Patterico's Pontifications

11/14/2014

The White House Responds To Grilling About Gruber

Filed under: General — Dana @ 5:35 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Confirming that they really do think we are that stupid, the White House was in full-denial when responding to Fox News correspondent Ed Henry’s grilling about the Gruber affair:

During a press briefing held in Myanmar Thursday, Henry immediately questioned Earnest on comments made by Jonathan Gruber, the Obamacare consultant who suggested that the “stupidity of the American voter” contributed to the passing of the bill.

“[Gruber] went on to say, quote, ‘A lack of transparency was a huge political advantage for the President,’ in terms of selling it to the American people,” Henry said. “I thought it was just the opposite. Didn’t the President promise unprecedented transparency. Why would one of the architects of the law suggest that you were misleading people?”

“Well, again, it sounds like you may have watched the video a few more times than I have,” Earnest replied, adding that he wasn’t “going to quibble with what he actually said.”

Henry then asked if the White House felt “bad” about Gruber’s comments.

“I disagree vigorously with that assessment, I think is what I would say.I think the fact of the matter is this is a — this was a very difficult undertaking, but ultimately this is a law that has had significant benefits for millions of people that have been able to sign up through the marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act,” Earnest replied.

–Dana

66 Responses to “The White House Responds To Grilling About Gruber”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (8e74ce)

  2. Hello back atcha! One of the biggest – if not THE biggest – redistributions of wealth ever. The White House and their fellow traveler Dimocrats knew they had to lie, cheat and steal to foist this on Americans. Goddamn lying, sh*theel losers anyway.

    Colonel Haiku (9e91a2)

  3. Why, hello.
    While I’m thoroughly disgusted with the Obama administration and its lies that form the foundation of Obamacare, I’m even more disgusted with the MSM which was too pre-occupied shaking its pom-poms and shouting huzzahs for Obama to do what it is supposed to do. What a waste of a perfectly good First Amendment.

    Walter Cronanty (f48cd5)

  4. “Shut up, ” he explained.

    Gazzer (cb9ee2)

  5. Earnest is stumbling, obviously. He’s trapped in a self-referential do-loop. How can cretins like Earnest rise to prominence in our world. His reference to the meeting at the Blair House was characterized by EarLeader’s pronouncement that “elections have consequences!” Earnest disagrees vigorously … which means henceforth, he’s lying with every breath he takes. May he take fewer breaths, and thus lie less.

    bobathomel (5d64cd)

  6. “…, and thus make fewer lies.”

    bobathomel (5d64cd)

  7. They were so transparent that even Pelosi didn’t know what was in the Bill. They were SO transparent that they rushed the Bill through when Scott Brown got elected to oppose it.

    They were definitely transparent for those of us that were looking.

    DejectedHead (532aac)

  8. @ Walter Cronanty,

    I’m even more disgusted with the MSM which was too pre-occupied shaking its pom-poms and shouting huzzahs for Obama to do what it is supposed to do.

    The administration knew they could count on the MSM to come through for them and thus, played them all for fools. The fools that they are.

    Dana (8e74ce)

  9. But pretty soon Boyfriend will be gone and then comes the Walk of Shame. It won’t be pretty but I shall enjoy it.

    Gazzer (cb9ee2)

  10. . . . I’m even more disgusted with the MSM which was too pre-occupied shaking its pom-poms and shouting huzzahs for Obama to do what it is supposed to do. What a waste of a perfectly good First Amendment.

    and

    The administration knew they could count on the MSM to come through for them and thus, played them all for fools. The fools that they are.

    Go to the LA Times homepage, enter in the search term “Jonathan Gruber” with references for the past four days and you get zero — count ’em zero — hits to the request. Nothing to see here folks; move right along.

    JVW (60ca93)

  11. How much did Gruber collect farm various government entities?

    JD (285732)

  12. $4M.

    Gazzer (cb9ee2)

  13. Questions to ask:

    “Was the Solicitor General aware than much of what he argued before the Supreme Court was a packaged lie?”

