No one puts a better face on the GOP's coronavirus ignorance than Louie Gohmert
IT WAS a slip of the tongue, but Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (Calif.) reference to fellow Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert as “Congressman Covid” could not have been more apt. No one puts a better face on the heedlessness and ignorance that have helped fuel the spread of the deadly coronavirus than the Texas congressman who has made it a political badge of honor not to wear a mask. That he tested positive for covid-19 seems to have made no impact on him as he continues the nonsense that puts others at risk and has made the United States a hot spot of the pandemic.
Mr. Gohmert, who was scheduled to fly to Texas on Wednesday morning on Air Force One with President Trump, tested positive for the coronavirus in a pre-screen at the White House. The conservative congressman has relished his disdain for the advice of public health experts; he has been seen walking the halls of the Capitol without a mask and not practicing social distancing. Even after learning he was infected, he insisted on returning to the Capitol; after Politico broke the news of the test results, he told his aides in person that he had tested positive. He appeared in a video smiling, smugly referring to covid-19 as the “Wuhan virus” and absurdly blaming his diagnosis on his recent use of a mask. He has not experienced any symptoms — which we hope continues to be the case — but that’s of little comfort to those who came into contact with him. There’s mounting evidence that people without symptoms or with mild symptoms help spread the virus.
Understandably, many of those who work at the Capitol were far less cavalier than Mr. Gohmert about his diagnosis. There were renewed questions about working conditions on the Hill, where lawmakers each week go back and forth between Washington and their home states, some of which (like Texas) are seeing dramatic spikes of the virus, without getting tested. Politico reported about the fury — from legislative aides, chiefs of staff, press assistants, career workers, and maintenance men and women — about the patchwork of rules, lax enforcement and bosses who turn a blind eye to their welfare, even mocking those who wear masks.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced a new rule requiring all lawmakers to wear a mask while appearing on the House floor and is considering other measures. Mr. McCarthy and others pressed Ms. Pelosi to take the White House up on its offer of rapid testing for lawmakers. Now that he’s so passionate about the need for a testing regimen in Congress, maybe Mr. McCarthy and his fellow Republicans will do more to deliver testing for the nation, which needs it just as much.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/no-one-puts-a-better-face-on-the-gops-coronavirus-ignorance-than-louie-gohmert/2020/07/30/fb830252-d290-11ea-8c55-61e7fa5e82ab_story.html
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Are they casting asparagus on his character? 
