And that happens to also be the smart thing. He's calling on the American people to resist the corrupt know-nothing tyranny of woke pseudo-science. He's also calling on Americans to stand up for their children, the country's future:
In doing so he's putting the GOP brand in play and staking his claim--on a matter of principle--to stand for the party. He's setting the MAGA GOP apart from and in opposition to the GOPe of Mitch McConnell, Mike Lee, and their ilk, who are for coercing Americans into line to participate in a dangerous experiment. It's a red line. The eyes of conservatives will be focused on which side of the line candidates stand.
Battle lines are being drawn. We are sorting ourselves out Elite vs non-elite. The categories are clumsy and inexact but the line will not be, a chasm in fact is opening up. Trump has the leverage to open it wider and wider. They failed when they failed to co-opt him. They've only made him more dangerous to them by casting him out. Maybe that's what they had to do, but still, they are very weak. Which is scary. Mark A
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to a superb article about the mask issue:
ReplyDeleteThe Masking of America
... by Jeffrey H. Anderson, who served as director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2017 to 2021.
Thanks for posting the Jeffrey H. Anderson article. Yes, excellent!
DeleteIs it just a partisan divide though? I live in a very liberal area. And all my liberal friends reacting to the news from the CDC has been a surprisingly strong negative reaction.
ReplyDeletePerhaps for different reasons, the liberals aren't all on board with masking and prospective lockdowns either. They think the unvaccinated have knowingly taken the risk to not get vaccinated, and they shouldn't have to wear masks for the benefit of those who did not get vaccinated. I also happen to agree with that take on this, but more from the perspective of individual liberty and freedom to choose.
"Is it just a partisan divide though?"
DeleteNo, not really. It's more a divide between intelligent people and stupid people--with stupid being primarily a liberal thing.
For example:
"They think the unvaccinated have knowingly taken the risk to not get vaccinated, and they shouldn't have to wear masks for the benefit of those who did not get vaccinated."
Intelligent people who follow the news, read the science, understand that what in fact is going on here is that the vaxxed people are the dangerous spreaders--because unlike the unvaxxed they can do it asymptomatically. Which is why they're being asked to wear masks, futile as that may be. Further, the unvaxxed are at greater risk when reinfected, due to ADE.
Walensky talked around all these issues, but you had to read between the lines a bit--something that stupid people don't bother with. But the NBC report said it in black and white--vaxxed are carrying much higher viral loads (without showing symptoms) than the vax proponents expected.
I think of it as people who are hardwired to trust authority and follow it (+ experts) versus people who see "experts" as one of several inputs to their own decision making.
Delete"No, not really. It's more a divide between intelligent people and stupid people--with stupid being primarily a liberal thing."
DeleteAlas, that is probably the truth. It's how we got Biden--anyone paying attention would have seen is was not capable of doing the job, and was compromised by China and other DC interests.
Then there is the press, which is in a class of its own as a low intelligence quotient.
"Further, the unvaxxed are at greater risk when reinfected, due to ADE."
DeleteWouldn't it be the vaxxed at greater risk to ADE?
Thanks for the correction!
Delete"It's more a divide between intelligent people and stupid people-".
DeleteI don't much buy that.
Most folks, incl. smart ones, don't have/ take the time, to keep up with stuff like what NBC said, or to read the science (much of which really is a chore to wade thru).
And, even among those who do try to keep up, many are too overwhelmed by various circumstances, to move to invest the requisite time/ effort, into assessing what conclusions they should draw from what NBC said.
All the above quite applies to most journalists (whose job it is to pay attn. to such stuff) regardless of their IQ level, let alone to the general public.
Most of the above has always been so, and has led to societies always somewhat at the mercy of activist minorities.
Some societies do manage to keep such minorities under some degree of leash, but the recent US has allowed such minorities to infiltrate key professions, esp. journalism.
But the people being described by Anon aren't really an "activist minority" at all. They're just half educated libs who were raised to accept what the lib establishment tells them to believe. As opposed to thinking for themselves.
DeleteYeah, half educated libs have (always?) let themselves be led by activists, but are starting to notice, that today's Advocacy journalists (e.g. Maddow) are more radical than were their predecessors (e.g. Mike Wallace).
DeleteLibs have long lived, in what Kant would call a (echo-chamber) Cloister, and in what Kotkin calls the Clerisy.
DeleteMost libs work in offices/ cubicles, or online Cloisters with their fellow "Clerics", and actually know very little about the Deplorables, so many of whom work outside of such Cloistered settings.
What's new is, that Maddow etc. have moved hard, to take no prisoners, in tailoring their emotional appeals to these Cloistered libs, so much that these appeals as running harder into Reality than was previously so.
Taibbi on Substack yesterday:
Delete< In the pre-Trump years, there was by tradition a split in public messaging. I’m embarrassed to say *I was part* of this phenomenon, but it was real: blue-friendly pundits like me *snickered* at the uneducated, while the National Review crowd *sneered* at the irresponsible poor.
Then Trump came along, and the media and political landscapes were re-ordered. Now there was no philosophical or political split among America’s *wealthiest and most educated* people.
Both strains of snobbism — one looking down on the unschooled, the other looking down on an economically parasitic underclass — *fused*, putting wealthy America’s pretensions under the same tent for the first time.
The 2016 election brought forth this weird paradox. On one hand, it was abundantly clear that Trump was playing class politics. His schtick was aimed at “elites,” and the response to him was couched as an openly upper-class defense of “excellence” and “expertise,” and against “populism.”.... >
Well, I've worked for the gov since 1977. And I believe most of the gov is pretty stupid. But, adding to aNanyMouse -- there is also wading through all the fake news. Even when one does take the time, there is a trust level to what you see. Major media is not trust worthy. Some doctors are, some not. So you have to consume many sources, then consider the trust factors and then you still have to believe in yourself at the end.
ReplyDeleteThis is a classic win win for Trump.
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect wedge issue for Trump.
And the eGOP will be further discredited.
Trump is going to shatter another Overton Window.
And Trump is again playing the child that pointed out the emperor has no clothes. The cdc and Fauci reputation are in tatters.
And the eGOP will hate Trump even more for showing what fools and tools they are.
As usual, due to hubris, the elite expected no pushback on re-masking and lockdowns.
You said it Ray. The Master Persuader lens is the best lens through which to view Trump's moves on the national stage. Mark A
DeleteI would feel better once Trump starts calling for national strikes, work slowdowns, stoppages, and a refusal by trucking companies to deliver in any city or stare where they try to impose masks or experimental injections.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, the truckers in this country have tremendous leverage. We have a severe shortage of qualified truck drivers. Truckers could refuse deliveres to tyrannical states and their employers couldn't afford to fire them because of the drastic shortage. Many truckers are independent contractors too, so they just turn down routes to these cities or states. TRUCKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!
Jib
ReplyDeletehttps://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/07/29/220000-member-american-postal-workers-union-releases-statement-against-mandatory-vaccinations-for-federal-employees/
Yeah, I saw that--very good news. There's another big union out there that has filed suit, I've forgotten the details. Of course the gov unions are totally left politicized, but membership may have some influence still.
DeleteThe unions could exert power for good with the current Dem regime that relies on their support.
Delete