In the fall of 2013, Rep. Jack Kingston committed political heresy. Speaking to a local conservative radio station, the then-Republican House member from Georgia said that it would be irresponsible for his party to just let Obamacare fail. Rather, he encouraged his colleagues to coalesce around a replacement and, if needed, incorporate parts of the president's healthcare law if they worked.
This, of course, is an eminently rational position to hold. Why would Congress scrap a policy -- even small bits of it -- if it was working? But Kingston wasn't operating in a rational world. He was in the midst of a crowded primary fight to replace retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga). Kingston didn't have to wait long to find out the damage that he had done to his campaign.
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