re: #137 SixDegrees

True, that. But someone told me today that Republicans had inserted an amendment to the health care bill that made participation by members of Congress and the rest of government mandatory. Does anyone know if this is true? Because if inserted into the bill, it would almost certainly spell it’s defeat; they couldn’t insert enough lard in it to both ensure their own standard of care and keep the already stratospheric price tag from exploding beyond belief.

Congress has a nasty habit of explicitly exempting itself from it’s own regulations. 68 degree thermostat settings in Federal buildings? Not in the halls of Congress, by explicit exemption. Affirmative Action quotas? Not for Congressional staffers, by explicit exemption. Mandatory low-flush toilets? Not in Congressional restrooms, by explicit exemption. And on and on. You can be sure they’ll be trying like crazy to exempt themselves from the provisions of this bill, as well, and the citizenry needs to yell long and loud that they’re not going to stand for a system designed for thee, but not for me.

I don’t know if that’s the case. Be interesting to find out. I’d be perfectly happy to see them opt to use private health plans if they wished.