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.
ChipS, Orwell was embraced by the left when I was a lefty in college. It has turned a 180.
Hired by Obama for his expertise……
Gruber was hired by who ever hired him (no one will admit to doing so) solely because of his political ideology.
Oceania was at war with Eurasia now, but just four years ago, these two had formed an alliance against Eastasia. Winston remembered this clearly, but it made no difference what he or any other individual remembered, for the Party said that Eurasia had always been the Enemy and what the Party said was the Truth. This, thought Winston, was the most frightening aspect of the party regime-that it could obliterate memory, turn lies into Truth and alter the Past.
And here we are. Took longer than Orwell anticipated, but we have arrived.
Jim22, Facts are not supposed to make one feel better. They are what they are.
I am so naive. I actually expect the lawyers we elect to Congress will actually read the proposed new laws before they vote on them.
Such a sucker.
Michael Haz – you probably think the lawyers we elect to Congress actually write the bills instead of lobbyists.
swarthmoremom – “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……”
“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.”
How do either of these comments make you feel better? If they do, remember that the next time you feel screwed over by your enemy and not the ones you praise.
The Gruber issue wasn’t mentioned on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CNBC and MSNBC, so maybe their doing a good job of it, Bruce. Really, every time I turned on the TV yesterday Gruber was on and I don’t watch Fox. Gruber also worked for eight states. He made a lot of money off his “model”.
Haz, I did some work for a large law firm working on the Napster case years back. They were relentless in going after college kids and colleges. You don’t want those sharks coming after you on copyright infringement!! Good parody.
Trooper York,
I noticed that response as well. It is a complete failure to grapple with the real issue. Making a truthful statement that Gruber was hired by Romney isn’t a problem. The problem lies in leaving the analysis at that point-“well, an evil Republican hired the man so that’s all we need to know.” Of course, it’s not all we need to know, nor should it even be a surprise that a Republican, evil or otherwise, hired Gruber.
It is significant that supposed opposite parties keep working with the same set of characters to formulate the same policies. That’s important information we need to understand. Charles Ferguson’s “Inside Job” is an example of a film that goes into what bipartisanship really means in the US.
As Oily said, there is now a block of citizens who see through what is going on. The greater that group becomes, the better chance we have.
Bruce, Visit SF and you’ll see how Pelosi gets reelected. SF is a great city because of the history, architecture, sights, and FOOD! Those aspects are so far immune from the crazies.
Romney care was financed by the federal government not the state
He was formerly known as Goober on the Andy Griffith show. Or Goober Pyle. Those who live in the Beltway wear short pants. Their Congress person does not even have a vote. That is for good reason. Schools and universities within the Beltway are suspect. Sorry JT. Those who live outside the Beltway but commute to the Beltway to work are dogs of a different breed. Who was it that paid Goober the Four Hundred thousand and thence Two Million? Was it public taxpayer money or some Koch Brother Fund or what?
This dog believes that Gruber should hence forth be known as Goober.
With apologies to Country Joe and The Fish….
Don’t gruber that bill, my friend
Pass it over to me
Don’t gruber that bill, my friend
Pass it over to me
Roll another one
Just like the other one
You’ve been hangin on to it
And I sure would like a hit
Don’t gruber that bill, my friend
Pass it over to me
Don’t gruber that bill, my friend
Pass it over to me
Rolllllllllllllllll another one
Just like the other one
That one’s just about burned to the end
So come on and be a real friend
Don’t gruber that bill, my friend
Pass it over to me
Don’t gruber that bill, my friend
Pass it over to me
Everybody sing along this time
Don’t gruber that bill, my friend
Pass it over to me
Don’t gruber that bill, my friend
Pass it over to me.
The Gruber issue wasn’t mentioned on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CNBC and MSNBC, so maybe their doing a good job of it,
How can voters in Pelosi’s district think their not starting to look like idiots reelecting this empty dress
Trooper, Salmon swimming upstream.
So the Democratic response ………….Bush…………err……..Romney hired him first!
Typical.
Hans Gruber was smug like this one.
This guy might be Hans Gruber’s other brother and make an appearance in the next Die Hard flick.
Absolutely Jill and this is a bipartisan problem. There are many ‘ordinary’ citizens that recognized this problem long before the current administration came into power; there are those that have only recently accepted the reality of it. What this has the potential of creating is a non-partisan block of citizens that will no longer accept the ‘grubered’ legislative process.
For all of you still clinging to the possibility this will all go away; you are the very people Jonathan Gruber and his ilk rely on for legislative success.
Aridog, Great to see you back in the mix. Great comment. I have said many times, Hispanics will never be enslaved voters like black folk. They have a much different culture and values. Dems are playing w/ fire thinking an amnesty will endear them to Hispanic voters in the long run. But, politics is myopic, just like big business in this country, next election cycle, next quarter, seem to be as far as they can see.