It appears that friends (albeit a dwindling number) of MIT professor Jonathan Gruber may soon have to put his face on milk cartons to locate the economist. After a series of frank but embarrassing statements on the strategies behind the Administration’s passage of the Affordable Car Act (ACA), Gruber has moved from the status of “disfavored” to “disavowed” to “disappeared.” This week, Democratic minority leader Nancy Pelosi expressed a complete lack of knowledge of who Gruber is, was, or will be — even though she previously cited his work and he was paid $400,000 as one of the architects of Obamacare and has made over $2 million from HHS. Such roles are often difficult for scholars in moving between the political and academic worlds, but it is rare to find an academic become such an issue in a national debate.
Gruber had already previously attracted controversy with statements where he endorsed the theory at the heart of the recent decisions in Halbig and King by challengers to the ACA: to wit, that the federal funding provision was a quid pro quo device to reward states with their own exchanges and to punish those that force the creation of federal exchanges. That issue will now be decided by the United States Supreme Court. Gruber caused uproar when, after he had denounced the theory as “nutty” during the arguments in Halbig and King, he was shown later to have embraced that same interpretation. Gruber has become a major liability in the litigation. Gruber then was back in the news with an equally startling admission that the Obama Administration (and Gruber) succeeded in passing the ACA only by engineering a “lack of transparency” on the details and relying on “the stupidity of the American voter.” Now a new videotape has surfaced from Gruber speaking at the University of Rhode Island in 2012 and expressing the same contempt for the intelligence of citizens — suggesting again that they were hoodwinked to “the lack of economic understanding of the American voter.” In another view taken from at an October 2013 event at Washington University in St. Louis, Gruber also refers to the “Cadillac tax,” and says “They proposed it and that passed, because the American people are too stupid to understand the difference.” His comments of working in Massachusetts (with Mitt Romney) are no less insulting to an array of people.
That is when the Beltway machine kicked into high gear to erase all memory of a professor named Gruber. If this trend continues, we will need dental records just to confirm his identity.
The Washington Post noted after Pelosi’s press conference that she cited Gruber’s work by name in support of Obamacare:
PELOSI: We’re not finished getting all of our reports back from CBO, but we’ll have a side by side to compare. But our bill brings down rates. I don’t know if you have seen Jonathan Gruber of MIT’s analysis of what the comparison is to the status quo versus what will happen in our bill for those who seek insurance within the exchange.
Her office also relied on Gruber when fighting to pass the law.
Before he was “disappeared,” he was widely cited as an architect of the act. The New York Times said in 2012:
After Mr. Gruber helped the administration put together the basic principles of the proposal, the White House lent him to Capitol Hill to help Congressional staff members draft the specifics of the legislation.
Nevertheless, the White House used an anonymous official to disavow Gruber’s role as an architect of the Act and insist that he never “worked in the White House” — a comment that may refer to the location of his actual desk.
He was widely sought as one of the architect of the law, which ultimately proved his undoing since many of these comments came in the same 2012-13 period. Supporters of the White House have even challenged the $400,000 figure paid out for Gruber. However, the Washington Post not only affirmed the figure used by Republicans but found that he had received $2 million on various contracts. Pretty good for a guy who must not now be named.
The tempest swirling around Gruber is difficult to watch. He is an accomplished scholar with a long list of accomplishments to his credit. The frankness with which he has spoken is a signature of an academic, though his view of the intelligence of the American people is quite shocking. It will remain a cautionary tale for those traveling between the academic and political worlds.
The democrats are like Detective Drebin in the Naked Gun.
Nothing to see here!!! Nothing to see here!!!! Please disburse.
When we were in Alaska we saw grizzly bears feasting on salmon as they swam upstream. The cultists, trying to cover this Grubergate, remind me of those salmon.
I don’t think Americans understand how deeply propagandized we are. Right now, because Democrats have “their” president in charge, they seem particularly loathe to believe that “their” leaders could possibly be lying to them. However I will also say that ordinary Republicans are falling for propaganda and are also loathe to understand this. For this reason I think all of us need to pay real and deep attention to Gruber.
He is telling us what our dear leaders really think of us and how they manipulate us. How he is currently being handled by these dear leaders is also an important lesson for citizens.
