Last week several videos surfaced of economist, professor and a key architect of the Affordable Care Act, Jonathon Gruber, telling his fellow economists that the American voters are stupid. Speaking of the health care law and how it was passed, Gruber said that it was written and promoted in a deceptive way to fool the stupid voters so it would pass. He said that non-transparency to fool the American people is a benefit for politicians and that without it the Affordable Care Act would never have come into being.
Of course the Obama administration denounced Gruber as "never employed by the White House," even though the President had several meetings with Gruber concerning the bill and Gruber received hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation for his work on the bill.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi denied knowing who Gruber is, even though in 2009 she said his review and critique of the law was wonderful.
They really do think we're stupid.
Now we have another prime example of just how stupid they think we are. Over the last couple of years the House of Representatives has passed eight different bills to build the Keystone pipeline, a project that would not only help lower energy costs but would employ tens of thousands of Americans. The Senate, under iron fisted Harry Reid, did not even consider bringing the bills to the floor for debate and a vote.
Yesterday, the Senate finally brought their own Keystone pipeline bill to the floor for a vote. Did they have a sudden change of heart about the necessity of the pipeline? Did they realize that jobs on the pipeline would be a good thing for America? Did they finally come to the understanding that bringing more oil into the country would help lower our energy costs?
No, no and no. None of the above.
Their reasoning for the bill is far more simple than that. They were trying to save the seat of one of their own.
Senator Mary Landrieu (D) LA, was up for re-election in the mid-term. In Louisiana, to win an election a candidate must garner 50% of the vote. Landrieu only got 42% of the vote while her strongest opponent, Representative Bill Cassidy (R), got 41%. A second Republican candidate received 14% of the vote which in all likelihood kept Cassidy from winning.
Landrieu now faces a runoff election in December. She is making all kinds of promises including bringing much needed jobs to Louisiana. One of her promises of jobs includes the Keystone pipeline. Hence the pipeline bill. Harry Reid wouldn't even entertain the idea of it until he saw a political use for it. Landrieu told her constituents that she would support the Keystone pipeline being built (it will flow into Louisiana) if she won re-election. Suddenly a bill on the pipeline made it to the Senate floor.
Incredibly, it was defeated by Landrieu's fellow Democrats. I guess they care more about their ideology than saving one of their own. Landrieu is poised to lose the runoff election next month. The Democrats know this. The DNC has already pulled its funding from her campaign. They say they "still care about Landrieu winning" but they're no longer going to spend money to help her do it.
Poor Mary. She can't even get the backing of her colleagues and her party. Of course, when asked why she lost her bid for a third term and why President Obama was so unpopular in Louisiana she played the sexist card and the race card, saying women and blacks have always had a difficult time in the South. Obviously that's the reason. After all, she has only been in Washington representing Louisiana for 12 years and the President has only been elected twice. Yup - sexism and racism at its worst.
Sadly shaking my head...
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