Thread by @DrewHolden360

Quick thread. I think @JRubinBlogger is indicative of a trend among certain liberals in the commentariat class who are either delusional or lying about the way that states/the federal government are responding to the coronavirus.

Even before her piece from today, the idea that republicans are killing (willfully killing!) people is a point she has made repeatedly. (all of these are different pieces)

It’s wildly dishonest.

Take this tweet for an example. These five governors (WY, NE, AR, IA and MO) wrote this piece 2 months ago. Collectively, two months later, their states have had 2598 deaths.

Sure, small total pop. (a total of ~15M) in a large area, but a death toll about that of IN (pop. 6.7M).

Despite that, Rubin called these states (again, two months ago) “grossly, recklessly irresponsible” and accuses them of no longer being pro-life.

In retrospect, this seems absurd for such a low death total.

For perspective, that death toll (since the pandemic started, across 5 states, with 75% of NYs pop) is still quite a bit lower than a four day run in NY from April 6-9, which saw 3086 deaths.

And yet, @JRubinBlogger has heaped enormous praise on @NYGovCuomo

You can combine plenty of other states and still be well below NY’s total.

Take AZ, FL, GA, & TX, the ones many (including Rubin) harp on.

Total combined pop: 68M (NY: 19.5M)
Total combined deaths: 14K (NY 32K)

These, of course, can change but it would require a dramatic turn

And before people shout “population density!!” the decision making by @NYGovCuomo has been criticized severely. More details below.

The biggest example is in nursing homes, where 40% of all deaths in the US have occurred. Cuomo forced nursing homes to take in even those who tested positive.

It was a disaster. Upwards of 8% of nursing home patients in NY died. In FL, that number is <2%
google.com/amp/s/www.prop…

But it wasn’t just that. Cuomo made the decision not to shut down when his medical experts advised him to. By one estimate this led to a 50-80% increase in deaths: newyorker.com/magazine/2020/…

Here’s a side by side of @JRubinBlogger vs. real reporting by @cduhigg.

And it likely spread the disease around the country. google.com/amp/s/www.nyti…

And if you read the Duhigg piece, you get a sense for how much the power struggles and political bullshit with with mayor @BilldeBlasio caused NY to respond in a hamhanded fashion.

So all that is to say that I find it simply impossible to believe that anyone, acting in some semblance of good faith, could attack the morality of R governors while giving @NYGovCuomo a pass.

It defies the explanation that @JRubinBlogger hasn’t even pretended to offer.