You may or may not have heard of some conflicts between Donald Trump and Michigan’s Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. If not, here’s the nutshell:
Something worked. This morning, Trump, despite earlier statements that she “has no idea what's going on” in her state, approved Whitmer’s request for a major disaster declaration for Michigan, opening the way to engaging FEMA resources.*
But something else happened; by being a Democratic politician and vocal critic of Trump’s non-handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Whitmer is being targeted by disinformationists and smear artists.
Case in point: Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs sent out a sternly-worded reminder regarding the mis-prescription of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine (medicines currently in use to treat various illnesses which have also been named as promising-but-not-yet recommend-for-treatment of patients testing positive for COVID-19):
The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has received multiple allegations of Michigan physicians inappropriately prescribing hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine to themselves, family, friends, and/or coworkers without a legitimate medical purpose.
Prescribing hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine without further proof of efficacy for treating COVID-19 or with the intent to stockpile the drug may create a shortage for patients with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or other ailments for which chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are proven treatments. Reports of this conduct will be evaluated and may be further investigated for administrative action. Prescribing any kind of prescription must also be associated with medical documentation showing proof of the medical necessity and medical condition for which the patient is being treated. Again, these are drugs that have not been proven scientifically or medically to treat COVID-19.
This is kind of a no-or-low-brainer; not only do we need these medicines for people with existing conditions, we need to make sure that we have them for people who have a legitimate medical need including clinical and emergent use to treat COVID-19. Unlike toilet paper, which doesn’t require a prescription and lack of which is a smelly inconvenience, hoarding and reckless use of these medicines will end up killing people.
But this opinion writer, Kathy Hoekstra, chooses to make a wildly alternative and politically poisonous interpretation in the Detroit News:
But if you live in Michigan, and you or a loved one is infected with this potentially lethal disease, you’re out of luck.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs literally threatened all doctors and pharmacists in the state who prescribe or dispense hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19.
And then goes on with the usual right-wing righteous-anger-stoking invocations of Gestapo tactics, , use of “scare quotes”, religious conscience clauses, and how the government is “..threatening the selfless health care workers who are on the frontline...” by not allowing wide-open prescription of these medicines.
As some particle of thought meant to be taken seriously, this opinion doesn’t work. Hoekstra misrepresents the guidance letter and the sources she cites don’t really support the argument she’s making.
Two days earlier, the same newspaper hosting this false narrative directly contradicted Hoekstra’s claim of efficacy:
Chloroquine and a similar drug, hydroxychloroquine, have shown encouraging signs in small, early tests against the coronavirus. But the drugs have major side effects, one reason scientists don’t want to give them without evidence of their value, even in this emergency.
Scientists warn about raising false hopes and say major studies are needed to prove the drugs are safe and effective against coronavirus, and to show that people would not have recovered just as well on their own.
[...]
“The last thing that we want right now is to inundate our emergency departments with patients who believe they found a vague and risky solution...”
And Hoekstra’s opinion is also contradicted by its own links to Michigan hospitals adding those medicines to their COVID-19 treatment regimens. Given that these are legitimate, documented medically-necessary cases, they should easily pass regulatory inspection and in no way prohibit treatment...and I’m not the only one saying so.
Now, that is enough to discount the writer’s opinion on this matter...I mean, it’s one person’s malformed argument sitting out in the nether regions of a local paper’s website, right?
There’s more to it than that:
Kathy Hoekstra is a Michigan-based communications writer.
This is a deliberate understatement. A brief internet lookup of Kathy Hoekstra reveals a fair amount of self-promotional information; Hoekstra’s career in communications-writing has included work spinning narratives for:
That’s pretty much just what you can get to from the first results page.*** Hoekstra is a right-wing propagandist who has spent considerable time working for multiple right-wing propaganda shops creating false narratives. She’s not just some random Trump supporter spouting off; she (and who knows how many others like her) is paid to lie to people and falsely foster discontent.
And that’s a sad thing, especially in this particular case, when pushing division and falsehood means people could (and have) died as a result...And that’s something to be angry about as well; pushing right-wing propaganda while we are at war with an invisible enemy is almost the least useful thing a person can be doing right now.
Last thought: If you see enough of this type of thing — and we’ve all heard and seen enough of this kind of lying crap over the years — you should have some sort of spider-sense that triggers to tell you there’s a problem with whatever is being said. Use it. Push back in your newspaper’s comments section, don’t be afraid to engage on Facebook or when talking to friends. Or whatever. Now is not the time to let the noise machine take the main stage.
*Whitmer has also asked for resources to deal with nutrition, temporary housing, and rental assistance; maybe Trump will remember that he needs Michigan’s electoral votes in the fall and choose — in his own self-interest, which is clearly the sole motivation for Donald Trump to do anything good for anyone other than Donald Trump. — to do the right thing by the Michiganders he says he’s standing by.
**From the same link: “Former Mackinac Center scholar and Vice President Joseph P. Overton invented the concept of the Overton Window, which describes policy positions that are acceptable to the public. ‘Shifting the window’ is the process of making previously unthinkable positions appear acceptable, or vice versa.”
***If she’s related to former Congressman Pete Hoekstra, I can’t find it. Wouldn’t be surprised, however, if she is a niece.