Patterico's Pontifications

6/22/2015

Emails Show Gruber Had More Involvement in ObamaCare Than Obama Previously Admitted

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 6:49 am



You don’t say:

Jonathan Gruber, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist whose comments about the health-care law touched off a political furor, worked more closely than previously known with the White House and top federal officials to shape the law, previously unreleased emails show.

The emails, provided by the House Oversight Committee to The Wall Street Journal, cover messages Mr. Gruber sent from January 2009 through March 2010. Committee staffers said they worked with MIT to obtain the 20,000 pages of emails.

The committee released the information in the days before the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a lawsuit that could strike down subsidies on the federal health-care insurance exchange.

The emails show frequent consultations between Mr. Gruber and top Obama administration staffers and advisers in the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services on the Affordable Care Act. They show he informed HHS about interviews with reporters and discussions with lawmakers, and he consulted with HHS about how to publicly describe his role.

The administration has sought to distance itself from the economist in the wake of his controversial statements in a 2013 video, where he said the health law passed because of the “huge political advantage” of the legislation’s lacking transparency. He also referred to the “stupidity of the American voter.”

Republicans seized on the comments as evidence that supporters of the law purposely misled the public about its costs. Mr. Gruber received nearly $400,000 from HHS for his work focusing on health-policy computer models, according to public records.

How about that.

P.S. I like this comment from a commenter at the article:

“Republicans seized on the comments as evidence that supporters of the law purposely misled the public about its costs.”

The WSJ reporters know how to do their job. When Republicans do it, Democrats have “growing concerns.” But Republicans “seize on” an issue.

It’s almost as if the commenter was reading Patterico circa 2004.

14 Responses to “Emails Show Gruber Had More Involvement in ObamaCare Than Obama Previously Admitted”

  1. Ding.

    Patterico (3cc0c1)

  2. Grover was just some guy.

    JD (d9acc9)

  3. Obamacare was meant to be the signature achievement of the Obama administration, and it sure it;

    Showy from a propaganda POV, it proves, on scrutiny, to be an ill-conceived mess, totally failing to live up to the promises made about it. It looks perfect, right up to the moment that somebody actually tries to make use of it. It fails in almost every point of execution, and its creators angrily attack anybody who has the gall to notice.

    Go back to the Golf Course, jug ears. Nothing else you have every done is anything anybody wants to remember.

    C. S. P. Schofield (a196fd)

  4. Yes, Republicans use Obamacare to attack Democrats. That’s why so many of them voted for it.

    AZ Bob (34bb80)

  5. I believe Obamacare is here to stay. Our cowardly GOP will not fulfill their promise to repeal and replace. Our Court is on the same wavelength: afraid to take away someone’s candy.

    I feel like a passenger on the train that took the curve at twice the normal speed. Exciting, but deadly.

    Patricia (5fc097)

  6. Go back to the Golf Course, jug ears. Nothing else you have every done is anything anybody wants to remember.

    Ah, but everyone should remember almost everything Teh One has done.

    It’s an almost textbook example of How To Be A Really Really Really BAD President.

    The man has actually outdone Jimmy Carter and Warren Harding as the most inept and incompetent President the USA has ever had.

    That’s not easy. He’s had to work hard for the dishonor.

    IGotBupkis, "Si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses." (225d0d)

  7. The administration has sought to distance itself from the economist in the wake of his controversial statements in a 2013 video, where he said the health law passed because of the “huge political advantage” of the legislation’s lacking transparency. He also referred to the “stupidity of the American voter.”

    wall street journal propaganda slut Stephanie Armour is being horrifically and egregiously misleading here in omitting what is was that truly made Gruber toxic to the sick perverted fascists in failmerica’s white house.

    does anyone remember what that was?

    I do.

    Hint: it’s super-duper topical this week.

    happyfeet (a037ad)

  8. Feets, I do believe that Gruber’s remarks confirmed that the absence of a subsidy for those few, disenfranchised citizens enrolling thru the Federal website (as contrasted with a State website) was a feature and not a bug.

    But Pelosi was right, we had to pass it to find out what was in it. And now that we’ve found out, the Supreme Court has been tasked by the Executive Branch with rewriting the legislation in order to comply with Constitutional requirement that social justice must be served, cf. Article 31, 1040(F)w4, and the Roberts Rule regarding the paramount importance of our current understanding of the intent of legislation as distinct from the archaic wording of the legislation.

    bobathome (f50725)

  9. 2. Grover was just some guy.
    JD (d9acc9) — 6/22/2015 @ 7:00 am

    All the key players in the important events are just some guy.

    Like Bill Ayers was just some guy down the street.

    In the Navy we used to have all sorts of sayings about winning battles (back when the armed services thought we were still in the business of winning wars). Like, “It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission” or “cheat til caught then lie.”

    It turns out the Obama administration has its own sayings about winning wars. Only wars with Republicans, though, Obama and the left wants America to lose wars abroad so Obama can end our nasty habit of getting into wars abroad. And he does it like a dog owner rubbing a puppies nose in its own mess.

    And their little saying? “Lie til caught, then send your spox out to say, ‘These emails only echo old news.'” (HHS spokesweasel quoted in the WSJ article.)

    Steve57 (48418e)

  10. And he does it like a dog owner rubbing a puppies nose in its own mess.

    By this I mean he intentionally humiliates the US abroad by insulting allies, caving on everything to dictators (They’re so desperate to get a signature on a peace of in their “negotiations” with Iran that I wouldn’t be surprised if this nuclears arms control deal turns into a nuclear arms sale), reversing American foreign policy gains going back now to the Truman presidency (he didn’t lose Greece back in 1946-1949, but our genius Obama is about to), and in general being an international disgrace on purpose.

    Steve57 (48418e)

  11. #6 Bupkis: I will pick one nit on your statement. I don’t think you can call Obama inept and incompetent. If that were the case, every once in a while he would be trying to do the right thing. However, I don’t recall that happening much during his administration. Therefore I have to think that his destructive policies are intentionally so. He is an example of liberal attitude: they want to dictate how we live and if they can’t accomplish that, they would rather destroy the system to spite us rather than see us ignore them.

    Ken in Camarillo (c5b86d)

  12. #7 happyfeet: very big point. I agree, the omission was not an oversight, but a propaganda technique.
    I also remember what you remember: that Gruber said only State exchanges would get subsidies, so the States would be forced to make their own exchanges so they would not lose the subsidy for their citizens.

    Ken in Camarillo (c5b86d)

  13. I agree with Ken in Camarillo. Obama never deviates from his socialist, community organizer goals. On the rare occasions he or his staff admit to any “mistakes,” it’s only because they want us to think Obama is inept and thereby cover up his real goals.

    DRJ (e80d46)

  14. Concur, DRJ. If he were merely inept and incompetent he’d get better with OJT.

    Even the inept and incompetent Carter learned a few lessons and grew in office.

    This is not to say Obama and his third-rate amateur team haven’t screwed up. But they don’t change course one iota because all this destruction at home and abroad is by design.

    Steve57 (48418e)


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