Mitch McConnell's biggest nightmare.

Mitch McConnell's biggest nightmare.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) are spearheading the effort to build a “grassroots army” to influence GOP leadership after entreaties to their colleagues fell short. So far, only 13 Senate Republicans have signed onto a plan to block any stopgap spending measure funding the government beyond Sept. 30 unless it cuts funding for the healthcare law. Supporters of the push are taking their message directly to the Republican base this month. They are promoting an online petition, http://www.dontfundobamacare.com, that has already gathered 217,578 signatures.

Reality? Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) want none of it Guess where Cruz is heading next to tout his big fight? Yep, Iowa. Because for Cruz and Rubio, this isn't about Obamacare. It's about the 2016 primaries, which makes the rivals curious allies against Mitch McConnell. And for him, it's all about 2014, as they very well know. The key to making their harebrained scheme to shutting down government is getting Kentucky to scare the shit out of McConnell and force him to go along with it.

All of which leaves the Republicans who have to think about their own hides, and what a government shutdown will to do their careers in the near future. And that makes Republicans like Rep. Frank Wolf (the ones who lived through Newt Gingrich's shutdown rodeo) desperate to convince the rabid base Cruz and Rubio are frothing up that they're just falling into Obama's trap. See, he wants to make Republicans shutdown government so that he can "stick it" to them and blame the whole catastrophe on them. It's the "Ma, he's making us hit ourselves!" theory of governance. Which makes Ted Cruz Obama's stooge.

Get out the popcorn. It's going to be an entertaining August.