The GOP doesn’t care about the suffering it causes — even among its own base

[homersapien 11,386]

By Jennifer Rubin

Given that innumerable Republican leaders (including the former president) have been spreading lies about the coronavirus, peddling quack cures and discouraging effective vaccines for well more than a year, no one should be surprised they are once again throwing up hurdles to public health measures. That does not make it any less appalling.

Axios reported on Monday that “Florida, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee have changed their unemployment insurance rules to allow workers who are fired or quit over vaccine mandates to receive benefits.” Yes, they are incentivizing people to quit work and remain unvaccinated. So much for the party of “work” and “life.”

Meanwhile, former White House physician and now-Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.) — known for his unintentionally comedic flattery of the former president and for describing the Biden administration’s vaccine program as “socialist communist Marxist” — has piped up again with an insane conspiracy theory:

@RonnyJacksonTX

Here comes the MEV - the Midterm Election Variant! They NEED a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election - but we're not going to let them!

3:47 PM · Nov 27, 2021·Twitter Web App

Other Republicans are attempting to nix federal mandates that have proved successful in getting more than 90 percent of the federal workforce vaccinated. As NPR reported, “Conservative lawmakers in Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wyoming and North Dakota have already completed special sessions and passed bills aimed at nullifying new federal mandates.”

The results are predictable: More Republicans are dying because Republican leaders and the right-wing media are misleading them. My colleague Philip Bump reports: “The vast majority of those now dying of the coronavirus were unvaccinated, a group that’s disproportionately Republican. Florida has now seen more than 61,000 coronavirus deaths, about 284 for every 100,000 residents. New York, by comparison, has seen 56,645 deaths, 280 per 100,000 residents. One year ago, before the vaccines, New York’s per capita toll was nearly twice Florida’s.”

Republicans, therefore, are contributing to the deaths of their most loyal followers. They then blame President Biden for failing to stop the pandemic — even though they have no intention of stopping their campaign of disinformation, anti-vaccine hysteria and effort to discredit Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony S. Fauci. Regarding the smear campaign that MAGA senators have launched against him, Fauci said on CBS’s “Face the Nation”: “I’m just going to do my job and I’m going to be saving lives and they’re going to be lying.”

Their coronavirus death cult may be the most egregious example of Republicans’ destructive oppositional behavior, but it is hardly the only one. MAGA hard-liners still want to punish the 13 House Republicans who had the temerity to vote for the infrastructure bill on the grounds that it would help their constituents. They’ll countenance none of that!

Likewise, Republicans voted unanimously against the American Rescue Plan, but then touted its benefits, including the bills program to help struggling restaurants. And while Republicans have been ranting about inflation, they also voted unanimously in the House against the Build Back Better Plan, which would, among other things, have reduced the costs of child care, housing, Affordable Care Act premiums and prescription drugs for millions of Americans.

It’s almost as though Republicans are rooting for inflation to devastate Americans. Actually, strike the “almost.” That is precisely what they are doing, as NBC News reported:

“This is going to be devastating for them,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., the head of the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, which is running ads during the Thanksgiving holiday highlighting higher gas and food prices.

In an earlier interview with The Wall Street Journal, he called the issue “a gold mine” for Republicans.

And don’t forget that the vast majority of congressional Republicans were happy to let the United States bump up against the debt ceiling, despite the economic debacle it would have caused.

This is hardly the only time Republicans have weaponized congressional deadlines (recall the 2013 and 2018-2019 shutdowns). They have long pioneered anti-government animus, and when things are not going badly enough to suit their political interests, they stand at the ready to make matters worse. Entirely foreseeable consequences, such as their own supporters dying or suffering financial hardship, do not dissuade them from engaging in reckless behavior. They still fan anti-vaccine hysteria even though many of them have been vaccinated themselves.

Should unnecessary deaths and economic hardship increase because of covid-19, you can bet Republicans will consider it a triumph — so long as they win the House majority. Their willingness to increase suffering is many things (irresponsible, un-Christian, unpatriotic, cruel), but it is not “pro-life.” Maybe their constituents will start to notice.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/30/gop-doesnt-care-about-suffering-it-causes-even-among-its-own-base/

Edited December 1, 2021 by homersapien

[jj3jordan 2,056]

2 hours ago, homersapien said:

By Jennifer Rubin

Given that innumerable Republican leaders (including the former president) have been spreading lies about the coronavirus, peddling quack cures and discouraging effective vaccines for well more than a year, no one should be surprised they are once again throwing up hurdles to public health measures. That does not make it any less appalling.

We use monoclonal antibodies, hydrochloroquine, and ivermectin, all legit and historically successful treatments.

