Gruber-Gate and the Politics of Deception
Political scandals have been with us pretty much as long as there has been politics. From the excesses of the Roman emperors to the scandals in our own nation, which, for some reason, we’ve taken to naming, much like hurricanes I suppose. There are wonderful names from the bowels of history such as president warren g. Harding’s “teapot dome” and from our own day; names we’ll never forget such as “Watergate”, “Iran-Contra” and the “Monica Lewinsky affair” where we all learned what the definition of “is” “is”.
Well as sure as audits follow taxes, we have a new name to add to the scandal pantheon; MIT Professor Jonathan Gruber. We’re just not quite sure yet if he’s going to be a noun or a verb as in, “boy you sure got Grubered”. Well in case you’ve been living under a rock lately, Jonathan Gruber is one of the intellectual heavyweights behind the affordable care act having helped to craft its overly lengthy and murky language. Recently videos have surfaced of Gruber speaking in academic settings stating that the Affordable Care Act only passed because of the “lack of transparency” of the bill and the “stupidity of the American voter”. While the recent midterm elections speak volumes about the learning curve of the supposedly stupid American voter, the language of Obama Care remains as clear as a foggy night in London. Now Mr. Gruber says he spoke inappropriately and if by that he means he said what most of the intellectual left actually think of the vast majority of average Americans but did it in front of a camera, he’d be right. The point he’s making though is that Obama Care was purposefully written to be muddy and confusing so that it could get through Congress. My question for you Dr. Gruber, if the American voter is so stupid, why all the subterfuge? Why not lay it out there in plain language for us stupid voters to see before the monstrosity passed?
