The Obscene Hypocrisy of Republicans Blaming Everyone But Themselves: The COVID Edition

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https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/07/the-obscene-hypocrisy-of-republicans-blaming-everyone-but-themselves-the-covid-edition/


July 28, 2021
The Obscene Hypocrisy of Republicans Blaming Everyone But Themselves: The COVID Edition
They spent so much time owning the libs, they forgot to care about the lives of their constituents.
Nathalie Baptiste


After nearly a year and a half of telling their constituents that it’s their constitutional right to ignore coronavirus guidelines and public health restrictions, it seems to be dawning on leaders in the Republican Party that letting a deadly and very infectious disease run rampant through their states and localities—not to mention the rest of the country—is actually a terrible idea.

So now, as the highly contagious Delta variant is creating a new surge of infections, the time has come to reverse course. But there’s an obvious problem: After feeding a large swath of the country a steady diet of potentially fatal misinformation, distrust in the government, and demonization of the other, while insisting that individual “freedom” is more important than the collective good, it’s nearly impossible to convince the true believers to do otherwise. For decades now, the conservative ethos has been predicated on a selfish individualism that informs everything from social and tax policies to medical care. And of course, this ideology, further amped up by a deranged president, has plagued the US response to COVID-19 since the beginning. Now, we’re all paying the price.

Unlike the early days of vaccine distribution, the US has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to vaccine supply, which has been scientifically proven to prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death. Yet, according to the Washington Post, as of July only 49 percent of eligible people in the US are fully vaccinated. And there’s one major reason for this: GOP leadership—from state and local politicians to members of Congress to the conservative media amplification machine. So now, as 41 percent of conservatives choose not to get vaccinated, cases are up nationwide but especially in states where vaccine rates are low. The repercussions are dire. In Florida and Arkansas, every county is recording “high transmission” rates. In Alabama, doctors describe dying patients begging for the vaccine—but it’s too late.

None of this is surprising. From encouraging lockdown protests to eschewing masks and downplaying the severity of the virus, the GOP followed the lead of its president and underplayed science. Even when its standard bearer, former President Donald Trump, contracted the virus and was hospitalized, nothing changed. Trump had a particularly contradictory stance: at once whining about not getting enough credit for the vaccine, opting to get quietly vaccinated before he left office, and doing nothing to encourage his supporters to get their shots. He just further added to the politicization of it all by making fun of mask-wearing and insisting the virus was nothing to be afraid of even after his hospitalization.

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On a personal level, it can be frustrating to see so many people choose not to get vaccinated. They’ve made things more dangerous for everyone. But railing against them, as Ivey did, is misguided. The idea that personal freedom is more important than public health has become a do-or-die tenet for Republicans—literally. There’s something obscene about seeing them act surprised by what their own voters truly believe. The GOP leadership has turned masks, lockdowns, and now vaccines into a culture war. Conservatives spent so much time owning the libs, they forgot to care about the lives of their constituents. The increase in infections, hospitalizations, and deaths is indeed tragic for everyone. But Republican leaders have no one to blame but themselves.

[Generic Other]

1. I share my view with those I care about once

I have a fit of coughing behind my mask if one of the nitwits approaches me in the frozen food section and dares to REACH over me to get a product. (Yes, I did that just to watch the hand recoil and the blonde Karen move away from me.

I can cough on demand as I have allergies so always sound a bit congested.