Victory over Obamacare -- By Lewis K. Uhler and Peter J. Ferrara, The Washington Times

(Illustration by Greg Groesch, The Washington Times)

Last Friday’s vote in the House to defund Obamacare in the continuing resolution was heroic, but it failed to meet the test of a successful military commander going into battle: Choose the “killing ground” and timing that favors your success, and make sure you have superior numbers (votes) and firepower (public support) to achieve victory.

The House continuing resolution will go to the Senate where, inevitably, Obamacare funding will be restored, and the measure will be sent to conference or returned to the House. What is the exit strategy for Republicans that can produce victory, short of shutting down the government, which may snatch defeat from the jaws of victory for 2014?

A successful strategy involves two distinct steps: First, the House should revise the resolution to focus defunding and Obamacare amendments on politically vulnerable, highly unpopular features of Obamacare, forcing the Senate to vote on whether to restore such gruesome elements of Obamacare. These would include:

• Defunding any role of the Internal Revenue Service in administering Obamacare or gathering medical and other data on citizens.

• Eliminating the exemption from Obamacare for members of Congress and their staffs illegally authorized by the Obama administration, which a recent poll by Independent Women’s Voice showed is opposed by more than 90 percent of voters.

• Eliminating funding ($15 million) for the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which has the power under Obamacare to cut Medicare benefits further without congressional approval.

• Eliminate Obamacare’s political-crony funding ($67 million) for La Raza, Organizing for America, Planned Parenthood, and other Obama Democrat partisan groups to serve as “navigators” to promote Obamacare to the public.

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