When a Political Party Goes Insane

Last month, I saw a Tweet from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), which simply said, “NO VACCINE MANDATES.”
 
My immediate reaction was, well, gee, that’s pretty general.  None, zero??  Like no vaccine mandates that require children get vaccinated almost immediately upon their birth and for viruses like chicken pox, measles, mumps, rubella polio Hepatitis A, diphtheria, and more (in fact, there are 10 vaccines) that are required before a child can get into public school?  None?  Really?  That cuts a pretty wide and irresponsibly dangerous swath.
 
After all, about 90% of children in the U.S. have been vaccinated for most of those diseases.
 
So, you can understand why I thought that it was really, seriously overreaching – even by Republican Party levels -- in an effort to pander to the far-right crowd whining about the COVID vaccination that is likely saving millions of lives around the world.  Hyperbole is a problematic thing when you don’t realize what you’re saying.
 
Well, silly me.  I keep forgetting how low the Republican Party can sink.
 
Three weeks ago, the Washington Post had an article by Felicia Sonmez, Marianna Sotomayor and Mariana Alfaro titled, “GOP condemnation of Biden coronavirus mandate fuels concern other vaccine requirements could be targeted.” 
 
So, yeah, Republicans now are actually, sort of talking about all vaccines.
 
Among those quoted in the article were Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) who sent out a that “vaccine mandates are unAmerican!”
 
(Keep in mind that Mr. Banks is the same person who said that every Republican has a “duty” to punish congressman investigating the January 6 insurrection, to “get them as far away from positions of power as you can.”  So, y’know, you can adjust your perspective on what is un-American when it comes to Jim Banks “standards.”)
 
What more stood out, though, was a comment from Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health –
 
“The 20th century was a century of incredible progress against leading killers, and much of that progress was because of vaccinations. If we turn our back on vaccines at this moment where vaccines are really having a scientific heyday . . . I think that would be tragic, and it would cause a lot of unnecessary suffering and death, particularly among children.”
 
But I particularly liked an additional, stark comment he added:  “Why would we want to roll back the miracles of modern medicine? That defies the kind of logic of where we should be heading as a country.”
 
He’s right, it does indeed defy logic.  And public safety.  But meet today’s Republican Party.  We passed “defying logic” and public safety long, long ago.
 
Which brings us to yesterday, when a Republican (of course…) state senator in Florida (of course) Manny Diaz, who is chair of the Health Policy Committee (oh, dear heavens, God help us, but yes, of course) called for all vaccine mandates to be reviewed, including polio, mumps, and rubella.
 
So, yeah, Florida and vaccine can actually get worse.  Go figure.
 
That said, and as gallingly idiotic and dangerous as this kind of thinking is (and I use that word advisedly), I think it will backfire very badly if they do go ahead with this review in Florida.  Keep in mind that the Republican "complaint" about COVID-19 mandates is there's not a long record with COVID-19 vaccines to justify a mandate.  But if they’re going to “review” polio, mumps and rubella – and others, I assume -- there's a half-century of data showing wide-use, remarkable efficacy and thorough safety.  So, when those results are presented, it certainly will do zero to help Republican COVID-19 vaccine mandate claims, and can only hurt them.
 
Still, opening the door and going down this twisted, pathetic path is foolish, empty, dangerous and mind-numbingly wrong-headed.  Because it shows your thinking (and again, I use that word advisedly) and priorities.  It shows a questioning of facts and proven science that protects society, all to create doubt.  Which is one of the foundations of fascism.
 
I don’t know if they actually will go ahead with this review in Florida.  Or in some other Republican state.  I only know that this is who today’s Republican Party is.  And facts don’t matter, the truth doesn’t matter, public safety doesn’t matter, and the Common Good doesn’t matter.  What matters to today’s Republican Party is trying to get power – even if they don’t have a clue what to do with it for the public good whenever they get it.