“Not all of the opposition to the health care law comes from the right,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “Thirty-eight percent say they oppose the law because it’s too liberal, but 17% say they oppose it because it’s not liberal enough. That means more than half the public either favors Obamacare, or opposes it because it doesn’t go far enough.”

To buttress this interpretation of the polling, a 53 percent majority also believes that they, their family or others have benefited from the ACA, compared with 44 percent who insist the law hasn’t helped anyone at all (a ludicrous and obviously ideological view when you come to think of it). That’s one more reason why the sudden threat by literalist judges, preferring to interpret a few words rather than an entire law, is not such a great thing for the GOP. Stripping millions of health insurance means confronting that 57 percent.

And that’s why I remain befuddled by the lack-luster Democratic message machine in this summer before the mid-terms. On so many issues, the Democrats are ahead: on healthcare, on climate change (63 percent backing Obama’s stance on carbon dioxide emissions and fuel emission standards), on marriage equality (55 percent support) and on a non-interventionist foreign policy (65 percent want the current or less involvement with Ukraine-Russia, for example). I find it hard to understand why a political party with all these advantages has to play defense in the upcoming elections. Maybe a Republican over-reach on the ACA may stir their base. But what about their feckless leaders?