(Reuters) - Just a few short weeks ago, Republican elders could only hope that time would make voters forget about the government shutdown the party engineered in October.
Now, with millions of Americans in an uproar over health insurance policies canceled because of President Barack Obama's health care law, Republicans believe they could seize control of the Senate and build on their majority in the House of Representatives in the November 2014 congressional elections.
Republican strategist Karl Rove, architect of George W. Bush's two presidential victories, said Obamacare could hurt Democratic candidates more than in 2010.
"In 2014, it's likely to be a bigger, more obvious and equally deadly issue for Democrats, especially incumbent Democrats in red, even purple states and districts who voted for the monstrosity," he told Reuters.