Happy New Year. Shoot a firecracker. Eat some black-eyed peas. Gird your loins for more expensive health insurance.

In this case, the latter is not equally the fault of all American politicians in their often-shared dysfunction, ineptitude, polarization, and devotion to self-interest and self-preservation.

In this case it's more the fault of Republicans in their simple indifference to whether people can afford health care. Such worrying is just not their thing, especially if it's going to cost them taxes.

"I will NEVER fight for Obamacare," wrote Tennessee Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles on social media last month. "I want to be the guy that kills it."

I don't get that attitude among compassionate, fair-minded people. I could get wanting to be the guy who fixes Obamacare. I could get wanting to be the guy to devise a new health-care business model for America. But I don't see anybody expressing even an idea about that.

Meanwhile, Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, was born 16 years ago of the long-held Democratic........

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