Obama Adviser Apologizes for Penn Comments
Jonathan Gruber: I'm Sorry for My 'Insulting' Obamacare Remarks http://t.co/E9sFLTik9T (VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/VU6Op6vEXa
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) December 9, 2014
The presidential adviser who told a Penn audience that Obamacare passed, in part, due to “the stupidity of the America voter” has apologized for his comments.
Jonathan Gruber, an MIT professor, made the comment at a Penn conference on health care more than a year ago. Video of the comment had emerged in recent months, fueling a new round of GOP criticism of the law.
“This bill was written in a tortured way to make sure the CBO did not score the mandate as taxes,” Gruber said in the video. “Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. Call it the stupidity of the America voter, or whatever.”
On Monday, Gruber apologized to a congressional panel for the earlier statement.
“I behaved badly, and I will have to live with that, but my own inexcusable arrogance is not a flaw in the Affordable Care Act,” he said. “The A.C.A. is a milestone accomplishment for our nation that already has provided millions of Americans with health insurance.”
He added: “It is never appropriate to try to make oneself seem more important or smarter by demeaning others. I know better. I knew better. I am embarrassed, and I am sorry.”
