On Friday, the group American Commitment uploaded a video to YouTube of ObamaCare architect Jonathan Gruber telling a group of healthcare economists in 2013 that the “lack of transparency” regarding the bill’s contents and “the stupidity of the American voter” were critical to its passage through Congress in 2010.
Since the video was uploaded, the major English and Spanish broadcast networks of ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, and Telemundo have chosen not to cover this devastating video on either their morning or evening newscasts. During the day on Monday alone, Gruber’s comments were covered on cable news channels CNN and the Fox News Channel (FNC) in addition to news sites ranging from The Daily Signal to Forbes to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. [MP3 audio here; Video below]
Monday’s Special Report on FNC offered a segment lasting just over one-minute long on the topic, with substitute host Bill Hemmer covering it during the program’s Grapevine section. After an introduction by Hemmer, a soundbite of the video was shown in which Gruber admitted:
You get a law which said healthy people are going to pay in, it made explicit that healthy people pay and sick people get money, it would not have passed. Ok? Just the cal – people transparent – lack of transparency is a huge political advantage and basically, you know, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically, that was really, really critical to get this thing to pass.
While refusing to acknowledge the video featuring Gruber, the Friday editions of the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley and NBC Nightly News did cover the announcement by the United States Supreme Court that it will hear a case pertaining to the legality of the subsidies granted to Americans to help purchase insurance under ObamaCare.
However, that coverage was not free of bias. NBC’s Brian Williams described the decision by the Court as “bad news” for the President’s “signature health care law” as the ruling could put: "At stake, health insurance coverage for 5.5 million low-income Americans who bought through federal exchanges and now stand to lose the subsidies that made coverage affordable for them."
The complete transcript of the story that aired on FNC’s Special Report on November 10 can be found below.
FNC’s Special Report
November 10, 2014
6:30 p.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: Stupid Is as Stupid Does]
BILL HEMMER: An expert on the subject says that ObamaCare passed thanks to two things: A lack of transparency, and the stupidity of the American voter. No, that did not come from a critic, it came from one of its designers, Jonathan Gruber’s one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act. Just after the botched rollout began, he made it clear if people knew what was really in the law, it would not have passed.
JONATHAN GRUBER You get a law which said healthy people are going to pay in, it made explicit that healthy people pay and sick people get money, it would not have passed. Ok? Just the cal – people transparent – lack of transparency is a huge political advantage and basically, you know, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically, that was really, really critical to get this thing to pass.
HEMMER: So, that comment from 13 months ago, political advocacy group American Commitment unearthed that video. Quote, “Gruber again let slip that ObamaCare rests on a mountain of lies, deceit and contempt for the American people,” end quote.
The transcript of the news brief from the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on November 7 is transcribed below.
CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley
November 7, 2014
6:37 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: ObamaCare Challenge]
SCOTT PELLEY: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed today to hear a second challenge to ObamaCare. The issue this time is whether the government may help people pay their premiums in states that did not set up health insurance exchanges. Only 16 states have them. Back in 2012, the Court upheld the main ObamaCare provision, the one that requires almost all Americans to buy health insurance.
The full transcript of the news brief from November 7's NBC Nightly News can be found below (with thanks to my colleague Kyle Drennen for this segment’s transcript).
NBC Nightly News
November 7, 2014
7:08 p.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE CAPTION: ObamaCare Challenge]
BRIAN WILLIAMS: And right about the time the President was breaking bread he got a piece of bad news. The Supreme Court will take up another challenge to his signature ObamaCare law. At stake, health insurance coverage for 5.5 million low-income Americans who bought through federal exchanges and now stand to lose the subsidies that made coverage affordable for them.
