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Jonathan Gruber: Obama personally asked me to help disguise unhelpful Obamacare facts
Hotair ^ | 11/17/2014 | Guy Benson

Posted on 11/17/2014 10:00:19 AM PST by SeekAndFind

That’s not quite his verbatim quote, but it’s pretty darn close:

CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO

“The problem is it’s a political nightmare, and people say ‘no, you can’t tax my benefits’…so what we did a lot in that room was think a lot about well how could we make this work? … And [Obama] is really a realistic guy. He was like, ‘look, I can’t just do this.’ He said ‘it’s just not going to happen politically. The bill will not pass. How do we manage to get there through phase-ins and other things?’ And we talked about it. He was just very interested in that topic.”

And why was Obama so keen on obscuring the nature of his signature law’s taxes? Perhaps because he’d just recently spent months relentlessly hammering John McCain over a proposal to tax health benefits “for the first time.” So he needed MacGruber to swoop in and help craft a strategy of evasion and deflection. Noah mentioned over the weekend that in his response to Grubergate, Obama insisted that he’d never misled the public on Obamacare (which virtually nobody really buys at this point, and for good reason) and disavowed Gruber’s seemingly endless damning comments. One formulation that stuck out to me was his assertion that Gruber “was never on our staff.” This is exceedingly weak spin. The video above contains evidence that the president was personally huddling with Gruber on the Obamacare sales pitch, charging him with fashioning accounting tricks that might provide a politically-necessary fig leaf — which Paul Ryan dismantled at the pre-passage “health care summit.” It’s impossible for the White House to just divorce itself from this guy. He was very much their guy. Not only did they furnish Gruber with $400,000 for his services, they made him a leading point person for “drafting the specifics” of the law with Congress. Via the New York Times:

Along with these credentials, Mr. Gruber’s position as an adviser to the influential Congressional Budget Office also left him perfectly positioned to advise the White House on health reform. “The most important arbiter of everything was the C.B.O.,” said Neera Tanden, who was a senior adviser for health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services. The C.B.O.’s assessment of a bill’s efficacy and costs strongly influences political debate, but the office does not publicly reveal how it calculates those numbers. “We knew the numbers he gave us would be close to where the C.B.O. was likely to come out,” Ms. Tanden said. She was right. 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.

That 2012 profile also quotes Gruber cheerfully describing himself as a “card-carrying Democrat” who routinely holds election night “victory parties” with friends. (How did this year’s celebration go, I wonder?) Obama can try to pull a Pelosi with Gruber. Good luck with that. Alternatively, he can keep lying about not having lied, but only the hardest-core of partisans will believe him. Even Obamacare supporters like Ron Fournier are throwing in the towel, conceding that the law was constructed on a “foundation of lies.” Indeed.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cborico; gruber; grubergate; gruberingdemcongress; gruberrico; liarcbo; liargruber; liarobama; obama; obamacare; obamacarerico; obamagruber; obamagruberingusa; obamalyingpos; obamarico; reidrico; wow
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

You are welcome.

To understand Gruber and what he has said and done, we need to see him in the videos making his claims and statements.


21 posted on 11/17/2014 10:20:34 AM PST by Grampa Dave (The Democrats, who run America are too old, too rich, and too very/very white elitist losers!.)
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To: Sybeck1
It will be interesting to see if John Roberts opinion that the ACA was Constitutional because it was a tax will now get another look by conservatives. I was very disappointed by the Roberts ruling, but Obama essentially painted himself into a corner. He probably colluded with Reid and Pelosi to disguise the tax, denounced Roberts ruling that it really was not a tax but welcomed his opinion.

I wonder if Issa or if Judicial Watch will demand White House visitor logs for Gruber. If we can place Gruber in the White House repeatedly with Obama, Obama's defense gets thinner and thinner. If Gruber is telling the truth that Obama personally was in the deception, he is completely finished as a political power in Washington. Looks like Sir Walter Scott is proved right again "Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive!"

