CNN is dinging Sen. Ted Cruz for “going on Obamacare” despite his opposition to the law.
But the attempt to portray his health insurance arrangement as somehow hypocritical is silly.
Cruz has been on the policy of his wife, who works for Goldman Sachs, but she’s going on unpaid leave during his presidential campaign, so she won’t be able to collect benefits.
Now, Cruz told CNN, “We’ll be getting new health insurance and we’ll presumably do it through my job with the Senate, and so we’ll be on the federal exchange with millions of others on the federal exchange.”
CNN calls this a “deeply ironic development for the Texas conservative firebrand, who vaulted to fame during his few years in the Senate in large part by denouncing President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare law.”
But what’s so ironic about it?
Cruz, under Obamacare, is required to purchase insurance or face penalties. As a federal employee, before Obamacare, he’d be eligible for employer coverage. Because Republicans decided to honor their commitment to live under the laws passed by Congress, Cruz will have to purchase insurance through Obamacare.
To say it’s ironic for him to oppose the law and receive health insurance through it is akin to saying that it’s ironic that a person who wants lower taxes pays the amount that they legally owe, or that somebody who wants a reduced federal role in education sends their kids to a public school that receives federal funding.
