When Democrats elected Barack Obama president in 2008 they reached their modern-day zenith. Not only did they have a political rock star in the White House, they had a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate and firm control of the House.

Democrats could have done anything. What they did, however, was self-destruct. This took the form of passage of the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare to most. They passed it without a single Republican vote. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who was minority leader at the time, rightly coined it “the most toxic vote in modern political history.”

It has been often noted in the wake of President Donald Trump’s shocking defeat of Hillary Clinton in 2016 that Democrats lost a net 1,042 seats at the federal and state level after passing the health insurance law. In most of those GOP wins, Obama and Obamacare were the issue. Yet today, one gets the impression that Democrats have learned nothing from the experience.

An example is a story last week about radio attacks the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has mounted on Kentucky Republican Rep. Andy Barr. Barr represents Kentucky’s 6th District, which includes Lexington.

It is not surprising Democrats would target that district. It has changed hands between Democrats and Republicans several times since the 1980s. But what does surprise us is the basis of the attack: Barr’s vote to repeal and replace Obamacare.

We grant that polls have flipped on Obamacare since Trump’s election. Some features of the law are popular, such as the ability of children to remain on their parents’ policy until age 26.

But there are few places in the nation where Obamacare has done more damage to Democrats over time than Kentucky. Obama himself is so unpopular here that he nearly lost the 2012 primary to “uncommitted.” In fact, “uncommitted” beat the president in 67 of the state’s 120 counties. And that’s among Democrats.

Is saving Obamacare really the only thing Democrats have in the arsenal now? Is it that hard to come up with something new and exciting to voters?

There was a similar storyline recently on the national front. Reports surfaced last week that Trump did something little-seen under Obama. He called his de facto counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and asked if Schumer would be interested in trying to “do a great health care bill.”

It was we think a genuine invitation. Sadly, Schumer slapped it away. The New York senator said any attempt to replace Obamacare is “off the table.” Schumer says he will only entertain proposals to “fix” – i.e., throw more money at – the unfixable law.

We’ve all heard the saying about the definition of insanity: continuing to make the same mistake and expecting a different result. We find it incredible that Democrats are clinging to the ACA disaster in the belief it will somehow reverse their fortunes.

A frequent criticism of Democrats, including from within the party, in the wake of their disastrous loss in 2016 is that the party is mired in the past and has nothing new or compelling to offer voters. If the past few days are any indication, that hasn’t changed.