I’m heartbroken about what’s being done to Dr. Fauci. This is from David Kurtz at TPM:
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted this morning to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for having invoked his 5th Amendment rights not to testify at last week’s witch hunt of a hearing.
At least two Senate committees are actively going after Fauci.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), chair of the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, revealed last night that he had obtained Fauci’s COVID-era phone from the Department of Health and Human Services, Fauci’s former government employer, which left Republicans salivating that they had another motherlode of fodder to stoke the fires against Fauci.
It’s bad enough that they published his diary. Plus, the AGs of Florida, west Virginia, and Louisiana have issued subpoenas to Dr. Fauci. They are alleging he “profited” from the recommendations he gave during the Covid pandemic. I notice that just about every other nation on the planet followed the same or very similar recommendations. But for some reason our political Right in the U.S. became angry about it, and is still angry. Is that happening anywhere else? Not that I’ve heard.
This demonizing of Dr. Fauci began almost immediately, btw. Yesterday when I was looking for something else I came across an old Mahablog post from May 2, 2020, headlined Righties Have Mythology, Not a Cause. It reminded me of episodes I’d forgotten, like a huge protest in Lansing, Michigan in which righties threw a collective tantrum over the covid restrictions. Dana Milbank’s description is priceless:
At the American Patriot Rally at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich., on Thursday, many of the hundreds of protesters wore red “Make America Great Again” caps or flew “Trump 2020” banners and “Build the Wall” or “Drain the Swamp” signs. Others waved the yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flags of the tea party. Demonstrators, several armed with military-style guns, then marched into the statehouse and stared down the police.
What did they propose to do with these weapons? Shoot the virus? Shoot the governor? Shoot themselves in the foot?
They didn’t seem to have a plan. They were there to rail against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pandemic restrictions, though hers are not so different from those in other states, even those run by Republican governors. They howled about “tyranny” even though the country is now run by the man they helped elect. They fretted about losing their Second Amendment rights even as they carried guns, legally under Michigan law, into the Capitol. They complained about runaway government spending and money-printing even though Trump and the GOP have championed it.
This was still in the first half of 2020, mind you. The pandemic was just getting started. In New York City the hospitals were renting refrigerated trucks to store the excess dead, and some would be doing this until well into 2021. Yet these bozos were throwing fits over mandatory masks and school closings? And as I documented in the post, they’d already singled out Dr. Fauci as a villain for handing out the same advice that all the other heads of public health in most other countries were handing out. They were also protesting Bill Gates, but at the moment I don’t remember why.
So the question must be asked, what is wrong with these people? And why do they seem concentrated in the U.S.? What are we doing wrong to generate all these, um, specimens within our borders?
I may have mentioned this before, but by 2021 there was data showing that people who lived in counties that voted for Trump in 2020 were getting infected and dying at higher rates than people in counties that voted for Biden. And this was largely because more of the blue-county people were getting vaccinated and otherwise taking Dr. Fauci’s advice, while more of the red-county people were not. The MAGAts were paying for their “freedom” with their lives. They haven’t noticed this and won’t believe you even if you show them the data. See also David Frum, Anthony Fauci Is Not the Villain in This Story, at The Atlantic.
In other news — it appears to have been called to Trump’s attention that the U.S. has blown through much of its stockpile of high-tech missiles and other weapons. He blew up at Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office, according to several accounts. And then I’m sure he fell back on blaming Joe Biden. But Trump really has no options left in Iran now. I understand that Iran and Oman are very close to finalizing their deal to mutually control the Strait of Hormuz, and I’m reading at MS Now that Trump and other top U.S. officials are speaking approvingly of the deal, which indicates they may just accept it and slink away. And this may be the best outcome anyone is going to get in the short term. Short term meaning “while Trump is still POTUS.” Some future president may have to revisit all this, but maybe not. We can hope.
In more other news — A federal appeals court panel ruled that Donald Trump must stop aboveground construction on his beloved ballroom unless he gets approval for the project from Congress. I take it Trump plans to appeal to the Supreme Court instead of just getting approval from Congress. See Trump Majorly Flips Out as Judges Rule His Ballroom Is Illegal by Edith Olmsted at The New Republic.
