So in a battle to save the country from the alleged “catastrophe” of Obamacare, the GOP has decided to risk pushing the country to the unpredictable brink of a real catastrophe, a default, and, in return, get … a punt on the debt ceiling and c0ntinuing funding the government at current levels. But wait! There’s something vital left for them to save face!
What many seek is a provision that would eliminate government contributions to the health plans for members of Congress and their staff members — as well as for the president, vice president and members of the cabinet — who would obtain their insurance through the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act. The sticking point for many conservatives is the exception for Congressional staff members, as a plan endorsed earlier by House leadership contained. That idea was borrowed from Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, and it passed in the House but was later stripped by the Senate…
Under a wrinkle that dates back to enactment of the law, members of Congress and thousands of their aides are required to get their coverage through the insurance exchanges. The proposal floated by Republicans would eliminate the federal government’s share of the premiums for coverage.
A wrinkle in the healthcare law that affects an infinitesimal number of people, in the grand scheme of things, is apparently a must-have for the GOP. It would make their Democratic colleagues and their aides pay more in premiums under Obamacare.
Or to put it in more explicable terms: “Nyah. Nyah.”
Seriously, this is the level of pettiness involved here, even as the hours tick by before a potentially crippling default on the country’s debt. Plus: we all have to go through another government shutdown just before Christmas, if they don’t let more from this adolescent hostage taking.
Hats off to Robert Costa who seems to have a channel to the GOP deliberations. But, Jesus, check out this quote he just got:
“The leaders are giving us one more chance to get something passed out of the House before the Senate does its thing,” says a veteran House Republican. “I think we’ll get it through, at least that’s my sense of things now. We want to do something that marks our position, so we don’t end up swallowing whatever terrible bait the Senate casts our way. Now, I know, and the majority of us know, that this is futile. But believe me, even getting to 218 on this plan will be an achievement.”
“I know, and the majority of us know, that this is futile …” Just think about what that says about how this “veteran” of the House views the crazies now holding the country and the world hostage; and what it says about the coherence of the GOP House majority. This is why the world is watching the US right now with a mixture of terror and resignation. This is the way a great power dies, isn’t it?
(Photo: Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) joins other Republican members of Congress while they hold a press conference on the Vitter Amendment as the U.S. legislative body remains gridlocked over legislation to continue funding the federal government on September 30, 2013. By Win McNamee/Getty Images.)
The Dish 