Many people keep defending the dear leaders and actions which are indefensible, actions which harm the interest of ordinary Americans. In order for this to happen, people have been fed incredible lies, repeated propaganda and suffer a lack of access to alternative reasoning in the public sphere.
Gruber sounds odious, just as the people he works for do. But we should take a lesson from this. We are seeing what the elites really think of us and what they are really doing to us. If we will pay attention, we can stop giving credence to their lies and start working together for the good of ordinary people.
Know your enemy.
Kind of like when you ask a supposedly intelligent republican politician, one with perhaps several degrees and supposedly intelligent enough to get elected, excepting for straw men like the little doofus we had for President for eight years-you know the one that said he just wrote a book, and he or she replies, “I am not a scientist.” Any sixth grader could respond to the question regarding what 90% of the world’s scientists are saying, but not the republican politician who is in the pocket of big coal or big oil, or big anything. It’s kinda like that.
However, if the republican politician or any politician for that matter, opted to use the science, then he or she would all of a sudden be intelligent enough to understand science right there on the spot.
So what’s your point Turley?
Very few of the congress people read the bills.There are so many cross references that one would need a library to do so. They rely on counsel to tell them what is in them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/11/11/who-is-jonathan-gruber/ Got his start with Romney in MA. Hired by Obama for his expertise……
SWM – then how could Pelosi forget him, if he had so much expertise?
Let us not forget that Gruber has worked with/for both Republicans and Democrats. He was one of the architects of Romneycare.
Elaine – Romneycare was transparent. The key take-aways to this are the lack of transparency and calling the Democrats stupid. And, now, of course, becoming a non-person.
I predict that Jonathan Gruber will join Obama/Reid/Pelosi to complete the Progressive “Mount Rushmore”. And his name will forever be associated with the “sausage-making” we call the legislative process. Bills will be defined as “grubered”, especially if anyone EVER suggests again that it must first be passed in order to find out what’s in it. Pelosi might want to forget Gruber but history won’t be kind to either of those two names.
Called it. Sure didn’t take them long did it?
Wise ideas, Aridog.
I think the more the Democrats responsible for the PPACA try to “erase” Gruber, the more noticeable he becomes. The effort will fail.
Now that Harry Reid is soon bereft of his power in the Senate, my next wiosh is for Holder to just be gone…and the way to assure that sooner than later is to NOT block the appointment of his replacement….anyone will be better than Holder, virtually anyone. lf the Republicans are smart as they should be, they should know Holder’s replacement, even if Elmer Fudd, is NOT the right battle to pick, especially now. The replacement will be also gone in less than 2 years. So, hold their noses and confirm the new nomination by at least 80+ votes, with Republicans joining the Democrats in doing so…it will take away any air left in Harry Reid. Like, what can he say about a near unanimous confirmation?
Next, don’t let Obama’s potential “Executive Amnesty” take center stage. Yes, make verbal objections, yada yada, but don’t go do anything futile in Congress…Harry Reid can still block it until January. After that, Congress can de-fund any aspect necessary to block it (problem here is the perpetuation of CR’s…which lets the President and executive Branch run amok anyway with 95% of last year’s funding levels, without accountability), and eventually can revoke all the features. Passing a real annual budget for 2016 is essential…if he objects, Obama is in the position of being the “man of no” from the new “party of no” in an election year.
What I am suggesting is that Republicans lick only smart fights, a sort of rope a dope…doing what is unexpected by the liberals in DC… until January at least.
I realize many will not agree with me. But I remain convinced Holder’s departure is essential literally as soon a possible and that won’t happen until the new nominee is confirmed. It is a temporary less that 2 year appointment. I also remain convinced letting Obama start a fight over his weird amnesty ideas only helps him…so don’t do it until January or later. He’s talking about temporary status for some 5 million…leaving the other 7 million hanging by their short hairs. I know a lot of Hispanics and they are smarter than many think they are…especially the White House. Take is ego out of the picture…the only reason he is acting on it now is because he disliked intensely losing his center stage role to the drubbing of 04 November…he just has to act out to regain center stage. He’s going to do it…don’t make it a victory, let it be passe’….it can be revoked in the new Congress. Come January send bills to the President and let him defend his “no” vote (veto) repeatedly…that’s “the new party of no.”