    Kevin M (d91a9f)

  14. I give the over/under of five years before a drastic revenue infusion will be required to fund ∅Care. The dims believe by then there’ll never be another conservative elected to the presidency.

    hadoop (657247)

  15. I don’t know why anyone bothers watching these White House press secretary appearances. It’s absolutely as predictable and reflexively dishonest as this amusing website.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  16. I’m being serious with that link, by the way. I can totally imagine Josh Earnest saying exactly these lines:

    The U.S. is sadly mistaken if it calculates that its spread of the story about the DPRK’s submarine missile will help ratchet up its pressure on the latter in the international arena.

    It will only invite stronger retaliatory measures of its own style.

    The DPRK’s declaration of the strongest new counter-action of its own style will be backed by the fully prepared powerful nuclear force and different type latest strike means operating on the ground and in the seas, under water and in the air.

    The world will soon witness the shining victory of the DPRK’s line of simultaneously developing the two fronts.

    Only I imagine him saying them while wearing that Dr. Evil costume that Obama wore for the cameras in China.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  17. So long as they don’t use the dreaded “laser.”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voSpOrimkMY

    Gazzer (cb9ee2)

  18. This will only take you about ten seconds…

    Amazing it really works to reveal your all-time favorite movie.

    I’m pretty good at math, so I did it in my head, then on paper, and finally on a calculator just to confirm my numerical capabilities.

    Each time I got the same answer, and sure enough it IS my very favorite movie EVER!

    DO NOT cheat. DO YOUR math, THEN compare the results to the list of movies at the bottom. You will be AMAZED at how scary true and accurate this test is

    1. Pick a number from 1-9.

    2. Multiply that number by 3.

    3. Add 3.

    4. Multiply by 3 again.

    5. Your total will be a two digit number. Add the first and second digits together to find your favorite movie (of all time) in the list of 17 movies below:

    Movie List:

    1. Gone With the Wind
    2. E.T.
    3. Blazing Saddles
    4. Star Wars
    5. Forrest Gump
    6. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
    7. Jaws
    8. Grease
    9. The Obama Farewell Speech
    10. Casablanca
    11. Jurassic Park
    12. Shrek
    13. Pirates of the Caribbean
    14. Titanic
    15. Raiders of the Lost Ark
    16. Home Alone
    17. Mrs. Doubtfire

    Colonel Haiku (9e91a2)

  19. Very well played Colonel, well played indeed.

    Gazzer (cb9ee2)

  20. Colonel,

    I love it!

    Tanny O'Haley (c674c7)

  21. Uncanny stuff, eh Gazzer and Tanny?

    Colonel Haiku (9e91a2)

  22. meanwhile, we only have one wrench for our entire strategic nuclear forces

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2014/11/14/eyes-see-d-c-downplaying-latest-russian-bomber-threat/

    narciso (ee1f88)

  23. Can’t wait for the sequel.

    mg (31009b)

  24. The EVIL Gop has NEVER EVER imagined lying so boldly. This is kind of funny to watch.

    Gus (7cc192)

  25. Pick a number from 1-9.

    The result will be a two digit multiple of 9. All such have digits that sum to 9.

    Oddly, though, #9 is not my favorite of all time. That would be the Obama resignation speech.

    If you can get behind the WSJ paywall, Noonan (yes, I know) has a column that paints a devastating picture. The premise is that at least Nixon had the respect of foreign leaders; Obama’s fall has nothing but knives. And he has no clue. Still.

    Kevin M (d91a9f)

  26. Get a rope!

    ropelight (786712)

  27. There are a plethora of sturdy oak branches.

    mg (31009b)

  28. I think the fact of the matter is this is a — this was a very difficult undertaking, but ultimately this is a law that has had significant benefits for millions of people that have been able to sign up through the marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act

    Very difficult undertaking….ultimately…benefits for millions….

    So, the ends justify the means? Really? The White House is going with that? Disgraceful.

    Pious Agnostic (69ea46)

  29. 28, 29. Our Republic for a horse!

    DNF (7e0641)

  30. 19. LOL. And I do mean LOUD.

    DNF (7e0641)

  31. I’m recalling that Barber Conable explained in August 1974 why he intended to vote for the 1st article of impeachment approved by the House Committee on the Judiciary: “I do not approve of leaders who mislead”. Well, that was then…

    Art Deco (ee8de5)

  32. 27. http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-loneliest-president-since-nixon-1415920451

    Divide and conquer.

    Princess looks at the whole world as a mirror. If the image is ugley, smash the dame thing.

