RUSH: Some Dingy Harry staffers are going to be exempt from Obamacare?
You know the only place you want to be with this health care jazz? You want to work for government. That’s where you don’t have to play ball. That’s where you get subsidized, that’s where you’re exempted, that’s where you don’t have to participate in it. From CNN: Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, one of Obamacare’s architects and staunchest supporters, is also the only top congressional leader to exempt some of his staff from having to buy insurance through the law’s new exchanges.
“Reid is the exception among the other top congressional leaders. GOP House Speaker John Boehner, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have all directed their staffs to join the exchange, their aides said.” Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell have all directed their staff to join the exchanges. Dingy Harry says (paraphrased), “I’m not putting my people in there! I want ’em to stay working for me. I can’t have ’em go to the exchanges and get ticked off and leave. I can’t pay ’em enough for them to go there.”
He doesn’t say that, but that’s obviously what he means. I got a sound bite when we get to the roster. It’s another Obama supporter, another woman, who thought Obamacare was a miracle, and now she can’t afford it, and she’s flummoxed. She doesn’t understand. (interruption) Look, I know it is.
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Yeah, you could say Dingy Harry is trying to undo the law of the land.
There’s no question.
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RUSH: I want to go back to something I mentioned earlier in the program. “Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, one of Obamacare’s architects and staunchest supporters, is also the only top congressional leader to exempt some of his staff from having to buy insurance through the law’s new exchanges. Reid is the exception among the other top congressional leaders.” This is a CNN story, by the way. “In the charged atmosphere surrounding Obamacare, Reid’s decision only gives Republicans more ammo to attack Democrats already suffering politically from the law’s botched rollout.”
You know, the people who wrote this law, the people who promoted it, the people who are out there actively trumpeting this law, are the first ones to exempt themselves from it. They’re the first ones to demand subsidies to help them pay for it, when they earn $175,000 a year. Now, it’s amazing and it’s a great illustration. They write laws for the rest of us, but they exempt themselves.
Now, there’s a thing called the Grassley provision of Obamacare, and here’s what it says in its entirety. “Enrollment by Members of Congress and Congressional Employees. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning July 1, 2013, Members of Congress and congressional employees would be required to use their employer contribution (adjusted for age rating) to purchase coverage through a state-based exchange, rather than using the traditional Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan.”
There is nothing in there about an exception for staffers. It says members of Congress and congressional employees. That CNN piece that I’ve got here says, “In September, Reid told reporters, ‘Let’s stop these really juvenile political games — the one dealing with health care for senators and House members and our staff. We are going to be part of exchanges, that’s what the law says and we’ll be part of that.'” That’s what he said back in September. Harry Reid has exempted his staffers from having to go to the Obamacare exchanges. It’s typical. It’s par for the course.
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