... and having it too is something we are all tempted to try to do knowing well the difficulty of pulling it off. Examples of this in life and in politics are many. However, Republicans seem to have made it their forte and they appear to get away with it more often that you would think possible. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic provides an example of this. From the start early in 2020 Republicans with rare exceptions toed Trump's line downplaying the seriousness of the disease and deriding public health measures such as mask-wearing, hand-washing and social distancing in the name of personal liberty. Trump made much of pushing for "warp speed" development of a vaccine at the cost of billions of dollars. But when the vaccine was developed Republicans encouraged vaccine resistance. I do understand the difference between recommending the vaccine and mandating it; I do not understand the logic of actively discouraging people from taking it; especially since most Republican in positions of power and their families seem to have quietly taken the vaccine. A few days ago when he tested positive for the virus Senator Lindsey Graham had the gall to say he was glad he had been vaccinated as this made it unlikely he would get seriously sick. Of course Graham's propensity for taking diametrically opposing positions is well known, witness his utterances during the Clinton impeachment versus during the whole of Trump's term and his opinion of Trump when he ran against him in 2016 and since. Even as it becomes obvious that new infections are mainly (>90%) among those not vaccinated, Republicans continue to tap dance around this issue. Florida Governor DeSantis just made a statement defiant of President Biden's call for him and Gov. Abbott of Texas to get out of the way if they could not lead responsibly on this issue. And now we hear about the "We will not comply act" sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Greene and co-sponsored by many House Republicans. The name of the act is designed to usurp the mantle of civil disobedience, a potent weapon in the pursuit of righteous causes. This measure, if enacted (heard of the snowball in hell?) would deny federal funds to schools and businesses which mandate vaccination. You can find many examples of such behavior among Republicans. Most people are perplexed by it. However, if you "follow the money" you will see that this is a deliberate strategy to raise money from their hard-core base of supporters who love to see their leaders challenge the experts they love to hate even as they (the supporters) suffer the consequences of their leaders' irresponsible behavior. Wherever you may be on the political spectrum you have to see the difference between self-serving, unprincipled flogging of weird conspiracy theories and outright lies harmful to the public on the one hand and unbiased analysis of the facts on the other... and vote accordingly.
- drrama7