How Little-Known MIT Professor Jonathan Gruber Shook Up Washington This Week

ABC News ^ | November 14, 2014 | Shushannah Walshe

[2ndDivisionVet]

MIT economist Jonathan Gruber may not have been a household name, at least before this week, despite his being described as the “architect” of Obamacare and, previously, Romneycare in Massachusetts.

He sparked a furor this week after video surfaced of his talking about the “stupidity” of the American people, among other insults aimed at the voting public. Now Republicans have pounced, inventing a brand-new word: “Grubering.”

Here’s what you need to know about Gruber and the controversy that’s still swirling.

I've heard the name Jonathan Gruber a lot this week, but what happened and who is he?

He’s an MIT economics professor famous for his critical role in advising the Obama administration on the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He’s known as the “architect,” although Democrats involved with the law’s passage take issue with the title.

Before Obamacare, he also advised the creation of a similar law in Massachusetts, sometimes called Romneycare, after Mitt Romney, who was governor of the Bay State at the time. Despite some resistance to the term “architect,” Gruber joined the president’s transition team in 2008 and no one disputes he played a key role in the law’s creation. The Washington Post reports he was also paid "almost $400,000" for the work, controversial in its own right.

Gruber has made controversial comments in the past, but they don’t compare to the comments that came to light this week, six videos in total and counting – including one where he refers to the “stupidity of the American voter.” In another, when talking about Obamacare tax credits, he said, “American voters are too stupid to understand the difference.”(continued)

[struggle]

[Iron Munro]

[marktwain]

Jonathan Holmes “Jon” Gruber (born September 30, 1965) is an American economist and a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2007 he was called the Democratic Party’s “most influential health-care expert” by the Washington Post, but has also served in positions of advisement with Republicans, including working on healthcare reform in Massachusetts with Governor Mitt Romney.

http://www.whoislog.info/profile/jonathan-gruber.html

[blackdog]

Scary part is I knew a Dr. John Gruber, who had sons Peter, and John. The age is spot on. I was a summer camp counselor for the brat (I think). The father is a cardiologist in his 70's.

The sons were not that smart, but were quite privileged and I think the MCATS would have precluded them going into medical school.

[Eddie01]

wow, that’s powerful.

[Eddie01]

The tie isn’t right. Half vs. full and no crease.
$100 he’s wearing panties.

[FreeAtlanta]

I saw this posted today on facebook.

http://mobile.wnd.com/2014/11/obamacare-guru-boasted-abortion-lowered-crime/#0iCeBWkEwzUEsMzM.01

He apparently wrote a paper during Clinton’s term that talked about how abortion has reduced crime by getting rid of a lot of poor undesirables like African Americans.

I asked some lefty associates why they didn’t vet him like they did Barack Obama....

[Eddie01]

True. But. Huge opportunity for Fox to capture/convert low info voters to high info voters.

Turn that graphic around and visualize Fox sucking up the voters CNN/ABC/CNN/CBS are discharging.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

http://youtu.be/Y_e00NjQvFM

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Pretty much. Between that and her no-show job at NBC, she’s doing alright.

[timestax]

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Wasn’t the bad guy in Die Hard a Gruber? Hans Gruber I think.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

I watched his vids on YouTube. Dude seems a bit fruity.

[First_Salute]

Excerpt from Corsi's WND article:

Gruber and his co-authors, Wellesley economist Levine and Staiger of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, originally published their findings in the Quarterly Journal of Economics in February 1999.

They qualified their argument, concluding aborting “marginal children” would reduce future welfare costs if there are no geographic or financial restrictions to accessing government-approved and sponsored abortion at will.

"a 1996 study by Levine, Gruber and his co-authors noted that “births to teens, women over age 35, nonwhite women and unmarried women fell the most in response to abortion legalization.”

[AlaskaErik]

MIT economics professor Jonathan Gruber argued in his paper that without the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, “marginal children” would have been born to many poor mothers. He said statistics show these children would have been 70 percent more likely to live in a single-parent family, 40 percent more likely to live in poverty, 50 percent more likely to receive welfare and 35 percent more likely to die as an infant.

Precisely the type of low-information voter likely to vote Democrat...if they get off their posteriors on election day and vote.

[Sons of Union Vets]

Gruber also worked as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy in the Treasure Dept. during the Clinton Administration. He was a very busy little bee. Remember Hillarycare???

[Pagey]

Bttt!

[Age of Reason]

He sparked a furor this week after video surfaced of his talking about the “stupidity” of the American people, among other insults aimed at the voting public.

Seems to me I heard similar remarks here about the voting public after Obama was elected.

[SaraJohnson]

This thing Gruber has an ego the size of Texas. He’s verging on mental illness - a psychopath.

[a fool in paradise]

Thanks for the grubergate youtube links/chronology

#SHICKLGRUBER