Originally Posted by James Lacey
But isn't it true that the current 4th wave is almost entirely a wave of the unvaccinated? And aren't most of the unvaccinated Red Americans? And even more interesting is why is the GOP now flipping on their previous anti-vax stances? Oddly enough, I think it's related to something we talked about recently, and that is political realignment. Now that the 4th wave is affecting their constituents, they suddenly care about getting vaccines into people's arms. Why? Well, I don't believe in conspiracy theories. Still, I know they have political analysts who are always looking at polling data and are always aware of the latest things happening in the groupthink of the electorate. My guess is their analysts have told them they would face a massive political backlash if they don't start back-pedaling and encouraging the vaccine-hesitant to change their minds.
Interestingly, Trump, Kushner, and the GOP thought that using vaccine hesitancy as a wedge issue was politically advantageous when the virus affected mostly blue regions. But now, that political calculus has changed entirely due to the Delta-variant. And if you had only been paying attention to what was going on in India two months ago and listening to the experts, you knew it was coming here; it was inevitable. Every variant of concern has eventually gone worldwide.
I find it odd too that Trump did what was necessary to warp-speed development of the vaccine, which he deserves credit for, but to this day has never publicly advocated for its widespread use. You watch, though. I guarantee you it's only a matter of time before the GOP starts telling us they never were anti-vax.
By the way, I realize I've posted a random pile of thought not completely related to Rod's original post or your response. It's merely interesting to see how the politics of this pandemic are playing out.
Hi James:
Interesting comments. The unvaccinated I know are predominately young and stupid. All of my own R friends and family are vaccinated - but my bubble skews to fairly well educated and older than 50. Rod's simplistic (Trumptoids!) conclusion is in fact pretty simplistic. It gives him comfort I suppose.
It is welcome to me if certain R politicians and R press start backpedaling hard on this issue. Yes, Trump used it as a wedge. Shame on him. He would have used anything as a wedge that he thought might be successful. If Rich returns, he'd mention that the D's are not above this sort of thing, and I reckon he's correct. But downplaying vaccinations was/is pretty stupid. The sooner that thinking flips the better.
I bought some trail shoes on line the other day - the supply was extremely limited. I gather from a contact that the factories in Vietnam and Malaysia are shut down because they have limited vaccine available and they are getting hammered in an exponential "first wave". This is one example of a supply chain disruption that is going to take some time to work out. Other than minor things like these (minor for me, not so minor for the Vietnamese) my life is pretty much back to normal.
Jim