The battle for the soul of the Republican Party has been cast as between "conservatives" and "moderates," between "grassroots" and "the establishment," "Tea Party" and "RINOs." While we sort of know what we mean by all of that, those labels are imprecise, and often get in the way. The battle is between people who believe strategy trumps ideology, and those who believe ideals are paramount. It's between the Realists and the Idealists. If the Party is to survive, it's a battle that both sides must win.

The technical problems with the implementation of the (Abdominable) Affordable Care Act are becoming the stuff of legend. The entire thing should be rebuilt. But that will not save the ACA, because the underlying policies and political pressures that have caused the problems are even worse than the systems so far created to deliver it.

America deserves a strong leader during the government shutdown, not one who merely allows us to stumble along, doing whatever we want in the middle of the greatest crisis of all time. President Obama should take the threat to his credibility seriously, and not allow Americans to lose sight of the central role of government in their lives.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) responded to a question about funding for children's cancer research by asking, "Why would we do that?" Republicans pounced on the remark as evidence that Reid cared less for sick children than for his own partisan position. While Reid tried to recover from the gaffe, what he says he really meant was just as bad, or perhaps worse: he wanted to fund cancer trials, but wouldn't unless the House accepted everything else he wanted. In effect, he is holding every program hostage until he gets his way.

The Obamacare individual mandate will disproportionately affect those who can least afford it. Rather than simply allow people to buy health insurance if they wish to do so, the "Affordable Care Act" imposes a fine if you don't. But for many people without means, the insurance, even with subsidies, will be too expensive. The law amounts to a tax on being poor -- a Poor Tax.

Many have said that once Obamacare gets rolling and the subsidies start flowing that repealing the law will be impossible. In fact, that's become conventional wisdom.

Senator Ted Cruz took to the floor of the US Senate yesterday just shortly after 2:30pm ET. His primary goals were to highlight the failures of ObamaCare, reading examples from real people all over America and talk about the importance of removing the funding for Obamacare. Senator Cruz spoke about the effect Obamacare on the American Dream -- and that people scared of standing up for their beliefs should remember how much more difficult things can be if they don't.   

The current fight to defund Obamacare seems incomprehensible to many inside the Beltway. They explain with pious snark and dismissive ridicule that it is not a fight that can be won. They say that despite the federal government needing the House's approval to spend money, the House's approval is not really needed for the federal government to spend money. Well, the House's approval is needed, and Republicans won the House two elections in a row. This defunding CR should have happened in January, 2011. It should happen now.

Now that the House has voted to fully fund the government while refusing to pay for any part of the monstrous Obamacare, I'd like to rise in defense of the anarchy that passing this bill will bring.

As part of the complex montrosity known as Obamacare, people signing up for health insurance can have the help of Navigators - people with little training or experience wading through the most complex law ever passed. The manual for the program describes a system that will lead to privacy violations, personal embarrassment, and identity theft.