Howard Dean: ObamaCare Created by “Elitists” Who Don’t Understand Americans

Yes that Howard Dean.

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean gave an excoriating critique of his own party’s key piece of legislation saying the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, was “put together by a bunch of elitists” who “don’t fundamentally understand the American people.”

Dean said was shocked that Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber said “the stupidity of the American voter” was a “political advantage” in passing Obamacare in an interview with MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski on Wednesday.

“The problem is not that he said it–the problem is that he thinks it,” Dean said. “The core problem under the damn law is it was put together by a bunch of elitists who don’t fundamentally understand the American people. That’s what the problem is.”

It’s no accident that Howard Dean suddenly sounds like a Tea Party member. Even though most of us remember him from his leftward campaign and helping put into place the Obama infrastructure that turned the country into a nightmare, he’s actually been a savvy political opportunist who turns right or left depending on which way the wind is blowing.

Let’s set aside the absurdity of Howard Dean calling anyone an elitist. Is this a sign that Blue State establishment Dems are willing to abandon ObamaCare?

Now don’t confuse that with abandoning socialized medicine. That’s obviously not going to happen. But Obama’s popularity is in the toilet. The Republicans control the Senate and can further wipe the board with Dems in conservative areas using unpopular parts of ObamaCare as a cudgel. But at the same time they’re willing to be drawn to the dark side for their own “replacement” for ObamaCare.

It seems to me that Howard Dean is opening the door to tearing down ObamaCare as the work of out of touch elitists and rebuilding it under a more open brand with Republicans.

And if you think that there aren’t Republicans who wouldn’t jump on it, you aren’t paying attention.

Meanwhile Howard Dean is selling himself as the man who understands the new reality that a shellshocked Democratic Party has to function in. And that reality includes dismantling and rebranding ObamaCare in order to make a comeback.

This obviously isn’t good news for us, but it’s important to track the progress of this thing.

  • Hard Little Machine

    The Democrats will never back down from the ACA. Never. All Howard Dean is doing is apologizing to the Democratic base for being too stupid to appreciate their overlords. I’m sorry you’re too stupid to worship us, voters, that’s on us for expecting you to ignore this whole dust up.

    • Race_Dissident

      Agreed. This is damage control. Crumb-bums like Dean have hoisted in that Obama and his coterie of anti-white loons are walking fiasco-machines and that it is best to create distance between themselves and the White House. Suddenly critiquing Obamacare is merely a fallback tactic that will allow them to fight another day on more propitious ground. In other words, don’t buy the sudden rhetoric of reason and sanity from the AWR-Left. In essence, they haven’t changed one bit.

      • Scar

        New packaging, same product.

        • truebearing

          Dean will criticize the others, then do the same thing. He sees this as his chance to replace Hillary.

    • Bamaguje

      “Democrats will never back down from the ACA” – HLM.

      I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Congressional election is over, so it is unlikely that Dean is posturing to win an election.
      Methinks, there are Democrats who genuinely have second thoughts about Obamacare. They are quite likely not the majority, but there might be enough of them in the Senate to help GOP repeal Obamacare.

  • Elizabeth capecod

    From that short clip I can’t tell if Dean is critical of Gruber for what he thinks about obamacare, or if Dean is critical of obamacare.

    • 4arepublic

      Well stated. /s

  • truebearing

    As I was reading the Dean quote I heard himmake a muffled scream…Dean smells an opportunity for power, and a way to get back at those within the Democratic Party that dumped on him.

    Dean wants to lead the reconstruction, and he senses Hillary’s weakness. He knows she will be tarred with everything that devasted the Democrats in the recent election, and justifiably so. It’s the new and improved, Dean with a silent scream. He may well be trouble for Hillary.

  • http://ruleofreason.blogspot.com/ Edward Cline

    Howard Dean, the Flip-Flop Man. “Please, don’t take ME for an elitist! I’m the guy who pep-talked his supporters for his presidential bid with YEEAAAH! No elitist would do that!”

    • claspur

      Flip-flopper… nah.. I look at him more as a greazzy slipper.

  • http://raycaruso.com Ray Caruso

    Sounds like he’s positioning himself for a run as a populist. If there’s ever a President Dean, though, get ready for VA-style health care for everybody.

  • carltjohnson

    I’ve always called them; DE litists, the great unwashed but mostly…the dumbest among us…

  • cree

    It is amazing how much my brain’s capacity has for disgust of the political left. I have though had to move some to my cloud storage so that my rational insight on a day by day basis may endure.

  • barney59

    Like you, Howard?

  • Rahu Ron

    I didn’t find Gruber’s comments offensive at all, since he was only describing the Democrat voter. We, in the GOP, could foresee the problems that the ACA would force upon the country – no matter how cleverly they tried to put lipstick on this pig. But then, it’s easy to fool those who vote for Democrat candidates since they also happen to be the low information voter, capable only of conversing in clever sounding 10 sec soundbites they heard on Stewart or Colbert (they only get their news from comedians).

  • Rahu Ron

    News flash! Obamacare DID pass.

  • Dutch Renitent

    @Daniel Greenfield What do you think of the Obamacare Replacement Plan by Senators Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-Okla.), and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)?

    http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/rightnow?ContentRecord_id=7ef8f0d5-bf56-4ea3-80fe-7f86765a00ca&ContentType_id=b4672ca4-3752-49c3-bffc-fd099b51c966