    DNF (7e0641)

  33. narciso – appalling.
    These are todays republicans. They should have walked out on this clown with a towel on his head.
    Republicans have lacked leadership since R.R.

    mg (31009b)

  34. then he went to work at the World Bank, Nixon was a piker,

    narciso (ee1f88)

  35. 36. Between Princess, the de jure Federal Reserve ChairSatan,Boehner, McConnell, Reid, Pelosi and Roberts our Federal government will be undermined.

    Not overthrown but hollowed out by dysfunction, corruption, sabotage, and incompetence.

    In the end, it will be boarded up and abandoned.

    DNF (7e0641)

  36. O is the loneliest number you’ll ever do
    O times 1 is just as bad as O
    Everything times O is O

    Wadda? Obama is not a tragic figure. He’s a f***ing clown. Peggy, go rinse out your Supphose.

    nk (dbc370)

  37. Noonan is often insufferably hard to watch, but…

    Colonel Haiku (9e91a2)

  38. Meh. All his life, Obama’s appeal has always been mainly to the maternal instinct of the estrogen-inflicted and Noonan is no different.

    nk (dbc370)

  39. I dunno, I’d really not like being on the wrong end of Peggy Noonan’s pen.

    Kevin M (d91a9f)

  40. nk, did you read her whole piece? It’s an obit, and not a very friendly one. She really does not expect him to serve out his term.

    Kevin M (d91a9f)

  41. Shorter Earnest: “Who cares what Gruber said? This law rawks, dude!”

    Icy (601976)

  42. So the House will not put anyone in their gaol, the Senate will not shutdown government, together they will neither impeach nor try, forget convict, generals will simply walk off the job and be relieved rather than mutiny,..

    We just want the Son of Lies to go away, in two years retiring to life on a fat pension and a Hawaiian estate playing 365 rounds a year.

    Peace brother.

    DNF (7e0641)

  43. BTW, the EPA will be introducing for 2015 regulations on emissions costing you another $270 Billion.

    Lay back and enjoy.

    DNF (7e0641)

  44. All these facts will not influence the true believers who would swear that global warming was getting worse as the glacier ate their houses. A search of the LA Times and Gruber turned up this.

    But actually the CBO did not project lost jobs at all. Job leaving is not the same as job losing. Many Americans who may eventually leave jobs or reduce their work hours will do so by choice to make themselves and their families better off. Voluntary reductions are not a cost of the healthcare reform law, they are a benefit.

    See ? No problem.

    Mike K (90dfdc)

  45. does it really matter, what McConnell or Boehner says, they aren’t who are driving their respective cauci

    narciso (ee1f88)

  46. Yes, Kevin, I did. And my heart remains hard. Poor widdle wonewy Barry.

    nk (dbc370)

  47. nk, did you read her whole piece? It’s an obit, and not a very friendly one. She really does not expect him to serve out his term.

    I would not say that, though she does compare aspects of his situation to Richard Nixon’s in 1968. There is not much history of the Democratic Party administering discipline to its own, at least in Washington, and I doubt Obama will be an exception. The Kennedy campaign in 1980 started in the Democratic Congressional caucus, but it was Carter’s virtues more than his defects which irritated the Democrats in Congress. The only virtues I’d attribute to Obama would be that there is no indication thus far that he has trouble keeping it in his pants, or that he drinks heavily, or that he has a volcanic temper.

    Art Deco (ee8de5)

  48. Er, Richard Nixon’s in 1974.

    Art Deco (ee8de5)

  49. Nobody has said “Deep Throat Gruber” yet?

    nk (dbc370)

  50. It will be interesting to see if there’s a John Dean over at IRS, DoJ or the WH itself, fearing he too will go down with the ship. I cannot believe that Obama surrounds himself with committed leftists of integrity.

    A Joint Committee investigation, oh, the IRS scandal, calling people out in a televised fashion like they did with Watergate, ought to produce more than the usual share of self-serving rats.

    Kevin M (d91a9f)

  51. Anyone want to bet that Woodward’s phone isn’t tapped?

    (waits)

    No, I thought not.

