Tag Archive: COVID

In ironic twist, Republicans lose Big Business over COVID

Norwegian Cruise Line, fighting Republican COVID inaction

Last week, we reported that, by standing in the way of COVID vaccinations and precautions even as the delta variant ravages the U.S. population, Republicans are increasingly “out of touch with the current reality, and way behind the curve of events.” At the time, there was a small but growing number of big corporations and organizations (e.g. Walmart, Target, Tyson Foods, McDonald’s) that were ignoring Republican anti-safety ideology to some degree and taking precautions of their own, such as vaccination and masking requirements. Now, the list of such companies is growing rapidly, and includes, for example, Google, Facebook, United Airlines, and Frontier Airlines. Other companies, such as Delta Airlines, require the Coronavirus vaccine for new employees, and formally encourage vaccination for existing workers. At this point, therefore, an increasing percentage of U.S. workers is under some kind of COVID mandate from their employers, again in contrast to the unhealthy rhetoric from the GOP. It is also reasonable to think that many small businesses look to these larger companies for guidance, and will soon, if they do not already, require similar protections for their employees.

Republicans are losing the COVID war

Oregon National Guard soldier receiving COVID vaccine

On Monday, President Joe Biden‘s White House COVID-19 Data Director, Dr. Cyrus Shapar, reported that the United States had reached a long-sought milestone in vaccinations:

Perhaps not surprisingly, however, red states have been of little or no help in reaching this COVID vaccination milestone:

Nevertheless, despite the efforts of many Republicans, including those on Fox “News,” to raise doubts about and opposition to COVID vaccines and other precautions such as mask-wearing, things are starting to change. If these Republicans are waging a very sick war that keeps COVID alive and kills many Americans, it appears they are losing allies.

The story is COVID. Drive the story.

Everyone should be masking in public

If you subscribe to the right news services or social media accounts and look through the headlines, you will find out that right now, America and the world are facing a new COVID emergency. The problem, largely based on the “Delta variant,” is bad enough that organizations from the California State University System to the Washington Post are starting to require proof of COVID vaccination for those who show up in person, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.) announced Monday that it would mandate coronavirus vaccines for its front-line workers. Likewise, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just announced that all people, including those fully vaccinated, should wear masks indoors again in areas with “high” or “substantial” COVID transmission.

However, U.S. Republicans, whose anti-vaccine, anti-mask diatribes and protests are largely responsible for the new COVID emergency, don’t want to talk about the new COVID surge (except, cynically, to try to blame President Joe Biden, who has made extraordinary strides and numerous public calls for full vaccination). Rather, Republicans want to distract by cosplaying about immigration, attacking the imaginary “Critical Race Theory,” fretting about trans people and their bathroom use, or just about anything else that is part of their 24/7 Culture War.

How to persuade Republicans to take the COVID vaccine

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.

Watch the Republicans’ language vs. President Biden’s

The Republicans’ 2021 political strategy

The Republicans’ Culture War is in high gear. That means Republicans attacking their favorite bogeymen. Here are some of the things Republicans have been saying lately, instead of helping to govern our country:

“Antifa” (to the extent that’s even a real thing) and Black Lives Matter were responsible for the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capital, even though the FBI keeps rounding up one right wing extremist after another for the attack, many of whom were caught red-handed on video. Not surprisingly, Republicans are now attacking the FBI.

–Companies and others are destroying the country by acting “woke,” a substitute for the older “politically incorrect,” and meant to be a disparagement of perceived liberalism.

–Similarly, according to Republicans, liberals (especially in the media) are guilty of “cancel culture,” which seems to mean doing things like suspending Donald Trump from Twitter and Facebook for inciting violence in the January 6 attacks. Apparently, however, Republicans have no problem canceling things and people they don’t like, such as stripping Congresswoman Liz Cheney of her House leadership post for criticizing Trump, defunding ACORN and Planned Parenthood, or, as Trump recently suggested, banning Twitter and Facebook altogether.

Democrats create achievements, Republicans create acrimony

Democrats getting things done while Republicans do each other in

Right now, there is a massive split between what is going on in the Democratic Party versus the Republican Party.

The Democrats, led by President Joe Biden, have had a tremendous 100 days. First and foremost, Biden has succeeded in getting over 200 million COVID vaccinations into Americans’ arms (double his original stated goal), and taking steps to beat the pandemic using real science and competence. Next, Biden pushed through and signed the American Rescue Plan, including stimulus checks for millions of Americans, all while rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change and undoing many of Trump’s damaging executive orders. Biden is now being compared to progressive activist President Franklin Roosevelt, who also had a very successful first 100 days (as well as being re-elected president three more times).

