OPINION:
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is on the defensive after video surfaced of MIT professor Jonathan Gruber saying limited transparency and “the stupidity of the American voter” were assets in passing the Affordable Care Act. She’s denied ever hearing about Mr. Gruber, but her website and a previous press conference suggest she’s not telling the truth.
“I don’t know who he is. He didn’t help write our bill,” Mrs. Pelosi said, according to The Washington Post.
But as Mediate reported, Mrs. Pelosi’s website in December 2009 featured a lengthy blog post citing Mr. Gruber’s analysis of Obamacare in an effort to dispel “myths” about the bill.
C-SPAN also posted a clip from a Nov. 13, 2009 press conference where she touts Mr. Gruber’s analysis.
These references cast doubt on her first claim.
SEE ALSO: Obamacare’s Jonathan Gruber caught on second tape calling voters ‘too stupid’
Her second claim is also troublesome, as The New York Times two years ago, when the paper reported that Mr. Gruber “helped the administration put together the basic principles of the proposal” and was then sent to “help Congressional staff members draft the specifics.”
Drew Hammill, communications director for Mrs. Pelosi, stood by the remarks.
“We’ve cited the work of dozens upon dozens of economists over the years. As the Leader said today, Mr. Gruber played no role in drafting our bill,” he said.
But her references to Mr. Gruber before the recent fallout still stand. Either she’s lying or she’s conveniently forgotten about Mr. Gruber’s role and hopes stupid Americans will buy it.
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