22 posted on 11/17/2014 10:24:02 AM PST by fatez (Ebola, Obama's solution for shovel ready jobs... Bring out your dead!!!)
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To: Sybeck1

Why?

Congress doesn’t care at all.

I mean outside of wanting Obamacare to exist that is.


23 posted on 11/17/2014 10:24:07 AM PST by chris37 (heartless)
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To: SeekAndFind

Next video:

“Obama came and stayed at my house for three weeks while we worked on Obamacare together.”

Next video:

“I, Jonathan Gruber, am actually Barack Obama in a Jonathan Gruber suit.” (Removes mask, it’s Obama)

Obama’s next—day response:

“I’ve never heard of Jonathan Gruber who never worked on a bill that doesn’t exist, and I am not Jonathan Gruber, who does not exist, and I do not exist either.”


24 posted on 11/17/2014 10:25:51 AM PST by Lazamataz (Proudly Deciding Female Criminal Guilt By How Hot They Are Since 1999 !)
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To: Sacajaweau

Excellent find.

Gruber said that Hillary Care would have been more disruptive than Obamacare.

http://www.dallasblog.com/201411161010925/dallas-blog/hillarycare-more-disruptive-than-obamacare-says-jonathan-gruber.html


25 posted on 11/17/2014 10:25:57 AM PST by Grampa Dave (The Democrats, who run America are too old, too rich, and too very/very white elitist losers!.)
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To: Sacajaweau

I fear for the rest of us. Gruber is a lying bleephole who is on his own and deserves what he gets——and he will. The whole Grand Kenyan mess is setting up a replay of a Night of the Long Knives. You (he) only gets to screw over a certain amount of people before someone takes it personally.


26 posted on 11/17/2014 10:26:09 AM PST by cherokee1 (skip the names---just kick the buttz)
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To: Sybeck1
He needs to be in front of a congressional committee

I agree. And they should ask him exactly who he was working for, and who directed him to go lie about Obamacare.

A later poster has compiled a series of YouTube videos of Gruber. Each one of those should be played for him at the committee hearing, and ask him to explain them. It should all be done under oath, and Gruber repeatedly reminded of the consequences of perjury.

I don't know if anything concrete would happen as a result of this, but it would certainly hang this albatross around Obama's neck. His credibility would be completely shot.

Finally, the Republicans would have a signature campaign issue for 2016: elect us, and we will end this. But, they have to come up with an alternative to replace it: the reason a bad bill was passed is because the public wanted SOMETHING... ANYTHING, and were willing to try Obamacare because they were fed up with the previous health care insurance mess.

27 posted on 11/17/2014 10:26:11 AM PST by justlurking (tagline removed, as demanded by Admin Moderator)
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To: Art in Idaho

Thanks and please share it with friends and drive liberals crazier with it.


28 posted on 11/17/2014 10:26:57 AM PST by Grampa Dave (The Democrats, who run America are too old, too rich, and too very/very white elitist losers!.)
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To: Sacajaweau
I fear for Gruber.

He should stay our of the D.C. area for a while, especially Ft. Marcy Park.

29 posted on 11/17/2014 10:28:20 AM PST by mc5cents ("Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God." - Thomas Jefferson)
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To: justlurking

“A later poster has compiled a series of YouTube videos of Gruber. Each one of those should be played for him at the committee hearing, and ask him to explain them. It should all be done under oath, and Gruber repeatedly reminded of the consequences of perjury.”

6 Grubergate videos so far make Nixon’s little missing tape minutes look like a sniffle in preschool.

First You Tube link to Gruber bragging about lying to stupid American Voters about ObozoCare.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G790p0LcgbI

Second Grubergate Video link to Gruber bragging about how stupid American voters are/were to pass ObozoCare.

