A new CNN poll is out.

Strikingly, it shows that only 39% of Americans support all or most of Obamacare, which is drastically below the 51% mark the same polling found at the beginning of the year. More and more Americans see themselves, their family members, and friends losing jobs, losing benefits, and losing security. But Republicans refuse to fight to defund the legislation.

We are reduced again to Senator Mitch McConnell engaged in head pats for conservatives designed to generate seal claps from activists.

Senators McConnell, along with Senators Cornyn of Texas, Coburn of Oklahoma, Coats of Indiana, Alexander of Tennessee, and Barrasso of Wyoming have decided to put forward an amendment to delay Obamacare. The amendment would attach to an energy bill pending before the Senate.

None of these Senators wants to actually fight to defund Obamacare. None of them are willing to risk a government shutdown and blame. They are convinced they will lose. So instead, they are going to pat conservatives on the head and say, “See this — we’re going to put an amendment sure to fail on a piece of legislation.” They expect conservatives will bark like seals and clap for them.

Heat pats and seal claps is what we’ve come to with Republicans in Washington. They dangle shiny objects in front of conservatives to distract them from Republican failure to fight, then they pat conservatives on the head and except those conservatives to clap like seals presented with a shiny silver fish.

Mitch McConnell, Eric Cantor, Pete Sessions, Lamar Alexander, John Cornyn and so many more of the Republicans in Washington want the voters back home, gearing up for elections, to think they are fighting Obamacare.

The reality is they are surrendering. Many of these politicians have primary candidates. Until we collect their scalps by replacing them in primaries absolutely nothing will change. Only 39% of Americans like Obamacare and the GOP will do nothing more than symbolically vote it to death.

Pathetic.