debacle of shutdown: @gop @DavidVitter demanded huge pay cut on their own staff #p2 #tcot

"This left House Republicans with one major final demand: to force a huge pay cut on their own staff.

Do I jest? Not at all. There is no better way to describe the "full Vitter," which refers not to some workplace colloquialism in the escort services of Washington, D.C. and Louisiana, but rather to Senator David Vitter's proposal to do away with the "Obamacare exemption" for Washington officials including members of Congress and most of their staff. The proposal polls great—why should congressmen get a special break? There's just one problem: the exemption doesn't actually exist. That Republicans have continued to milk it for cheap political points has been deeply depressing to watch. But it's also symbolically perfect that the great charade of this whole chapter in Washington should in the end come down to a demand that is so cynical and hollow that its only real impact is to force a pay cut upon members' own loyal and hard-working aides."

rest at http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115200/obamacare-exemption-and-full-vitter-republicans-shutdown-nadir