Members of Congress and aides who worked so hard to pass ObamaCare are engaged in behind-the-scenes talks to obtain exemptions for themselves from the law that will affect each and every one of the rest of us.
I’ve several times referred lately to tax-dodger Leona Helmsley’s famous statement that taxes were for “little people.” Looks like congressional leaders think the same of ObamaCare.
Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.
The talks — which involve Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Obama administration and other top lawmakers — are extraordinarily sensitive, with both sides acutely aware of the potential for political fallout from giving carve-outs from the hugely controversial law to 535 lawmakers and thousands of their aides. Discussions have stretched out for months, sources said.
Although ObamaCare was passed without GOP votes, it still became the law of the land. It is absolutely disgusting that GOP members seek to be exempted from something the rest of us must accept. You can even make an argument that, if GOP lawmakers are exempted, they will have less familiarity with how awful ObamaCare is and thus less urgency about rectifying the dire situation for the rest of us.
The GOP justification for special treatment for Congress is pathetic:
When asked about the high-level bipartisan talks, Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesman, said: “The speaker’s objective is to spare the entire country from the ravages of the president’s health care law. He is approached daily by American citizens, including members of Congress and staff, who want to be freed from its mandates. If the speaker has the opportunity to save anyone from Obamacare, he will.”
Sorry, but I want Congress in the same leaky boat I’m in on the sea of ObamaCare. Only if they experience it on a daily basis, as the rest of us must, do I trust them to try to remedy the law. Congress should not start with saving itself but should turn its attention to saving the nation at large from a terrible system.
Politico goes on to say:
There is concern in some quarters that the provision requiring lawmakers and staffers to join the exchanges, if it isn’t revised, could lead to a “brain drain” on Capitol Hill, as several sources close to the talks put it.
Now there’s a scary thought.