Opinion by Hal Brown, MSW
Read and watch: Fact check: As pandemic situation worsens, Pence paints a deceptively rosy picture (CNN) includes scathing video commentary with Dana Bash calling it “brushing up on five o’clock folly territory.” (See history of the phrase.)
Take a few seconds and watch this portion of the governor of Florida, a state which is probably a must-win state for Trump (where Biden is at least 14 points ahead) making light of the news that 23 Clemson University (which isn’t even in Florida) football players tested positive for Covid-19. (As noted above the number is now up to 37)
Of course a positive test isn’t a death sentence for the vast majority who get the bad news. It may be a death sentence for their grandmother though.
Updated AP story: Clemson says 14 more football players test positive for virus, total now at 37.
DeSantis only deserves an honorable (or dishonorable) mention as the most unabashedly shameless disgusting Covid lie spinning Republican official of the past two days. That honor or dishonor goes to Mike Pence for this response to the excellent question asked by Paula Reid of CBS. Buy that lady a drink for nailing the veep with a question that drove him to abruptly end the question period of the show and tell extravaganza despite a cacophony of discordant questions being shouted out by it seemed every reporter in the room.
Paula Reid, CBS: (01:12:35)
Mr. Vice President, thank you. A question for you and then a question for the doctors on childcare.* On the campaign, it really does sound though like you’re saying do as we say not as we do. You’re telling people to listen to local officials but in Tulsa you defied local health officials to have an event that even though you say it didn’t result in a spike, dozens of Secret Service agents, dozens of campaign staffers are now quarantined after positive tests and then in Arizona, one of the hardest hit states, you packed a church with young people who weren’t wearing masks. So how can you say that the campaign is not part of the problem that Dr. Fauci laid out?
Mike Pence: (01:13:08)
Well I want to remind you again that the freedom of speech and the right to peacefully assemble is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States, and even in a health crisis, the American people don’t forfeit our constitutional rights. In working with state officials as we did in Oklahoma and as we did in Arizona, we’re creating settings where people can choose to participate in the political process and we’ll continue to do that. I think it’s really important that we recognize how important freedom and personal responsibility are to this entire equation but allowing younger Americans to understand, particularly in the counties that are most impacted, the unique challenges that we’re facing in their age roup, we think it is important.
* She never had a chance to ask her second question on childcare.
Between Trump and Pence, Republican governors, Fox News minimizers (“Honey, I Shrunk the Virus” liars) and the hapless and I hate to say it, hopeless members of the Coronavirus Task Force who actually have medical degrees, it seems that by the time the election rolls around we won’t have to be concerned about long lines at the polls.
Iit seems quite possible that on November 3rd many Trump voters will be either quarantined, too sick to leave the house, or dead. Let’s hope they don’t infect too many Biden voters.