Real World DC (Obamacare Transparency Edition)

Recently uncovered videos of Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber praising the law's lack of transparency as a way to get around the "stupidity of the American voter" have renewed interest in the selling of the unpopular health care law. As the video above can attest, Reason TV has been covering the "most transparent administration in history" for years. 

"Real World DC (Health Care Remix)" was originally released on Jan. 8, 2010. The original text is below. 

The true story… of 535 politicians…picked to live in two houses…work together and have their lives taped…to find out what happens…when Congress stops being polite…and starts secret, detailed negotiations on a sweeping, transformative health care reform bill…

This is the real Real World DC.

Featuring Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Charles Rangel, Robert Byrd, Barney Frank, Max Baucus…and billions of taxpayer dollars.

Written and produced by Meredith Bragg.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Does the 4th Estate ever call Pelosi on her shit? I mean, that last quote from her about the transparency in crafting Obamacare is astounding, even for her.

[Gozer the Gozerian]

Does the 4th Estate ever call Pelosi on her shit?

With credit to Carl Kolchak, I think you meant "Fifth Column."

[Libertarian]

Barney "I'm not bitter!" Frank:

It's been more than three years since the state Legislature redrew his congressional district, forcing ex-U.S. Rep. Barney Frank into early retirement, but the cranky liberal war horse just can't let it go.

The Massachusetts Humanities Council's 40th anniversary gala at the JFK Library the other night. Frank was seated at the same table as incoming state Senate prez Stanley Rosenberg, who happened to be the point man for the Senate on redistricting, and Barney wasted no time in letting Stan have it!

"He didn't say hello, how are you, congratulations, nothing. He just started screaming at him," said Someone Who Was There. "It was very ugly."

So much so that the organizers of the event moved Rosenberg and his partner, Bryon Hefner, to another table to get away from the grumpy ex-congressman!

http://www.bostonherald.com/in.....rney_frank

[Agammamon]

he shoulda just let Frank keep screaming until he ran out of steam then let him have some Glenngarry Glenn Ross Kevin Spacey action.

Skip to 3:30 for the action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55wIwwmrHxk

[Agammamon]

Imagine him opening up with "yeah, I deliberately designed 'your' district to fuck you over".

[John]

All he had to do was sit quietly and let Frank make an ass of himself and then calmly say

"Yes I redrew your district just to fuck you. Thank you for confirming the wisdom of my decision".

Don't ever forever that nothing hurts these assholes more than kicking them out of power and no amount of money or good life afterwards makes them any less miserable.

[Gozer the Gozerian]

I was going to go with The Color of Money: "Stings like a bitch, don't it?"

[Adans smith]

Barney has ,and always shall be,an ass

[Paul.]

Ah, the public sector... such a sacrifice! Yet try to push any one of those guys out of it and it's heel marks and protesting all the way out the door.

Fuck them.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

That's an eloquent summary, I'll steal it.

[Gozer the Gozerian]

Why are you thwarting the General Will of the People by denying them their rightly chosen Plenipotentiary Representative?

[CatoTheElder]

organizers of the event moved Rosenberg and his partner, Bryon Hefner

Maybe septuagenarian Frank was also a bit jealous that sexagenarian Rosenberg still had clout to attract a twenty-something partner, Bryon Hefner, who had served earlier as an "administrative aide".

[Brochettaward]

Listen, even old men need to make a living. How do you expect Frank to earn without the power to leverage people into bribes? It's inhumane.

[PapayaSF]

OT: Attention, Sugerfree! A writer who goes by the name Hunter Fox (sure, that's his real name, of course it is) has written a bunch of pamphlet-length "ebooks" focused on the pleasures experienced by young men being "ravished" by unicorns, octopi, yetis, cyclopses, orcs, and so forth.

[John Titor]

I question his knowledge of dinosaur reproduction. No mention of a cloaca, and how is a t-rex's tiny arms supposed to 'stroke his throbbing, enormous cock'?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

If you put out a cyclops's eye, will it give you a wink job?

[Gozer the Gozerian]

Obligatory

[The Late P Brooks]

However stupid they may be, the American Voting Public are not to blame for this law.

Stupid and mendacious Congressmen and Senators are.

