Will Kevin Faulconer Abandon the GOP’s COVID-19 Suicide Squad?
The Delta variant is more aggressive and much more transmissible than previously circulating strains. It is one of the most infectious respiratory viruses we know of, and I have seen in my 20-year career,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday.
That’s not Thursday as in yesterday; it’s Thursday as in eight days ago. Maskholes from around the nation shrugged their shoulders and kept on keeping on, whether it was casting doubt on the vaccine or casting aspersions on officials saying more caution was in order.
Gubernatorial candidate Kevin Faulconer is one of those people. His Facebook ad campaign (still up as of this morning) does the verbal gymnastics of saying Gov. Newsom should follow the science.
One has to ask: “Is this the science that KUSI pushes, or the science that says new data requires a new response?”
“The delta variant of the coronavirus appears to cause more severe illness than earlier variants and spreads as easily as chickenpox, according to an internal federal health document that argues officials must “acknowledge the war has changed.”
It’s not surprising that the former San Diego Mayor decided to appeal to the lowest denominator crowd; the recall effort, the vaxxers, and the maskholes are one and the same.
Faulconer’s campaign has hit a rough spot with the release of a City of San Diego audit making it clear that his administration was both incompetent and willing to be bought--as long as due diligence about appearance was kept up.
This morning brings news, via the San Francisco Chronicle, about a Faulconer lobbying gig back in the 1990s for a climate change denying group:
“Unlike some of his Republican rivals seeking to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom, Faulconer doesn’t express doubt that human activity is altering the planet’s atmosphere, and he has frequently touted his work passing San Diego’s first climate plan in 2015. But that posture is a dramatic shift from a little-known, earlier period in Faulconer’s career when he fought tougher fuel-efficiency standards as a lobbyist for a group funded by the auto industry.”
Perhaps the ex-San Diego Mayor will choose to make lemonade out of lemons and tell the world this decades-old tale proves he’s capable of change. Maybe he’ll even let up on the maskhole stuff. But I doubt it.
Last night, conservative radio host Larry Elder was endorsed by the Lincoln Club of Orange County, which supported the recall effort early on to the tune of $200,000. Lincoln Club President Teresa Hernandez said in a statement that “California was waiting for a candidate who has what it takes to lead and win, and our moment has arrived.”
California Republican Party delegates will hold a virtual vote on August 7, and any candidate getting more than 60% support will have the party’s endorsement along with some financial support.
As the “establishment” GOP candidate, Faulconer expected to win his party’s endorsement.
The further-right’s ongoing resistance campaign to public health measures is a factor in party politics these days, so Faulconer’s questioning of Gov. Newsom’s policies can be seen as a ploy to keep them energized post-endorsement.
But that’s not good enough for some.
Carl DeMaio’s organization, Reform California, is mailing a letter co-signed by candidates John Cox, Caitlyn Jenner and Doug Ose to more than 1,400 party delegates urging them not to make an endorsement.
From Times of San Diego:
“The insiders at the California Republican Party will kill grassroots enthusiasm for the recall if they go behind closed doors and try to anoint just one replacement candidate — especially if that candidate is completely uninspiring and comes from the far left like Kevin Faulconer,” said DeMaio, referring to the former San Diego Mayor.
Holy moly! If Kevin Faulconer is considered “far left,” it’s no wonder the party’s grifter/deplorable faction is flirting with violence.
Meanwhile, elected legislators of the national GOP have been busy painting themselves into a corner.
House Republicans (65 of whom are apparently not vaccinated) marched over to the Senate on Thursday in protest of mandatory mask-wearing reinstated by House physician Dr. Brian Monahan due to the delta variant and updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. The Senate side--which apparently has near 100% of its members vaccinated-- was urged but not ordered on the mask question.
Proof of just how silly all this was was the red cup pong game organized by unmasked GOP staffers in the hallways outside of congressional offices.
Time for a reality check. The days of the COVID-19 suicide squads are coming to a close.
The Justice Department has issued a legal opinion in response to questions about whether companies and government entities can require workers to take the COVID-19 vaccine, even though current vaccines are available under an Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA. After a thorough review, and pointing out some confusing issues of current law, the DOJ responded with an emphatic “yes.”
Corporate, institutional, and government agencies cracking down on both mask wearing and proof on vaccinations marks the end of this little game.
The CDC’s decision to walk back it’s May advisory (mostly) freeing vaccinated people from mask wearing is based on new data showing the vaccines aren’t as effective in preventing the delta variant as with earlier mutations.
ABC News has published a story about an outbreak on Cape Cod that included many vaccinated people which was one of the warning signs leading up the CDC’s new mask advice.
As of Thursday, 882 people were tied to the Provincetown outbreak. Among those living in Massachusetts, 74% of them were fully immunized, yet officials said the vast majority were also reporting symptoms. Seven people were reported hospitalized.
The initial findings of the investigation led by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seemed to have huge implications.
Before Provincetown, health officials had been operating under the assumption that it was extraordinarily rare for a vaccinated person to become infected with the virus. And if they did, they probably wouldn't end up passing it on to others, such as children too young to qualify for the vaccine or people who were medically vulnerable.
The idea that vaccines halt transmission of the virus was largely behind the CDC's decision in May suggesting vaccinated people could safely go without their masks indoors and in crowds, even if others were unvaccinated.
Still, most people with a jab won’t get infected--that’s different from saying nearly all. Those that do get infected --even if they are not showing symptoms-- are as dangerous to unvaccinated people as people with no protection.
While the evidence thus far suggests vaccinated people get less severely ill, the long-term COVID symptoms, ranging from loss of taste to cognitive impairment to erectile dysfunction, still affect as many as one third of those patients.
This wouldn’t be such a big deal were it not for the high number of people who have not been vaccinated. And the unvaccinated who do get infected at this point are breeding grounds for more dangerous variants.
The Delta variant has the potential to shut the economy down again, something the GOP’s nihilist sect favors, even as they make noises about “reopening.”
People looking to earn a living and get on with their lives are increasingly getting the jab, and the pace will increase in the coming days. The pathetic little street protests by the maskholes and vaxxers aren’t going to be able to stem the tide.
Hey folks! Be sure to like/follow Words & Deeds on Facebook. If you’d like to have each post emailed to you check out the simple subscription form on the right side of the front page.
Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com