As COVID cases surge in various parts of the country, you can thank Left/liberals for destroying any remaining political legitimacy of pandemic mitigation measures. Their wholesale endorsement and embrace of mass gatherings was the final nail in the coffin nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-ope…
As I mention in column, this is not to absolve Trump and Republicans of responsibility for the USA's extremely poor handling of the pandemic. But it was Dems/liberals/ leftists who shredded the credibility of "public health" guidances the instant it became politically expedient
In revealing that their stated commitment to containment policies was always politically contingent, and could be tossed aside at a moment’s notice, these elites have negated their own authority. Good luck achieving mass compliance if there’s another truly wide-scale outbreak
Particularly galling is that proponents of mass protest gatherings (not just random people either, “experts”) continue to justify them on the ground that “white supremacy is the real virus.” Such a betrayal of trust to exploit pandemic-related language in this way. Unforgivable
Given the robust state-backing of these mass gatherings, expect their role in spreading the virus to be obscured. In NYC contract tracers have already been forbidden to ask whether people attended protests. There's a political incentive to hide (or just not collect) relevant data
Many jurisdictions around the US still, today, prohibit mass gatherings. State/local laws currently in place explicitly impose a prohibition on such gatherings. There is generally no exception for Juneteenth celebrations, but you will see virtually no enforcement of this today
What's particularly amazing is how this radical reversal in elites' attitudes toward pandemic policy was barely even debated or discussed. It was just assumed, almost on blind faith, to be justified. That's what happens when you're gripped by a sudden, quasi-religious fervor
Whether or not specific spikes in COVID cases can be traced to specific protests or riots is beside the point. (Evidence will probably be mixed or inconclusive.) Political, media, and corporate elites’ credibility on matters of “public health” is still in the toilet regardless
The media doesn’t even seem minimally curious about this overnight shift. Shouldn’t journalists be asking elected officials why they are violating their OWN executive orders, for example? Isn’t that a straightforwardly notable story for anyone whose job is to cover public policy?
Of course, the reason why this incredibly obvious story has been ignored is because much of the media is now institutionally required to “support” the protests and accompanying “movement” -- whatever the F that means exactly
I'm sure a bunch of prominent Dems will be upbraiding Trump today for holding a large rally in Oklahoma (yes, bad idea!) but without a hint of self-awareness that Trump is only in a political position to do this because of their discrediting antics over the past few weeks