    Kevin M (d91a9f)

  52. One difference re the IRS investigation is that the Assistant Attorney-General for the Criminal Division in 1972 was Henry Peterson, a Democrat who had been employed there since the Truman Administration. He told John Dean that in his years at the Justice Department, no criminal investigation had ever been (once started) scotched on White House orders and that there would be a mass resignation should that be attempted. Also, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the District of Columbia did not interfere with Earl Silbert’s investigation of the Watergate burglary.

    Eric Holder’s Justice Department is not your father’s Justice Department, and no one in the press corps or the Democratic congressional caucus seems to mind. The Democratic Party used to be a political organization. Now they’re a crime wave.

    Art Deco (ee8de5)

  53. they fired the likely Woodward, Atkinson, this is wby Rich Weinstein and Judicial Watch is the ones that do the newsgathering/

    narciso (ee1f88)

  54. Once ONI always ONI, Woodward was Naval Intelligence before his cover job at the WaPo.

    ropelight (786712)

  55. Noonan should be wandering in the political desert for her support of Obastard six years ago. No, Peggy, I haven’t forgotten. Nor will I ever. You are a brainless traitor.

    creeper (d2013e)

  56. Each time I got the same answer, and sure enough it IS my very favorite movie EVER!

    Brilliant, Colonel Haiku. The mathematical concept behind that is almost as ingenious as a strategy that will successfully boot “Bathhouse Barry” out of the White House ASAP.

    Mark (c160ec)

  57. It is amazing that folks reject the return of the prodigals like Peggy Noonan, when they really do need them back in camp to win elections. Of course, you have to WANT to win elections. Some people would just rather be right.

    Kevin M (d91a9f)

  58. It is amazing that folks reject the return of the prodigals like Peggy Noonan, when they really do need them back in camp to win elections.

    From the survey research I’ve seen, soi-disant Republicans were no more likely to cast a ballot for Obama than they were for Kerry or Michael Dukakis or Jimmy Carter; if anything marginally less so. The ‘Obamacon’ phenomenon was limited to a corporal’s guard of journalists and quondam office holders Here’s a list here:

    http://mpandgs.blogspot.com/2008/11/obamacons-partial-list.html.

    The list does not include Kathleen Parker or Peggy Noonan. (IIRC, Parker limited herself to inane attacks on Gov. Palin).

    No one needs their votes, no one trusts a turncoat, and, most of them were (1) never on board with any sort of vigorous critique or counter-maneuver to the sort of political economy the Democratic Party has manufactured over 80 odd years (Lincoln Chaffee an example) or (2) no accounts who are 1st or 2d degree relatives of someone consequential (Susan Eisenhower) or (3) people cheesed about professional reversals (Bruce Bartlett, David Kuo) or (4) people with liberal wives or girlfriends (speculative, but would guess that’s the 10th planet influencing Douglas Kmiec’s otherwise baffling remarks) or (5) malodorous snobs and snots (Charles Fried and Daniel Drezner) or (6) people losing their reason (speculative, but did you wonder why Jeffrey Hart was, in his 70s overtaken with a fascination for conspirazoid literature and now has not made any public statements at all in 3 years) or (7) miscellaneous fashion chasers (wagers that’s behind the foreign policy mavens, William Weld, Wick Allison, and a few others) or (8) assorted idiosyncratic characters (Scott McConnell, anti semite) or (9) Washington hustlers with clients (Ken Duberstein).

    Is this uncharitable or ad hominem? Why, to some extent both. The thing is, sifting through some of these people’s public statements leaves you baffled. They do not offer an accounting that makes any sense if you begin with the assumption that they are (a) loyal Republicans interested in (b) advancing some approximation of that organization’s programs or central tendencies. Almost everyone on this list is out to pasture or eminently replaceable to begin with; one of the few exceptions is Francis Fukuyama. You don’t want them and you don’t need them.

    Art Deco (ee8de5)

  59. well it’s not tragic for him, it’s tragic for us, from the VA halls to the streets of Sinaloa, to the blood dimmed sand of Benghazi, to Catherine Engelbrecht’s shop,

    narciso (ee1f88)

  60. 63 – Art Deco
    The majority of congressional republicans should be on that list.

    mg (31009b)

  61. The majority of congressional republicans should be on that list.

    You fancy ‘a majority of congressional Republicans’ should have endorsed Obama?

    Art Deco (ee8de5)


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