[Gozer the Gozerian]

In the strict, threshold-majority sense of democratic action and opinion, this is true. However, I'm not sure that is an appropriate or even meaningful sense of political responsibility...

[Brochettaward]

I'd believe this if most Americans didn't re-elect Obama in 2012.

[Cytotoxic]

Most didn't. The number that voted Romney or not at all or GJ was greater than those who voted for Obama.

[Irish]

I'm beginning to question the feminist definition of 'death threats.'

According to this Jezebel article, this woman got 'death threats.' And yet the only examples of tweets that even mention violence are the following:

LOL so wearing a shirt with good looking women = women abuse? You're an absolute MORON.
Jump off a cliff. Please.

Christopher Cantwell @voteforcantwell
Follow

@roseveleth Please kill yourself

Notice that neither of those are actually threats and they're both using hyperbole. Apparently figurative speech now counts as death threats if that figurative speech even mentions violence.

[Irish]

Apparently Raw Story is sending death threats to Dana Loesch by this logic!

Hey Dana!

Really like your stance on guns. If "they" won't let you carry your gun to a book signing so you can "?shoot people?", that's a truly sad state of affairs eh? I have a "tip" for you. If you ever get that depressed about it, and wanted to shoot yourself in the head, you'd have to shove your gun up your ass to do it.

Most Sincerely,

Bill Howell

Of course, I realize this is not an actual death threat because I am not a total moron.

[Libertarian]

I thought that Cantwell name sounded familiar.

http://www.christophercantwell.com/

[The Late P Brooks]

SELFLESS

State police spent about $11 million on the manhunt for a survivalist charged in the ambush slaying of a trooper outside his barracks, according to a cost breakdown released Friday.

Thousands of law enforcement officers from the Pennsylvania State Police and numerous other state and federal agencies took part in the 48-day search for Eric Frein, who was captured by U.S. marshals outside an abandoned airplane hangar in the Pocono Mountains on Oct. 30.

State police spent $10.5 million on personnel, including $6.9 million for overtime and $2.8 million for benefits, according to the breakdown. Other costs included travel, utilities and equipment.

No wonder they took so long to find him.

[Libertarian]

I'm sure they do the same thing for everyone who is shot.

[Brochettaward]

He's a domestic terrorist. At least, that's how they are justifying the dollars spent to catch him.

On that note, it sickens me that the police call their station 'barracks.' Hey, assholes. Barracks are shit holes that (typically single) military personnel are forced to live in while they get paid like $1.50 for every hour they work.

The place where you twiddle your thumbs are your desk all day is not a barracks. You are not military. There is no distinction between cops and civilians besides a badge and a gun.

[Agammamon]

dude, not even the most junior of our military get paid $1.50 an hour.

Even if you go with a 24/7 day work schedule (which no one has) you get $2.13/hr (pre-tax) - base pay *only* (no entitlements) and not considering 'benefits' like not paying rent, food's paid for, and full medical and dental coverage.

That's for a *single* E-1 with less than 2 years of service, *not* deployed in a combat zone (where his pay and entitlements aren't taxed and he gets a danger pay stipend).

have him get married or have a kid and the entitlements and benefits increase.

Yes I am a pedantic, humorless fuck, but the idea that we *underpay* our military is ridiculous.

[Sevo]

It was a hell of a lot easier to 'underpay' doggies when the draft was still in effect/

[Agammamon]

Sure, but we've been 'all-volunteer' since 1973.

[Sevo]

Gruber continues to suffer from foot-in-mouth disease:

"The New York Times went as far as attaching an editor's note to a Gruber op-ed from the previous year.
"On Friday, Professor Gruber confirmed reports that he is a paid consultant to the Department of Health and Human Services, and that his contract was in effect when he published his article. The article did not disclose this relationship to readers," the note reads."
http://dailycaller.com/2014/11.....tower-guy/

Hey, disinterested comments are over-rated! Why find an independent when some people are highly-paid to lie through their teeth?
"RELATED: Gruber Has Made At Least $5.9 Million For Government Work" (from the same link)

[oliverbrandonfet]

my buddy's mother-in-law makes $79 every hour on the laptop . She has been fired for seven months but last month her paycheck was $13625 just working on the laptop for a few hours. try this out......

?????? http://www.payinsider.com