September 10, 2013 12:20PM # Are Democrats and Republicans Colluding to Preserve Congress’ Obamacare Exemption? By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) --- SHARE I have [written](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/355176/congresss-obamacare-waiver-michael-f-cannon) about the special (and illegal) Obamacare exemption the president has granted Congress. It turns out, this exemption [polls](http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/blogs/run-silent-run-scared_753718.html?utm_medium=App.net&utm_source=PourOver) poorly. Opposition is north of 90 percent, unites Obamacare opponents and supporters, and has the potential to oust incumbents members of Congress who accept an special exemption that other Americans don’t get. You might think that Republican and Democratic party committees would be salivating at the prospect of using this issue to oust incumbents of the other party. At a minimum, you would think that Obamacare opponents (i.e., Republicans) would drive a wedge between the law’s supporters (i.e., Democrats) and the public by forcing supporters to vote on a measure eliminating the exemption. Doing so could elect more new Republicans in 2014 by allowing them attack incumbent Democrats thus: “My opponent voted for Obamacare, and then voted to give himself and his well-paid friends in Congress a special exemption that the people of this state/​district don’t get. That’s just wrong.” Yet it appears the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have [negotiated a truce](http://www.redstate.com/2013/08/06/sources-nrsc-and-dscc-declare-truce-on-obamacare-exemption-for-staffers/) on this issue. If true, both parties have agreed *not* to give voice to the will of the people by attacking members of the other party who consent to this special privilege granted to members of Congress. If true, it would confirm what I have [written](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/355176/congresss-obamacare-waiver-michael-f-cannon) previously: “America has a two-party system. But it’s not Republicans versus Democrats. It’s the ruling class — Republicans *and* Democrats — against everyone else.” I can hardly imagine a more powerful argument for allowing unlimited spending by independent groups to advocate the election or defeat of political candidates. That is, I can hardly imagine a more powerful argument against “campaign finance reform.” ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).