Another Presidential Profanity-Laced Tirade And Gnashing Of Teeth?

By now we’ve all become familiar with retired ABC News journalist Ann Compton’s interview on C-SPAN wherein she revealed The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer launched into profanity-laced tirades over what he perceived as the press making too much of “scandals that he did not think were scandals.”

Yesterday MIT professor Jonathan Gruber was on the Hill for a hearing by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to explain his involvement in Obamacare and more specifically how and why he bragged about deceiving the American people about the law.

Gruber apologized.  He noted that over the past weeks a number of videos have emerged showing him “making a series of glib, thoughtless and sometimes downright insulting comments.”

The committee’s ranking member, Elijah Cummings (D-MD) deliberately threw the professor to the wolves:

“As far as I can tell we are here today to beat up on Jonathan Gruber for stupid, I mean absolutely stupid, comments he made over the past few years and then grill and grill Administrator Tavenner about what appears to be an inadvertent mistake in reporting ACA enrollment numbers.”

“This may be good political theater, but it will not help a single American get health insurance.  It will not help a single person get well.  It will not help a single person get the help that they need.  Let me clear, I am extremely frustrated with Dr. Gruber’s statements.  They were irresponsible, incredibly disrespectful and did not reflect reality.  They were indeed insulting.“ 

“I was in Congress when this law was debated and Dr. Gruber does not speak for me or the chairmen of the other committees who worked tirelessly on this bill.  We debated this legislation for nearly a year before it was finally passed and signed by the president.  We held 79 hearings and mark-ups in the House of Representatives alone.  Never once did I believe or did anyone suggest that we were somehow hiding our goals from the American people.  But worst of all, Dr. Gruber’s statements gave Republicans a public relations gift in their relentless political campaign to tear down the ACA and eliminate health care for millions of Americans.  You did a pretty good job.  You wrapped it up with a bow.”

The damage done to the regime cannot be undone.  His unguarded comments are counter to the White House’s bogus line on how the 2,700-page-long law, which is steeped in lies, came together.  Democrats, who are in deep trouble since losing the 2014 mid-terms, are strategically professing to accept Gruber’s new lies in order to shield Obamacare.  King v. Burwell may well be in jeopardy when the Supreme Court takes up the case.

I think it is a foregone conclusion that The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer launched a few more “profanity-laced tirades” following the hearing.

What’s This? A Circus?

With more than a half-dozen videos surfacing in which MIT Professor Jonathan Gruber bragged about fooling the public about Obamacare, today he faces the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.  The hearing begins at 9:30 AM ET on C-SPAN 3.

Many have characterized his remarks about the purposeful lack of transparency and the “stupidity of the American voter” as gaffes.  His remarks may prove to be a fatal blunder that exposes just how bad the law is and may ultimately cause the damn thing to unravel.  It has most assuredly raised the public’s suspicions about the law and generated a palpable anger over the arrogance of this Administration.

Gruber is political poison. 

Democrats have distanced themselves from Gruber since the release of the videos. The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer referred to him as “some adviser who never worked on our staff” who “expressed an opinion that I completely disagree with,” and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who was House speaker when the ACA passed, said she didn’t know who he was, despite having praised his work in 2009.

Jim Esquea, assistant secretary for legislation at HHS, wrote a letter begging to have Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner seated separately from Gruber.  Esquea is scared silly that photographs taken of the two seated together would be a public relations nightmare for the regime.  O RLY?

Gruber, the self-described “ivory tower guy” had laid low since the videos became a flashpoint claiming, “Anything I say will just feed the haters.”

The Daily Caller is reporting that Tea Party Patriots will be handing out 250 t-shirts with Gruber’s likeness with the words “I’m With Stupid” to remind everyone why he will be at the hearing.

Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin told The Daily Caller, “With all that’s going on in the Capitol, we didn’t want Mr. Gruber’s curtain call to go unnoticed. We commemorated his appearance, and in the spirit of the Season, we’d like to offer the Obamacare architect a dozen. He can use them as stocking stuffers for the economically unsophisticated.”

Is 9:30 in the morning too early for popcorn?

Rumpswab Who Is Not Good At Math Also Not Good At Law

On Friday, May 10, 2013 Lois Lerner, head of the IRS Tax-Exempt Unit, apologized for targeting conservative groups by improperly delaying and scrutinizing their applications for tax-exempt status at a conference held by the American Bar Association.

The Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty and Zachary Goldfarb noted, “The IRS’s subsequent conference call with reporters was clumsily handled. At one point, Lerner attempted to do arithmetic on the phone and blurted out: ‘I’m not good at math.’”

The following Wednesday, Lerner gave an opening statement before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in which she lied about lying about having done nothing wrong.

 

“I have not done anything wrong. I have not broken any laws, I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations and I have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee,” Lerner said.

Upon the advice of her attorney she then invoked her constitutional right to plead the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination and declined to testify.

Trey Gowdy, who sits on committee dealing with the IRS scandal objected saying, “Mr. Issa, Mr. Cummings just said we should run this like a courtroom, and I agree with him. She just testified. She just waived her Fifth Amendment right to privilege. You don't get to tell your side of the story and then not be subjected to cross examination. That's not the way it works. She waived her Fifth Amendment privilege by issuing an open statement. She ought to stand here and answer our questions.”

The fact that she restated some of the same answers she gave the inspector general during his investigation prompted the panel’s chairman Darrell Issa to remark, “At this point, I believe you have not asserted your rights, but have effectively waived your rights.”

And the stench we are smelling is from the collective pants-shitting of the regime.

On next year's 1040, I'm gonna scrawl "I'M ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE" in crayon.
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) May 23, 2013