Issa To Gruber: ‘Are You Stupid?’

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., with Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the committee's ranking member, left, leads a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, as his pan... House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., with Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the committee's ranking member, left, leads a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, as his panel updates its examination of the government's response to the Ebola outbreak. On Thursday, a fourth Ebola case was diagnosed in the U.S. — a doctor in New York City who had treated patients in Guinea. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) MORE LESS
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House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) cut right to the chase in his questioning of MIT professor Jonathan Gruber’s comments on the “stupidity of the American voter” at a Tuesday oversight committee hearing.

“I’ve been accused that I’m going to berate you or something and I hope it won’t feel that way when I get done. But the night before last I was at the Kennedy Center honors where they honored Tom Hanks, who famously portrayed Forrest Gump. The ultimate successful stupid man,” Issa said before getting to his first question for Gruber. “Are you stupid?”

“I don’t think so, no,” Gruber said.

“Does MIT employ stupid people?” Issa continued.

“Not to my knowledge,” Gruber said.

“Okay. So you’re a smart man who said some, as the ranking member said, some really stupid things,” Issa said. “Is that correct?”

“The comments I made were really inexcusable,” Gruber said.

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