We have our first Republican taking credit for the health care reform bill!

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), who voted against the bill, has denounced it repeatedly, and who was a critical factor in gumming up negotiations in the Senate last summer, issued a press release today touting his authorship of an obscure provision in the bill:

In 2009, he drafted legislative reforms and succeeded in persuading the Democratic majority to include several of the reforms in the new health care law.

… that he then voted against!

It’s pretty remarkable that in this town Republican parliamentary tactics more appropriate for junior high school student council barely get passing notice or criticism. The truth is, in their heart of hearts, most reporters kind of admire the GOP for it.

So here’s where we are today. With real unemployment in the range of 20 percent, Senate Republicans are making Democrats vote over and over on “controversial” amendments to the reconciliation bill — not because they have any real chance of stopping the reconciliation bill, or of seeing their amendments passed, but because it allows them to produce TV attack ads for the fall.

Here’s our Top 10 Most Ridiculous GOP-Proposed Health Care Amendments, led by the esteemed Dr. Tom Coburn’s amendment to ban federal funding of Viagra for sex offenders.

Next time a Republican senator goes on TV and says that instead of reforming our health care system, President Obama should have been focusing on jobs, jobs, jobs, maybe someone can ask him or her what Senate Republicans spent most of this week doing. Just for grins.

Rep. Pete King says Republicans need to “avoid demonizing” the Health Care Reform bill. “Republicans tried that with Bill Clinton in 1998 during the whole Monica Lewinsky affair, and we ended up losing seats.”

To refresh your memory and to give him due credit, King was one of only a handful of Republicans (4, I believe) who voted against all articles of impeachment in 1998. For what it’s worth, I’ve always had a soft spot for King who, improbably, routinely manages to be both one of the craziest and one of the sanest Republicans in the House.

Another thing we’re watching is the rapidly growing cleavage among Republicans over repeal. Marco Rubio sent out a press release this morning challenging Charlie Crist to sign a “repeal” petition. And we’re seeing this ramping up all around the country. I suspect that like the constitutional challenges this is quickly going to become a litmus test among GOPers going into the 2010 election. But it’s a treacherous call for anyone trying to run in a statewide race.

Late Update: Didn’t take long. Crist’s on board for repeal.

Newt Gingrich proposes GOP strategy for defeating Health Care Reform: another government shut down once they retake the Congress in January 2011.

Having given up the fight to save America from medical socialism, Senate Republicans have opted instead to the final round into a new full-employment act for political ad makers. To finalize the reconciliation bill, Dems have to pass it through the process with zero amendments. With no real chance to stop anything Senate Republicans have decided to come up with the most preposterous amendments possible and then pocket the Dems’ no votes for the 30 second political ads this fall. Our favorite so far? Sen. Coburn’s amendment to ban health care exchanges from providing Viagra to sex offenders. Brian Beutler has the story.

Rachel Maddow’s special guest last night: Rachel Maddow, who dismissed Sen. Scott Brown’s claim that she’s running for Senate. Watch.

Writing in the New York Times, David Leonhardt calls health care reform “the federal government’s biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising more than three decades ago.” That and the day’s other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.

Orly Taitz — lawyer, dentist and birther queen — files suit challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform law: It violates my right to practice dentistry!

I’m sure the Republican attorneys general who also filed suit yesterday to invalidate the reform on constitutional grounds will be thrilled to have Taitz lined up with them. I’m looking forward to reading her friend of the court briefs.

As I noted over the weekend, the Republicans were just constantly trying to help Democrats out, warning them how bad it would be for them if they passed Reform. Clearly, the Democrats didn’t take that good advice and passed it anyway. Monday morning, they were back at it telling Dems it’s just going to be downright awful for them in November.

But now the bill’s signed. It’s law. It’s over. And they’re still saying how bad it’ll be. But, enough. Eventually you’ve to stop with the sizzle and deliver the steak — unless how bad Reform is for the Democrats is now actually the Republican campaign platform.

As I’ve said countless times, I don’t doubt this is going to be a rough election for the Dems. I know Reform could cost them their majorities (though I think unemployment is the much bigger factor). We all get that. But it’s time for Republicans to stop saying how bad it’s going to be and just go out and do it.

Make the arguments on substance. Not about how the bill filing wasn’t filled out with a No. 2 pencil or whatever other nonsense. They may not realize this: but the Republicans can’t run on how bad Reform is going to be for the Dems politically. That’s very meta, to put it mildly. You can’t be so transparently cynical with your riffs that they don’t even make sense on their own terms. They need to run on repeal. So, enough. The terms of the 2010 election are set. Stop puffing and threatening, shut up and bring it on.

Mitt Romney, April 11th, 2006: “Some of my libertarian friends balk at what looks like an individual mandate. But remember, someone has to pay for the health care that must, by law, be provided: Either the individual pays or the taxpayers pay. A free ride on government is not libertarian.”

Like I said, I think Mitt’s done. Unless Health Care Reform ends up having no part in the 2012 presidential election. And even if that’s true, too much of the early spadework for the nomination will have to be done in the period where the GOP is the anti-Health Care Reform party.

It’s like having to race the Indy 500 with your car backwards and driving in reverse. Just too much to overcome.

(ed.note: Special thanks to TPM Reader MB for the link.)