a choice, you've still made a choice. my dad was a rush fan, and i made fun of him every day for it. - we're left to believe that they made the following choice:

instead of:

(a) incrementally repealing obamacare. i mean, maybe the ahca wasn't what they wanted but it was a step in the direction they wanted, right? they could come back for the kill, later.

they chose...

(b) vote against an incremental repeal, and instead do nothing.

maybe the thinking is that they're waiting for donald trump to create a fourth branch of government, so that they can dominate that in 2018.

considering that we know they're not stupid, we have to conclude their hearts weren't really into it - that they never intended to do this, and the whole thing was a ploy.

i saw this from a distance because i understand that the political system is all theatre. the system is designed to prevent any kind of real democracy by continually confusing and distracting people. and, they always get what they want.

they wanted obamacare, and they got it and now you're stuck with it.

as an aside, as a canadian, this was one of a small number of issues that actually affects me. if this is shutting down, it's going to remove a big part of my interest in american politics - or at least until the next cycle, when i throw my support behind a single-payer candidate.