The game of politics can be called the game of payback.

Consider the process that has produced something called the American Health Care Act, the Republican-sponsored overhaul of the Affordable Care Act, which the GOP faithful says it wants to repeal.

In 2009, Republicans griped themselves hoarse over the way congressional Democrats “shoved the ACA down our throats.” They bitched that Democrats crafted the ACA in the “dead of night” and then, using their then-congressional majority, got it approved without a single Republican vote.

Fast-forward to 2017. Republicans now are in charge. They control Congress and one of their own occupies the White House. What do they do? They produce the AHCA also in the “dead of night” and then they try to cram it down Democrats’ throats without knowing how much it’s going to cost.

You see, the Congressional Budget Office — the non-partisan agency — hasn’t “scored” the AHCA. We don’t know how much impact it will have on the annual federal budget deficit.

Was it wrong for Democrats to flummox Republicans with a health care overhaul? Sure. Is it wrong now for Republicans do essentially the same thing to their “friends” on the other side of the aisle? Absolutely.

This is yet another demonstration of how much of a contact sport politics can become.

As for the CBO “scoring” of the AHCA, how about waiting to see how much it would cost Americans before putting it to a vote?