Stop Being Such a Groober!

Dr. Jonathan Gruber, PhD, the wunderkind Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) economist who was the co-author consultant of Obamacare finally had a chance to explain his "stupid" comments on Capitol Hill.  Government Reform member Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC 4th) had said that: "[W]hen you have an insomniac with Tourette's Syndrome, you let him keep talking..." in reference to the glib Mr. Gruber coming to Washington.  The arrogant elitist from M.I.T. did not disappoint.

Dr. Jonathan Gruber, Ph.D testifying before House Government Reform Committee 12/09/2014

Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH 4th) asked Mr. Gruber how much he earned from his consulting for the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare).  The ordinarily adroit academic amazingly could not remember how much Gruber garnered from his Obamacare contracts.  The reality is that Dr. Gruber earned $400,000 from HHS,  $2.1 million from the National Institute of Health (NIH), $1.7 million from the Department of Justice (DOJ), $100,000 from the State Department and there were other state contracts in conjunction to Obamacare.  It figures that such a smart economist did not want to go on the record for how much he bilked American taxpayers and then called them "stupid".

When Congressman Gowdy got around to questioning Dr. Gruber, Gruber was impeached by his prior statements. Gruber's smugly tried to squirm from his statements by claiming that he was trying to make himself sound smarter than he actually was.  That is about as believable as President Obama's promise: "If you like your health care plan than you can keep it."

As Gowdy promised when Gruber's "stupid" comments finally caught the national attention in mid-November, the former federal prosecutor asked Gruber if he was sorry because he said it or because he meant it.  The economist's answer was as credible as the rest of his testimony.

While the Feinstein Intelligence  Report condemning decade old interrogation tactics by the CIA might have provided sufficient public cover for the day, the American people are not fooled by throwing one academic under the bus..  As more insured individuals are thrown into Obamacare and the Cadallac health care tax comes into being,  smarmy  delay tactics from the District of Calamity (sic)  will not salve the ire of the American body politic.  

However, Republicans should not rest on their laurels.  The GOP won an impressive victory in the midterm elections under the banner of rolling back Obamacare.  If those words were mere wind, the wintery winds of discontent from the middle class can easily make those political gains from the GOP- Cocktail Party may well also be gone with the wind, presuming that voters resist being groobered by bread and circuses. 

h/t: Jeff Darcy