Meanwhile, as if to quash another Republican myth, the U.S. stock market has had the best performance during a president’s first 100 days since the beginning of John F. Kennedy‘s presidency in 1961. Biden’s popularity is substantially high (and way higher than Trump’s), especially given our polarized politics today. Biden and Congressional Democrats have also continued on offense with a positive policy agenda that includes rebuilding America’s infrastructure, creating jobs, battling climate change, support for American families, and more. While they may not get all of it passed in its current proposed form (after all, Washington is about compromise and the art of the possible), they are poised to pass a great deal more.

Republicans about to fall into next political trap on infrastructure

Better roads and more jobs: a win-win for America

On the heels of  President Joe Biden‘s policy and political victory on the American Rescue Plan (ARP), and with the COVID vaccination rate well exceeding his 100-day goal, Biden and Congressional Democrats are now adding infrastructure to their agenda. That is the dry term for the crucial task of rebuilding America’s crumbling roads and bridges. And once again, just as happened with the ARP, Republicans are in danger of ending up on the wrong side of a very popular issue.

First, recall that Donald Trump, touting himself as a “builder,” had talked about rebuilding America’s infrastructure since at least 2015. After arriving at the White House, Trump even promised up to $1.5 trillion in infrastructure spending. Of course, Trump’s big plan never happened, just like Trump’s promised healthcare plan, nor anything else other than a tax cut for the wealthy and the near-destruction of our democracy.

But now the Democrats, with the White House and control of both houses of Congress, have the opportunity to deliver on rebuilding America, or what President Biden and the Democrats might call “Build Back Better.” And here’s where the Republicans may again fall into a trap of their own making:

President Biden becomes successful spokesman for his agenda

When selling his agenda, President Biden has the gift of gab.

Yesterday, President Joe Biden announced from the White House that U.S. COVID vaccinations will reach 100 million today, more than six weeks ahead of Biden’s previously set goal of 100 million COVID doses in the first 100 days of his presidency. This remarkable achievement follows President Biden’s successful signing of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), with his full proposed $1.9 trillion in relief, into law. Biden’s signing of the ARP was followed by an extremely effective White House speech where he announced direct stimulus payments of up to $1,400 to many Americans (a large number of which have already been received), as well as strong steps to combat the Coronavirus pandemic, including increased purchasing and distribution of vaccines, and assistance to states and businesses.

Perhaps it should not be surprising that President Biden has been so good at touting his administration’s achievements. After all, Biden is the one who, as U.S. Vice President, came up with the bumper sticker of the year for the 2012 elections:

If you are looking for a bumper sticker to sum up how President Obama has handled what we inherited, it’s pretty simple: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.

Biden undoes Trump’s war on language

Trump White House official at work on government website

As a recent New York Times article (reprinted here at Yahoo! news) indicates, one of the many areas where President Joe Biden is trying to undo the extensive damage done by Donald Trump is the language used by our federal government. Obviously, Trump and his minions agreed with what we have written about here for more than 10 years, i.e. that “messaging matters” and, in particular, that Republicans are experts at framing issues in ways that favor their point of view. Part of this framing is the use of certain loaded words and phrases. While Trump was in the White House and not busy playing golf, he liked to use Nazi propaganda tactics such as the repetition of big lies, and he had his federal government employ loaded words, or prohibit the use of other words, to gain political advantage. The two areas where this seems most prevalent were, perhaps not surprisingly, the politically contentious subjects of immigration and the environment/climate change. Take a look after the jump to see what Trump did, and how Biden is trying to repair the damage:

Time for a Liberal Shock Doctrine on COVID

Republicans may soon be feeling the Liberal Shock Doctrine

In her 2007 book The Shock Doctrine, author Naomi Klein explains how Republican leaders, especially George W. Bush, imposed conservative economic plans, including laissez-faire and privatization, upon the people of Iraq, the residents of New Orleans, and others who were shell-shocked from wars or other disasters. We have argued that, if Republicans can impose their Shock Doctrine when bad things happen and they are in power, then Democrats can do so too, with Democratic, progressive policies. The COVID pandemic presents just such an opportunity for President Joe Biden and the Democrats who now control both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Sure enough, there are signs that a liberal, or Democratic, Shock Doctrine is about to be put into practice: