According to the Hendersonville Times News, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who is leading the conservative effort in the House to oppose legislation to fund the government unless it includes a rider zeroing out money for Obamacare, told constituents that he and his staff would decline federal subsidies to purchase insurance on the exchanges, which open for enrollment in October. [...] Meadows joins fellow North Carolinian Rep. Robert Pittenger, who announced late last week that he too will decline federal premium support to help him purchase insurance on the exchanges, and that he’s cosponsoring legislation that would prohibit any member of Congress from receiving such assistance.

Two tea party congressmen, both with net worths well in excess of $1 million, have announced that they will forego having the government help pay for their insurance, and one of them has decided his staff can, too . Easy for them to decide. Maybe a little harder for an average staffer.Meadows, according to OpenSecrets.org , had a net worth in 2011 somewhere between $1,674,034 and $12,017,998. And Pittenger's is between $18,615,005 and $48,551,997. Obviously this is a huge sacrifice on their part. Nice of Meadows to commit his staff to that political statement, too.

Here's the deal. Members of Congress and their staff have always received health insurance with a very healthy subsidy from the federal government. We didn't see any big principled opposition to that use of taxpayer dollars. No, it's only a problem now that it will be under the umbrella of Obamacare. But when those staff members see what their new insurance premiums are without that subsidy, they might just change their tune. Or go uninsured. Because Freedom!

There should be one pre-existing condition insurers are allowed to discriminate against: being a teabagger.