At least Republicans think they're doing a good job.

At least Republicans think they're doing a good job.

The Kaiser Family Foundation poll for August and September takes a deep dive into November's election, attempting to drill down to what matters most to voters this cycle, and what role the Affordable Care Act might play.

The answer seems to be, "not much of one." After a peak of bad numbers for Obamacare support in July, the approval/disapproval numbers have settled back to the range they've been in for a couple of years now—35/47. Those numbers are highly partisan, as usual, and a rabid minority of 33 percent says the whole thing should be repealed.

But when they get to the actual election, Obamacare fades as an issue, with the economy and jobs a much larger priority.



Asked to name in their own words the two most important issues in deciding their vote for Congress, the most frequently-mentioned issue is the economy and jobs (21 percent). Thirteen percent of voters name health care as a top issue, including just 3 percent who specifically mention the Affordable Care Act. Those who view the law favorably are about equally likely to mention health care as a top issue in their vote as are those with an unfavorable view (12 percent versus 15 percent). […] Looking at registered voters by party identification, the economy is the most frequently mentioned voting issue among Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike. While health care ranks second and is mentioned by a similar share of Democrats (15 percent) and Republicans (16 percent), it ranks further down the list and is mentioned by a smaller share of independent voters (9 percent).

Then you get to a really telling part of the survey, where Democrats and independents alike rank dissatisfaction with government as their third priority. It doesn't even show up as a concern for Republicans.Republican voters don't see any problem at all with government being crippled and totally dysfunctional. They like it that way, apparently. Which makes Sen. Ted Cruz's posturing over a potential shutdown of government to block President Obama from taking executive action on immigration seem a little less out there. Republicans want a broken country. Cruz will deliver.