GOP House of Cards Collapses. Even DeSantis Rolls Over Encourages People To Get Vaccine, As Delta Surges

What a difference a week makes. I’m sure you saw Ron DeSantis’ website with his cute little “Don’t Fauci My Florida” mugs and tee shirts. Today, however, it’s a completely different story, one day after Mitch McConnell sang the same tune. Could it be that the Republicans have come to their senses? Developed a conscience? Decided that killing off their voters might be problematic in getting them elected? Bingo.

When even Ron Desantis is now pushing vaccines, rather that fighting against every business and entity that has been encouraging them, you know they are afraid the Delta surge among the unvaccinated is going to crush them in 2022. pic.twitter.com/96k6Hpo5zq

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 21, 2021

Here’s Mitch McConnell’s statement if you missed it. The hypocrisy is stupendous. He says that it “didn’t occur” to him that “Americans would be reluctant to take the shots.” Oh, no, how could it? Right-wing media is up in arms declaring that the vaccine is a hoax and part of a nefarious plot to take them over and you wonder that people have stayed away from the doctors?

It’s almost like Republicans all had some sort of big Zoom meeting in the past couple of days. https://t.co/mo5CiaMTQD

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) July 20, 2021

What happened here is that the GOP finally figured out that things were getting out of hand and now they’re backpedaling and doing damage control.

All except this dummy. This is egregious, laughing at her constituents deaths and putting it on them. If this is leadership I’ll pass and wait for something else to come along.

I was the reporter who asked this question after listening to Rep. Greene downplay the impact of COVID-19 on young people & those who aren't obese. I asked if she feels any responsibility to people in Georgia to protect them. She said the responsibility is their own. https://t.co/lKmOC4s9bx

— Tia "Very Calm Sis" Mitchell (@TIAreports) July 20, 2021

This is what’s known as nervous laughter, she’s laughing because she doesn’t have an answer. It’s a terrible defense mechanism. Rather than making her look clueless here, it makes her look vicious.

A five-year-old boy died in her district a few days ago. I daresay his parents may not vote for Greene again. This is the statement they issued.

“Nestled in the Northwest Georgia foothills sits a small, little family farm. The kind where a young boy could run naked admist the grass, mud, and rain should he chose to do so. Play with the animals, do his little chores. A typical healthy, happy boy. The joy of his family and younger sister, still a baby yet. A smart child who could look at anything and build it with his connects and we could all recognize what it was. When tragedy struck. A simple salmonella food poisoning we thought. A day, two. No appetite, a little vomiting, a bit lethargic. He’d barely had more than the sniffle or two as prior illnesses go. Then the white tongue. Alarmed he was hustled off to the local hospital. Then the next day to TC Thompson Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga, TN. He was diagnosed with strep, staph, and Covid. We’d been so careful this whole time for it to find us now? He was fighting for his very life. His mother, up for 4 days, never leaving between cajoling him to keep moving and fighting and begging him to stay. His father, the backbone of the family, coughing from covid now himself stood beside in silent worry, beyond believing what he was seeing. Then it ended. On July 16, 2021 at 12:05pm, Wyatt died. A massive stroke struck the soul of his brain. As his mother gathered him softly to her chest. Two hearts beating slowly… then one. He suddenly became so heavy as the soul who lit this body departed.

Wyatt was very healthy. A joy to all he met. Never knew a stranger. An exuberant, enthusiastic, lively, and loving little boy. Always polite, always kind. Never hesitated to share. His whole life ahead of him to live. To be whomever and how ever he wanted to be. Always encouraged to be who he was within reasonable expectations. Whatever he could have brought to this world now, gone… Forever. We are all now struggling here. To make sense of what makes no sense. He was only 5 years old. His father now broken, because he could not save him or keep him safe. His job was to help people and he took it quite seriously. But, he couldn’t help his own family. But, now he will have to find himself, and stand straight and tall once again. For he still has family who needs him still. Now more than ever. His mother, whose son died in her arms knowing she did all she could but still wondered if she could change anything. But, she also still has family who needs her. So she can’t stop. A little sister who will miss her big brother. All the animals are grieving too. Cupid, his mini horse, the most. No one had to tell them anything. They know. All we know is a bright light has left. He left rainbows everywhere for us to see. We’ll be constantly reminded, saddened, then maybe in time, make peace with it. For there was so much life in this 5 year old boy. So much joy. So maybe it’s not the quantity of life that we will miss. But the quality of life. That was pure bliss. – Andrea Mitchell”

His parents had COVID. They may have given it to him. Or, somebody else in a maskless, unvaccinated environment may have given it to him. That’s not the point. The point is the right-wing idiocy addressing the coronavirus as a political battle rather than as a public health crisis. This is what needs to stop and maybe that is finally happening. Although, if we are to judge by the demonization of Anthony Fauci, it’s got quite a ways to go.

And don’t be taken in by all this. Yes, it’s a pivot, but it’s more along the lines of CYA than OMG, we’ve made a mistake and we’re coming clean

This is almost certainly not a “shift.” It is mostly an ass-covering exercise by Republicans who want to confuse the press about who, exactly, is to blame for the low rates of vaccinations among GOP voters. Journalists should not be snookered by this. It’s very unlikely we’ll see a sudden spike in vaccination rates, which is what would happen if the “Republicans get vaccinated now” message was actually getting through to the people who need to hear it. Instead, we’ll likely see the rate stay steady or even continue to decline.

I hope that I’m wrong, of course. Still, Republican voters may be rubes, but they are better at interpreting “mixed messages” from GOP elites than the press is, and they know they’re meant to hear the anti-vaccine messages while disregarding the pro-vaccine ones. Republican elites haven’t suddenly grown a heart. It’s just a lot harder to pin the blame for the continuing pandemic on Biden if the press is, correctly, blaming Republicans for it. What we’re seeing is likely just Republicans getting the media off their scent, and not a move that will do much, if anything, to get more shots in arms.

The takeaway here for the GOP is mixed messages at best produce mixed results.