Staying true to form, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) assailed Obamacare architect and MIT Professor Jonathan Gruber Tuesday during the House Oversight Committee's hearing examining the Affordable Care Act's transparency failures.

Gruber's comments about the "stupidity" of the American voter were panned by both Republicans and Democrats during the hearing. Ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) called Gruber's insulting comments "absolutely stupid" and "incredibly disrespectful." But none can put it into words better than Rep. Gowdy.

The transcript below highlights the one talking point that Gruber came prepared with to the hearing; he did not break script:

Gowdy: Professor Gruber, what did you mean when you said, 'They proposed it and that passed because the American people are too stupid to understand the difference?'

Gruber: When I said that, I was at an economic conference being glib and, quite frankly, trying to make myself seem smart by insulting others. 

Gowdy: Are you offering the venue as a defense for saying it or for meaning it? 

Gruber: I'm offering it as a defense for using inappropriate and hurtful, inexcusable language to-- 

Gowdy: Well, what did you mean by too stupid to understand the difference? 

Gruber: Congressman, I didn't mean anything by it. 

Gowdy: Well, you said it. You had to have meant it.

Gruber: I was, once again, trying to be glib and trying to make myself seem smarter by reflecting-- 

Gowdy: Well, what did you mean when you said it was a very basic exploitation of the lack of economic understanding of the American voter? What did you mean by that? 

Gruber: Once again, it's another example of my inexcusable arrogance in trying to insult others to make myself seem smarter. 

Gowdy: Well, what did you mean when you said the American people don't care about the uninsured?

Gruber: Once again, that was an overstatement of trying to conjecture on political topics on which I'm not an expert. 

Gowdy: Well, you know what, Professor Gruber, I have listened to you all morning talk about your lack of political acumen and that you're not a politician, so, therefore, you don't know not to call people stupid. Most of the people watching this morning aren't politicians and they don't call people stupid. And I can't help but note, Professor Gruber, in another one of your quotes, which I'll read to you, 'that was politically infeasible.' Do you remember saying that? 

Gruber: Yes. 

Gowdy: So, you do like to factor in the politics from time to time, don't you? And also happen to note, Professor Gruber, that usually you insult the American voter, not the American public. So you do factor in politics, don't you?

Gruber: I have tried on a number of occasions pretended I know more about politics than I do--

Gowdy: Do you think not being a politician is a defense? Is that your defense this morning? I mean, I know initially you said that you offered these comments at a conference. I think you meant conferences plural, but you said conference when you went on a very obscure television show and initially apologized for what you said were inappropriate comments. And now today, your defense is that you're not a politician. Is that the best can you come up with? 

Gruber: The best I can come up with is really just to apologize for an inexcusable-- 

Gowdy: But I want to know -- I mean, the pervasiveness of your quotes is so much, that it has to be more than that. It has to be more than just an episodic mistake that you made. Well here, let me keep going. See if this helps you any. What did you mean when you said you wish that you had been able to be transparent but you'd rather have the law than not? 

Gruber: Once again, it was my trying to conjecture about a political process in which I'm not an expert. 

Gowdy: Well, what did you mean when you said it was written in a tortured way to make sure the CBO didn't score the mandate as attacks? 

Gruber: Once again, it was using inappropriate language to try to sound impressive about something to my colleagues. 

Gowdy: You see a trend developing here, Professor Gruber?

Gruber: I don't understand the question. 

Gowdy: It's a lot of stupid quotes you've made. That's the trend. You see them?

Gruber: A lot of inexcusable quotes, yes.

Gowdy: Right, and again, your defense is that you're not a politician. 'The lack of transparency is a huge political advantage.' Well, what does a non-politician doing talking about political advantages?

Gruber: A non-politician is talking about political advantages to try to make himself seem smarter by conjecturing about something he doesn't really know about.

Gowdy: So, you're a professor at MIT and you're worried about not looking smart enough?

Gruber: Yes. 

Gowdy: Okay, well, you succeeded if that was your goal. Now, I want to ask you, are you sorry -- when did you realize that these comments were inappropriate? Because it took you about a year to apologize, so I'm trying to figure out if you realized sooner that they were inappropriate, or was it just the morning before you went on MSNBC that you realized that it was inappropriate? When did you realize that these comments are indefensible and inappropriate?

Gruber: I honestly didn't remember making them. 

Gowdy: You didn't remember calling your fellow citizens stupid and you didn't remember saying that you're the only person who cares about the uninsured and that the rest of your fellow citizens don't give a damn about the uninsured? You don't remember saying that?

Gruber: I don't because they were really glib and thoughtless comments that I made.

Gowdy: Well, Professor Gruber, let me just tell you what it looks like from this vantage point -- is that you thought they were really pithy and really funny until the video showed up. And then, even then, it took you a little while to apologize. And what I'm struggling with is whether your apology is because you said it or because you meant it. Which are you apologizing for? Because you said it or because you meant it?

Gruber: I didn't mean it. I'm apologizing-- 

Gowdy: All of these quotes that I just read to you, you didn't mean a single one of them? Not a one?

Gruber: What I said, congressman, is that I was using glib, thoughtless and really inexcusable language-- 

Gowdy: Well, you used them a lot. You used them a lot, Professor Gruber, which tends to undercut the notion that you were sorry for an episodic misstatement. I just read to you about ten. You see why people might possibly think the apology is a little disingenuous? Maybe? I yield back, Mr. Chairman.

Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) took the last few seconds of Gowdy's time to ask Gruber if any of the "like-minded people" listening to his glib comments over the years ever confronted him and told him they were inappropriate. When Gruber said he couldn't recall, Issa said, "I guess what you said was popular in that community."