 

Axios reported on Monday that “Florida, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee have changed their unemployment insurance rules to allow workers who are fired or quit over vaccine mandates to receive benefits.” Yes, they are incentivizing people to quit work and remain unvaccinated. So much for the party of “work” and “life.”

Protecting the livelihood of a resident and constituent against economic abuse from the federal government’s illegal mandates.

 

Meanwhile, former White House physician and now-Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.) — known for his unintentionally comedic flattery of the former president and for describing the Biden administration’s vaccine program as “socialist communist Marxist” — has piped up again with an insane conspiracy theory:

@RonnyJacksonTX

Here comes the MEV - the Midterm Election Variant! They NEED a reason to push unsolicited nationwide mail-in ballots. Democrats will do anything to CHEAT during an election - but we're not going to let them!

3:47 PM · Nov 27, 2021·Twitter Web App

 

He is not the only one who sees this pathetic ploy.

 

Other Republicans are attempting to nix federal mandates that have proved successful in getting more than 90 percent of the federal workforce vaccinated. As NPR reported, “Conservative lawmakers in Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wyoming and North Dakota have already completed special sessions and passed bills aimed at nullifying new federal mandates.”

Extorting submission to the vax is not really successful, just oppressive.

 

The results are predictable: More Republicans are dying because Republican leaders and the right-wing media are misleading them. My colleague Philip Bump reports: “The vast majority of those now dying of the coronavirus were unvaccinated, a group that’s disproportionately Republican. Florida has now seen more than 61,000 coronavirus deaths, about 284 for every 100,000 residents. New York, by comparison, has seen 56,645 deaths, 280 per 100,000 residents. One year ago, before the vaccines, New York’s per capita toll was nearly twice Florida’s.”

Republicans, therefore, are contributing to the deaths of their most loyal followers. They then blame President Biden for failing to stop the pandemic — even though they have no intention of stopping their campaign of disinformation, anti-vaccine hysteria and effort to discredit Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony S. Fauci.

We have a pretty low death and infection rate in FL. Nobody blames Biden for failing to stop the pandemic, just for exclaiming he was going to “crush the pandemic” and failing to do so. He is incompetent so there were no expectations. Dr Fauci helped fund gain of function research and should be in prison.

Regarding the smear campaign that MAGA senators have launched against him, Fauci said on CBS’s “Face the Nation”: “I’m just going to do my job and I’m going to be saving lives and they’re going to be lying.”

Their coronavirus death cult may be the most egregious example of Republicans’ destructive oppositional behavior, but it is hardly the only one. MAGA hard-liners still want to punish the 13 House Republicans who had the temerity to vote for the infrastructure bill on the grounds that it would help their constituents. They’ll countenance none of that!

Like the Democrats don’t punish people who step out of line.

 

Likewise, Republicans voted unanimously against the American Rescue Plan, but then touted its benefits, including the bills program to help struggling restaurants. And while Republicans have been ranting about inflation, they also voted unanimously in the House against the Build Back Better Plan, which would, among other things, have reduced the costs of child care, housing, Affordable Care Act premiums and prescription drugs for millions of Americans.

It’s almost as though Republicans are rooting for inflation to devastate Americans. Actually, strike the “almost.” That is precisely what they are doing, as NBC News reported:

Inflation is here as predicted.

 

“This is going to be devastating for them,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., the head of the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, which is running ads during the Thanksgiving holiday highlighting higher gas and food prices.

In an earlier interview with The Wall Street Journal, he called the issue “a gold mine” for Republicans.

Lets hope so.

 

And don’t forget that the vast majority of congressional Republicans were happy to let the United States bump up against the debt ceiling, despite the economic debacle it would have caused.

Absolutely. We should not raise the debt ceiling. There is plenty of money to run the country. It won’t shut the government down but if it does that would be great.

 

This is hardly the only time Republicans have weaponized congressional deadlines (recall the 2013 and 2018-2019 shutdowns). They have long pioneered anti-government animus, and when things are not going badly enough to suit their political interests, they stand at the ready to make matters worse. Entirely foreseeable consequences, such as their own supporters dying or suffering financial hardship, do not dissuade them from engaging in reckless behavior. They still fan anti-vaccine hysteria even though many of them have been vaccinated themselves.

Should unnecessary deaths and economic hardship increase because of covid-19, you can bet Republicans will consider it a triumph — so long as they win the House majority. Their willingness to increase suffering is many things (irresponsible, un-Christian, unpatriotic, cruel), but it is not “pro-life.” Maybe their constituents will start to notice.

Does she ever come up with anything new or original?

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/30/gop-doesnt-care-about-suffering-it-causes-even-among-its-own-base/

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by jj3jordan