Two things:

The blueprint for the ACA came directly from the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank. The insurance companies weren’t about to forego their billions were the government to have instituted a true government takeover of healthcare in the form of single-payer. I agree it’s a mess, but the Republicans have not bothered to draft an alternative in nearly 8 years. Which brings me to the other point:

Is it not more than a few Republicans who have stated that the “single greatest threat to America” is homosexuality and gay marriage? Not the economy, not government waste and spending, not terrorism, but something that affects perhaps 2% of the population? This is also the party who has uttered ludicrous statements about rape and its consequences, and wants to mandate the birth of unwanted children while simultaneously removing supports for these children. Rick Santorum, who said “single moms are causing the country to fall apart” has even floated the idea that a woman who is raped should be required to carry the product of a rape to term because, as he crassly puts it, “since all life is a gift from God, she should make the best of a bad situation”. He finds single moms problematic, but would demand pregnant single women be prevented from obtaining abortions.

I maintain that the focus on the courting of single issue “morals voters” by the Republican Party as evidenced by its nearly obsessive need to scare and distract its constituents is incredibly problematic. They want their supporters believing gays want to try and convert straight people to homosexuals, and that gay marriage is more of an attack on the so-called sanctity of marriage than many of the days-long heterosexual marriages that regularly make the news. All the while offering no real solutions for healthcare, job creation, fair taxation, Wall Street and banking reform, and of course immigration.