What do hookers have to do with ObamaCare? Absolutely nothing — unless you’re a Democrat desperate to stave off an effort to force Congress to live under the same ObamaCare it has inflicted on the nation.
The amendment comes from Louisiana Sen. David Vitter. It would repeal a White House administrative ruling that provides members of Congress and their staffers with a special subsidy for their health-care costs under ObamaCare. Since their employer is the government, you the taxpayer will be paying for this special subsidy.
The Republican’s amendment would end ObamaCare exemptions and taxpayer subsidies for Congress, and he is demanding an up-or-down floor vote. But Democrats are afraid to make a public argument for special treatment. Instead, they are threatening to introduce their own amendment, which would cut off health-care subsidies for any senator who solicited prostitutes.
This is an unsubtle reference to the 2007 sex scandal in which Vitter’s contact info was found among the phone records of a DC madam. In other words, the Democrats propose to blackmail Vitter into backing down.
We hope they don’t succeed, because Vitter’s point here is spot on: “Those who make the laws should be subject to the laws they make.” And the fastest way to fix ObamaCare’s flaws is to ensure that Congress feels them as sharply and as personally as every other American.