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AirTalk

Stupid is as stupid does: How smart is the American voter?

Jonathan Gruber, "Health Care Reform"
Jonathan Gruber, "Health Care Reform"
(
Kaiser Health News
)
Listen 14:24
Stupid is as stupid does: How smart is the American voter?

How smart is the average American voter? Depending on who you ask, you might not like the answer you get.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology economics professor and Affordable Care Act architect Jonathan Gruber has been under fire recently for comments he made on several occasions, alleging that the health law only passed because the American voters lacked an understanding of what was in the bill. Gruber even went as far as to suggest that the only reason the ACA passed was because of the “stupidity of the American voter”

Several video clips of Gruber speaking about the healthcare law have surfaced and gone viral because of his comments. This week, Gruber apologized for his comments, saying he “spoke inappropriately” and “off the cuff.”

How informed do you think the average American voter is? What do you think are some of the unspoken assumptions that politicians make about their constituents?

Guest:

Aaron Blake, political reporter at the Washington Post and senior reporter for the Post’s column, The Fix.