Jonathan Gruber Called to Testify in House Committee Over 'Stupidity of American Voter' Comments

Notorious MIT economics professor Jonathan Gruber, who was caught saying in a video that Democrats counted on the "stupidity of the American voter" to pass Obamacare, has been called to testify by the House Oversight Committee.

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) asked Gruber and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner to testify on December 9 about the overall lack of transparency related to Obamacare.

MIT professor Jonathan Gruber, known for bragging about how the 'stupidity of American voters' helped pass Obamacare, has been called to testify by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
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"The American people deserve honesty, transparency and respect from those who forced the federal government into their healthcare," Issa said Friday. "I expect Mr. Gruber and Administrator Tavenner to testify publicly next month about the arrogance and deceptions surrounding the passage and implementation of ObamaCare."

Issa's brief letter to Gruber asks him to testify before the committee on December 9 about the "transparency failures" related to the implementation of Obamacare.

It makes no mention of the several videos that have surfaced over the last few weeks in which Gruber boasts about how he helped write a law that was difficult to understand in order to allow its passage in Congress. His comment about the "stupidity of the American voter" led to an initial wave of anger that was followed by additional videos showing his contempt for the people affected by the law.

Gruber's comments also forced Democrats to argue that Gruber didn't play much of a role in writing Obamacare. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said "I don't know who he is," although it was quickly discovered that she and other Democrats relied on his work as the law was being developed.

Earlier this month, Gruber said he regretted his comments, but didn't apologize.

Republicans were complaining about the lack of transparency surrounding Obamacare even before Gruber's comments surfaced. Just this week, Issa's questions forced CMS to reveal that it padded the total number of Obamacare enrollees by including about 400,000 people who only have dental plans.

On Thursday, Issa accused CMS of pulling a "Gruber" by failing to reveal this fact.

"CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner testified before our committee that the administration met its goals by enrolling 7.3 million individuals, however we now know that wasn't the case," he said. "The numbers provided by CMS were deceptive and obscured the number of Americans running from exchange plans."

Read Issa's letter to Gruber here: