WASHINGTON — Economist Jonathan Gruber, one of the Obama administration’s consultants on the Affordable Care Act, is under attack from conservatives for comments he made last year in which he said the “stupidity of the American voter” was a factor in passing the 2010 legislation.
“Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage,” Gruber said on a video of a panel discussion in October 2013. “And basically, call it the ‘stupidity of the American voter’ or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass.”
Conservatives from Rush Limbaugh to Reps. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, criticized the remarks. Gruber apologized Tuesday on MSNBC, saying that political pressures shaped the law.