<http://hotair.com/archives/2014/11/12/gruber-video-2-no-really-american-voters-are-stupid/

Third Video from Herr Gruber on stupid Americans wanting Obozocare.

http://weaselzippers.us/205230-three-strikes-third-video-of-obamacare-architect-jonathan-gruber-calling-americans-stupid/

Fourth Grubergate video from Herr Gruber re stupid Americans.

http://www.c-span.org/video/?292478-1/health-care-reform

Fifth Grubergate video from Herr Gruber re stupid Americans, Fifth Video Emerges, Showing Gruber Mocking Man Worried About Obamacare

http://dailysignal.com/2014/11/14/fifth-video-emerges-showing-gruber-mocking-man-worried-about-obamacare/

Sixth Grubergate video from Herr Gruber re stupid Americans.

http://hotair.com/archives/2014/11/14/the-hits-keep-coming-gruber-video-6/

There is also a there is a PBS video of Gruber saying he worked with Obama himself in the Oval office:

http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/14/president-crafted-obamacare-deception-with-gruber-at-white-house-meeting/

Remember zero Republicans in Congress voted for ObozoCare. Every stupid rat in Congress voted for it without reading the bill or caring what was in it.


30 posted on 11/17/2014 10:29:10 AM PST by Grampa Dave (The Democrats, who run America are too old, too rich, and too very/very white elitist losers!.)
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To: SeekAndFind

But But, according to Pelosi AND Obama, they’ve never heard of this guy/sarc


31 posted on 11/17/2014 10:30:19 AM PST by Sarah Barracuda
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To: SeekAndFind

If he can PROVE and VALIDATE that it would definitely put the Obumbler into an even deeper hole.


32 posted on 11/17/2014 10:31:12 AM PST by VideoDoctor
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To: Sybeck1

Yeah, maybe Darrell Issa, eh? Then what? The constitution doesn’t include a “do over” clause. Unless SCOTUS rules otherwise it’s the law of the land whether it was based on lies or not.

IF the new majority holds and IF a Republican becomes President in 2016, there might be a chance for repeal. Had Romney won, we might have gained 2 years, but he failed the RINO test.


33 posted on 11/17/2014 10:31:40 AM PST by bigbob (The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly. Abraham Lincoln)
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To: SeekAndFind
What does this putz have to do to get IMPEACHED ??


34 posted on 11/17/2014 10:32:16 AM PST by GrandJediMasterYoda (Not all Muslims are terrorists but all Muslims are potential terrorists.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Regarding not being “on the WH staff”...

Of course not, otherwise could not have funneled some much taxpayer dollars to Gruber. By having him “on staff”, he’d be salaried... what would he get? $170,000 for lying? $200,000 to lie? Certainly not more than the liar in chief, at $400,000. To pay a liar even more requires having him as a paid consultant... just as involved, an architect of lies for 0’care... but able to be funneled million$ for his lies.


35 posted on 11/17/2014 10:32:42 AM PST by C210N (When people fear government there is tyranny; when government fears people there is liberty)
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To: tacticalogic; Sacajaweau
Sacajaweau :I fear for Gruber.
tacticalogic :Might get Fuddyed.
More likely to get the Michael Hastings treatment
36 posted on 11/17/2014 10:33:19 AM PST by Tilted Irish Kilt
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To: Grampa Dave

6 surprise consequences of health insurance reform

By Jay MacDonald • Bankrate.com

Read more:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/insurance/surprises-health-insurance-reform-1.aspx


37 posted on 11/17/2014 10:36:28 AM PST by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spiritui Sancto!)
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To: Grampa Dave

BTTT


38 posted on 11/17/2014 10:36:57 AM PST by stephenjohnbanker (The only people in the world who fear Obama are American citizens.)
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To: SeekAndFind
Obama and deception, a match made in heaven HELL. He is Satan with a fraudulent birth certificate.
39 posted on 11/17/2014 10:37:48 AM PST by CivilWarBrewing
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To: SeekAndFind

40 posted on 11/17/2014 10:44:10 AM PST by McGruff (“I Just Heard About This”)
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