In even more other news — It looks like Todd Blanche has the votes to be confirmed.
See also — Barring Mamdani From the 9/11 Commemoration Lets the Enemy Win by me at Patheos.
I'd like to share some quick hits.
1) re. the Right's reaction to COVID & measures taken to reduce pandemic damage: — from Maha: "what is wrong with these people?" — I think the current movement was begun more or less by Reagan playing the following card: if there's a problem in your life the government is at fault; the government never solves any problems, it always creates problems. Prior to Reagan, that was a part of the R world view but the R party was more focused on reducing the cost of the federal government (strictly money-focused). At any rate that wholesale mischaracterization of our government (which was set up by the founders to combat tyranny, not to create problems for people) is a big part of what is wrong with these people. Further: the attitude strikes me as ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) which is a pattern where a person will always refuse to do anything he/she is "told to do." It doesn't matter whether the person was told to do something that would benefit him/her, it simply isn't okay if it's perceived as imposed by someone else. A lot of the population is not good at making decisions that help themselves, so they rely on group think. Lucas Bean recently had a reel on this aspect of the Hagga Mats.
re: the court blocking the construction of the above-ground ballroom. GOOD !! Sure took long enough. I live in a house I own. Across the street is a single family house owned by a nice guy who I've become friendly with. He bought the house for his elderly mother, but he is not terribly wealthy. His mother needed to go into long term care so he's now renting the house to tenants. The new occupants are really nice folks. What would happen if the tenants managed to arrange to have the two-car garage demolished in order to be replaced with a brand new two story in-law apartment which the tenants intend to rent out, and all this demolition and construction was to be paid for by the owner, without the owner ever having been consulted? What would happen? Certainly civil action condemning the tenants and protecting the owner. Criminal liability? Vandalism at least. This would be a slam dunk case. Drumpty Humpty needs to personally pay the bills for the destruction and replacement of the East Wing of the house where he is a tenant.
re: Blanche: I am outraged that sitting senators are using the following excuse for approving this AG nominee: Well, if we don't approve him the next nominee will be worse. How can a Senator be so stupid? If the current nominee shouldn't be approved, then vote against approval. Senators are not responsible for proposing nominees, that is a presidential power. If the Senate refuses to approve, then the Senate can not be held accountable for future misdeeds of that nominee once approved. Don't give him Senate approval! That is the power you hold, Mr. Senator. As long as the Senate refuses to approve terrible nominees that party that is accountable is the POTUS. Duh !! Keep the accountability in the executive branch.
re: Mamdani & 9/11 – Nice article, Maha
Keep in mind that Fauci is not the point. Covid in 2020 is not the point. The entire three-ring circus that the GOP is constructing is not designed to entertain or (God-forbid), educate. Global, factual, scientific, objective, peer-reviewed studies post-vax are available. And ignored.
This is all a read-meat distraction from the failure of GOP fascism in the US. The only significant legislation of the last two years was a deficit-building gift to the top one percent. Tariffs were intended to be a revenue source that hits the middle class mostly. It is/was inflationary and unconstitutional. The war with Iran has been a disaster. We lost jobs in July – in five of the last twelve months, we've seen a job decline. Inflation, even if you exclude gas, is up. Gold-painted statues and the demolition of the East Wing is not thrilling voters. Neither is ICE shooting down citizens.
In terms of distracting from GOP failures, a line from the summer blockbuster 'Jaws' comes to mind. "We're gonna need a bigger boat."
Fauci, God bless him, is not the point. Socialism is only incidentally the point. The real point is that dimwits in position of power have driven the ship of state aground. We NEED to keep enough of the hull intact to get on course when the voters can endorse seamanship over the third-rate lying reality show all branches have become.
Not to mention the pedo files of Epstein, which were the start of all this distraction. Release the Epstein files!
And they also don't seem to realize that Fauxi worked for Trump, and his decisions were subject to approval by Trump. If he was as bad as the nutters say then they should be looking at Trump e.g. why didn't he fire Fauci?
