Monday, January 24, 2011

Stephen Moore: GOP ‘Hypocritical’ For Taking Gov’t Health Care, They ‘Should Give Up Their Pension’ Too

By Ben Armbruster

Seeming to maintain a consistant position on the issue, several GOP lawmakers who campaigned on and support repealing the new health care reform law have turned down their federally subsidized health insurance plans. ABC News reports that 14 House Republicans have waived their federal plans. All 242 House Republicans voted to repeal the law last week, leaving dozens, if not hundreds, more GOPers benefiting from government subsidized health care while voting to repeal it for everyone else. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) said last week that this “could be” hypocritical. But on the online-only “Overtime” segment of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, conservative commentator and Wall Street Journal editorial board member Stephen Moore went a bit further:

MAHER: Isn’t it hypocritical of Congress to repeal the health care reform bill but not their own government health care? Now, I don’t know how you can defend that as not hypocritcal.

MOORE: It’s hypocritical. … Repeal both.

MAHER: Really? Repeal both. You think they should’ve given up their health care?

MOORE: Yeah. The Congress should give up their pension, their health care, all those things.

MAHER: That’ll make you popular on Captitol Hill.

Watch it:

Today on a local radio show, freshman Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) — a fierce opponent of the new health care law — said that she will participate in the government plan because, otherwise, it’s too “expensive.” “Unfortunately, being here in Washington is very expensive,” Ellmers said, who is set to make $174,000 this year. “Yes we do have a salary and we do have benefits. It costs a lot of money to be here. I’ve signed on to the private plan, just like so many in America are on. The benefit is available to me. People need to understand out there it costs a lot money to be here in Congress.”

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