And in spite of that they pulled out all the stops to get it rammed through. What he is really saying is that they didn't believe that the people would have as much influence on legislators as they did.
At one point I could have accepted his explanation as displaying their ignorance. It looks more like something between arrogance and stupidity now.
Actually it is a combination of the two. It is called "a hidden agenda".
I think they finally got the message when peasants with flaming torcches and pitchforks showed up outside the White House fence.