Orwell would be so proud. The word parsing and double speak knows no limits. The “in your face” falsity, apparently justified by our “stupidity” open every action, every word, every intention of the progressive minds/powers that be to scrutiny. My dad used to tell me that alcoholics will steal your wallet and then offer to stay and help you look for it. Shoe fits.
Nick-Great point about Tammy Duckworth. I don’t agree with many of Representative Duckworth’s political positions, but there is no doubt that she is an absolute hero and a woman of vast intelligence. Could you imagine the uproar if Republicans refused to allow a pregnant member to vote by proxy? There would be wall-to-wall coverage on MSNBC about the war on women. But because Nancy Pelosi did it…crickets.
It is interesting that Gruber is now “coming clean” although he was happy to go along with the conduct he is now disclosing. I have to ask who is paying him now. Now that doesn’t mean I am necessarily surprised at what he is saying, I am just wondering why it took him this long to find “religion”.
As to comparing him with the “disappeared”, that is over the top and a bit offensive.
“Isn’t it just a tad bit ironic that the people Gruber is calling stupid, are those who voted for, supported the bill and that would not be Republicans, it would be the Democrats.”
It is indeed. But in the leftist mind, under no circumstances are they the stupid ones, ever. That’s always reserved for the “others”..
Isn’t it just a tad bit ironic that the people Gruber is calling stupid, are those who voted for, supported the bill and that would not be Republicans, it would be the Democrats. Republicans from the get-go knew this bill did not make sense, heck anyone with half a brain could figure out that you can’t cover more people for free, give other subsidies and somehow, through political, economic alchemy, it would cost less.
Haz, Gruber encapsulates the smug, elitist, liberal. Obama is about to change the focus on him again by a lawless act. I saw Holder last night telling us an executive order is perfectly legal. He, the most illegal AG since John Mitchell. at least Holder doesn’t have a crazy and alcoholic wife.
Nick – are we sure about Holder’s wife?
When they start scrubbing his image from the group photos we know there is a real problem. However, we knew this when it was happening and the dumb as rocks Democrats kept telling us we had to pass it to find out what was in it.
BTW, has anyone done any studies on the long term effects of Botox on the brain. I think the injections Pelosi is getting is freezing more than just her face.
One consistent thing about socialists is that they really, really like redistributing income to themselves.
What Jonathon Gruber has shown in the four videos made public this week is that he is very much in love with the cleverness of his own brain, and cannot but help telling anyone and everyone about it. He is an accomplished liar and proud of it. His wondrous brain has committed fraud on the American people (hereinafter called “The Stupids”) cleverly, oh so cleverly that he cannot keep quiet about it. His brain created a re-distribution that doesn’t look like a redistribution, because it is masked as a tax on the evil insurance companies for selling really good coverage to people who can afford to buy it. Such a smart brain. So agile.
And poof! Gruber and is magical brain are now invisible! One can only fervently hope that they will magickally re-appear under oath in front of an angry congressional committee. Or maybe in the middle of a group of The Stupids who have peen forced onto ObamaCare and cannot get the life saving meds needed for their children’s cancer treatments…….
Gruber and is yet-unrevealed ilk are the reason why every bill introduced in the House or the Senate should include a detailed listing of the names, titles, affiliations, bio, and credentials of every person involved in drafting said bill. that way when someone asks the question “Who wrote this piece of crap??” the answer is already baked into the bill.
And maybe the sanctimonious pricks that use their wondrous brains to lie to The Stupids will think twice about having to be clever in a truly transparent environment.
Nancy Pelosi should be an embarrassment to Dems and particularly Dem women. She is the Queen of Malapropism and must be Baghdad Bob’s sister. Pelosi is now fighting for her political life. Young Dems w/ actual intelligence want to kick her out of leadership. Tammy Duckworth is one. Duckworth is an Iraq war hero and @ age 46, pregnant. She asked the for the courtesy of a proxy vote since travelling is not prudent. This heartless,, power hungry, dumber than a bag of hammers woman did not allow it. Now, that is a War on Women.