Trump mismanaged covid so badly tens of thousands if not more died on his watch. And just like with the reflecting pool, Fauxi is their scapegoat. The level of fury and obsession they have going after Fauci is directly proportional to the extent they know Trum screwed up.
I like Lucas Bean, in Why MAGA is Obsessed with Dr Fauci. As @csm said, they needed a scapegoat.
…and Harry Litman, in Rand Paul Throws TEMPER TANTRUM in SHOCK FAUCI Vote
The upshot is that the contempt vote will go nowhere, as it takes 60 votes in the Senate to forward it on for prosecution; Harry says it's unlikely there's even a majority who will vote for this. We'll see.
One of the psychics I follow says that the country currently is split 60 / 40 for / against Fauci; but over time this will improve to 70 / 30, and then 80 / 20. Stupidity doesn't last forever, and the truth eventually works its way out.
One of the cute retorts I read today, in response to some MAGAt complaining about something: "On the doll, show me where Fox News touched you…" I can't wait to use this someday…
Both links are excellent.
Like it or not we need many people with superior level skills to run this country. We also need politicians that can keep the hoi polloi off their backs and not aid and abet like Rand Paul.
It would not surprise me if Rand Paul would categorize those links as the work of the devil. He tends toward the binary brain of the modern Manichean.
Let them eat cake : Marie Antoinette :: _____________ : Donald J. Trump
A. Lock her up
B. I'll have that in two weeks
C. Let them drink bleach
D. The greatest ever built
"The moment Collins announced she was a no on Blanche, you KNEW they had the votes."
– Chris Hayes
The Eric Hoffer quote from Maha's 2020 post explains MAGA in general, and their demonization of Fauci in particular:
"Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Thus people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited opportunities for both."
MAGA – and the right-wing movements which preceded it – are defined by their enemies, not by any common cause or policy agenda. As Maha wrote in that 2020 post, "…there is absolutely nothing that escapes the tribal loyalty filter." Fauci was a target of convenience; an Egghead, a Bureaucrat, catapulted into the spotlight by circumstance.
Hmm; I was thinking that their persistence in persecuting Fauci is out of character; usually, the Outrage Machine moves on to new Enemies every few months, so the timing is kinda weird. But with the Midterms looming, and the GOP split by Trump's corrupt shenanigans (and another stupid war in the Middle East), it kinda makes sense: the Trad GOP (the Donors and their Think Tanks) has to remind Trump's Mob that Democrats are The Enemy. Playing a few Golden Oldies won't get the kids dancing, but it keeps the geezers listening.
I'm not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but I have a theory about why the GOP is so weirded out by covid and the government's response to it:
All the free stuff.
I remember getting free masks at the pharmacy, free testing kits in the mail. Government checks in the mail, etc.
Republicans have been saying (since Reagan) "the government is not here to help, they are not to be trusted."
They must have freaked out seeing citizens receiving all that help. And they don't want it to happen again.
Just my theory. I'm curious what others here think.
Yeah, this is consistent with what I said above, about Reagan supercharging the framing of the government as the enemy.
I don't think "the GOP" was freaked out by masks, etc; IMO, that was Trump's Mob, not what remained of the Republican Establishment (see: Susan Collins).
Yeah, it's my same old rant, that "the GOP" = Donors + Think Tanks, not "people who vote Republican", but this case illustrates the difference pretty well.
The "GOP Establishment" in 2020 was still quite skeptical of Trump. At that point, they still hoped they could ride out the Trump wave, then get back to "normal". Big GOP donors spent their money in down-ballot races in 2020, leaving Trump to finance his campaign with small donations from his Mob and various grifts (and Miriam Adelson.
It was Trump's Mob – led by the loudest, craziest voices – which rejected masking. As noted above, they have always been driven by grievance, resentment, hatred, and outrage, which led to the blind oppositional reaction to Authority, as represented by Dr. Fauci.
The Trad GOP never wanted to destroy The System; they wanted to reclaim it, and become the permanent source of Authority.
Also: the gummint wants to take away your fweedom. It's a massive infringement on my rights to make me wear a mask. They're too immature to see beyond the ends of their noses.