COVID vaccinations, increasingly received by Democrats
Right now, the Republican anti-science, anti-facts cult that previously enveloped climate change and the 2020 presidential election results has spread to the COVID vaccine. Indeed, Republican anti-COVID vaccine (and anti-mask) sentiment is directly intertwined with their Big Lie regarding the 2020 presidential election (that Donald Trump really beat Joe Biden, but Trump’s reelection was stolen by voter fraud), as reflected by the bizarre statement by Trump last Sunday that “people are refusing to take the Vaccine because they don’t trust his Administration, they don’t trust the Election results, and they certainly don’t trust the Fake News, which is refusing to tell the Truth.” Not surprisingly, the results in the red states have been especially deadly. After the jump, we’ll give what is perhaps the best suggestion to get more Republicans vaccinated and get us closer to a point of safety from COVID in America.
To say that the Republicans have severely miscalculated their reaction to COVID and the need for everyone to be vaccinated would be a gross understatement. First, Donald Trump (joined by Fox News) ignored, downplayed and even lied about the COVID threat. This alone cost many thousands of lives, and probably cost Trump reelection, as voters saw Trump failing miserably on two of the most important requirements for a president: that he keep Americans safe, and that he act competently and effectively, especially in a crisis.
Second, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the poster boy for failing upwards, convinced Trump of his boneheaded notion that somehow they could direct federal COVID relief only to kill or upset blue state Democrats, thus cementing the strategy of woefully inadequate efforts to stop the pandemic. Now it turns out that not only was Kushner completely wrong (COVID doesn’t care about politics), but the opposite has happened: as Dr. Rachelle Wolensky, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently stated, “This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Some doctors and healthcare workers are reporting that virtually all of their COVID hospitalizations and deaths are among the unvaccinated.
Moreover, the evidence shows that the unvaccinated are predominantly Republicans, no doubt influenced by the numerous, continuing statements of Trump, Fox News and others telling them that the COVID vaccines are ineffective, dangerous, and a socialist Democratic plot. Take a look at this graphic, for example:
Powerful visual: Vaccination rates by how states voted in 2020 pic.twitter.com/xa6H6MejLF
— Bruce Mehlman (@bpmehlman) July 11, 2021
Indeed, the worst state in the nation right now for COVID is Republican-run Florida, which accounts for some 20 percent of all new COVID cases. It should come as no surprise, however, that many high-profile Republicans who are preaching against COVID vaccines, including Donald Trump, have themselves received the vaccine. They are certainly right in predicting that Republican voters will believe just about anything they are told by a leading Republican influencer. As a result, it’s fair to say that COVID is now killing Republicans in larger numbers than Democrats, and this will likely hurt Republicans’ chances in upcoming elections, such as 2022 and 2024.
This leads us to the way we can reach Republicans and get more of them vaccinated. Unfortunately, Republicans who refuse to take the COVID vaccine will not respond to reason, facts and science. If they did, they would have rushed to get vaccinated long ago. However, Republicans do respond to appeals for raw political power, opportunities to “own the libs,” and fear. Thus, the simple thing we should say to Republicans is:
Stay Unvaccinated. Elect More Democrats.
We need to see this or a very similar idea plastered on bumper stickers and t-shirts. Maybe Republican voters will then get the idea that their lives and their political future depend on taking the COVID vaccine. If they don’t, they can’t say we didn’t warn them.
Photo by MarylandGovPics, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/FYp9dQ
