Didn't work then. Not working now. And finally giving up.

Didn't work then. Not working now. And finally giving up.

Who could possibly have guessed that the reality of Obamacare—specifically, plummeting uninsurance rates and millions of newly insured Americans—would lead the GOP to back away from its anti-Obamacare campaign?

In April, anti-Obamacare advertising dwarfed all other spots in North Carolina. It accounted for 3,061, or 54 percent, of the 5,704 top five issue ads in North Carolina, according to Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group. By July, the numbers had reversed, with anti-Obamacare ads accounting for 971, or 27 percent, of the top issue ads, and the budget, government spending, jobs and unemployment accounting for 2,608, or 72 percent, of such ads, CMAG data show.

With Obamacare causing uninsurance rates to plummet and delivering insurance to millions of newly insured Americans, this is no surprise The numbers are clear:According to Bloomberg, the same thing is happening in Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, and in other competitive races around the country. And, as you might recall, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was ahead of the curve in Kentucky when he actually tried to claim that repealing Obamacare nationwide wouldn't undo his home state's implementation of the law.

The fact that Republicans are starting to walk away from Obamacare-bashing now that it's becoming reality is exactly what everyone paying attention to this should have expected. And the fact that it's happening should encourage Democrats to go on the offense: Republicans might not be spending as much money to advertise their support for repeal, but they still support repeal. And supporting repeal means that they want to repeal insurance from millions of Americans. That's not a good position to have when you're asking people for their votes, but the only way they're going to pay price for it is if Democrats make them pay a price.