And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.
— Edgar Allen Poe
Here’s an excerpt from a remarkable NYT article by David Leonhardt on the partisan gap in COVID-19 death rates since the arrival of the vaccines:
The gap in Covid’s death toll between red and blue America has grown faster over the past month than at any previous point.
In October, 25 out of every 100,000 residents of heavily Trump counties died from Covid, more than three times higher than the rate in heavily Biden counties (7.8 per 100,000). October was the fifth consecutive month that the percentage gap between the death rates in Trump counties and Biden counties widened.
Some conservative writers have tried to claim that the gap may stem from regional differences in weather or age, but those arguments fall apart under scrutiny. (If weather or age were a major reason, the pattern would have begun to appear last year.) The true explanation is straightforward: The vaccines are remarkably effective at preventing severe Covid, and almost 40 percent of Republican adults remain unvaccinated, compared with about 10 percent of Democratic adults.
A liberal elitist to my core, I’ve long thought the Republican Party was home to the most ignorant voters and evil elected officials in the nation. But I never truly fathomed the depth of the commitment of the former nor the depravity of the latter. It’s mindboggling.
Open thread.
Steeplejack (phone)
Edgar Allan Poe.
Steeplejack (phone)
I’m getting ready to go get my Pfizer booster and a flu shot at CVS at noon. Then it’s on to my local for a burger and a pint. A grand day out!
Steeplejack (phone)
What the hell—hat trick.
Burnspbesq
And apparently the Fifth Circuit is getting ready to concoct some sort of bullshit rationale for invalidating the OSHA emergency rule, paving the way for more unnecessary deaths.
germy
@Steeplejack (phone):
I thought we’re supposed to avoid alcohol for a few days after inoculation.
cain
@germy:
Oh you silly child….
Betty Cracker
@Burnspbesq: Will that open the door for anti-vax nutcases to overturn requirements for school vaccinations against measles, etc.?
germy
https://wnyt.com/saratoga-county-ny-news/hunter-charged-in-saratoga-county-shooting/6294378/?cat=10114
It’s hunting season, yay.
cain
@Burnspbesq:
Activist judges !
Betty Cracker
@germy: No one suggested that to me after my vaccinations.
The Dangerman
Having one of the 2 major parties spinning hard enough to power a decent sized city is a problem that can’t continue; sure, the other side will spin age or weather or who the hell knows what, but, eventually, the fever will break. It’s too obvious they are killing their own for the good of the economy or the good of electing know nothing fucks. This is unsustainable.
cain
@germy:
If only they was a good guy with another gun.
Hoodie
@Burnspbesq: Yes, they say it’s a grave constitutional matter, unlike that Texas law to deputize godly Americans to put those slutty sluts in their slutty place.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Had Moderna booster on Friday. Only side effect was sore arm, and that after the sore arm from the flu shot earlier in the week.
Nobody said boo about no booze after the boost. I had booze and can report no ill effects. ;)
Kent
I have a LOT of relatives in Trump-land. Mostly scattered across rural MI, IN, and PA. In my large extended family on both sides I would guess that no more than 10% of us are Democrats and it is only the educated relatives living in cities and suburbs.
It used to be the case that politics really didn’t matter all that much within the family. People just got along. But two things have happened to completely open my eyes to the vast gulf that has opened up in this country:
First, Trump. Who functioned more or less as a mirror to reflect back what rural white America is really all about.
And second, Covid. The response to which is also linked to Trump, but not entirely. He was an utter fuckup when it came to Covid, but he did start Operation Warp Speed and has promoted vaccines. But the monster has taken a life of its own.
The third dismaying trend is how Christianity has dove so deeply into partisan politics. I grew up Mennonite but haven’t been actively involved for decades. But these days Christianity is perhaps 90% horrible. Yes there are a few liberal urban churches that do good. But they are a drop in the bucket compared to the sea of MAGA red that is the dominant thread of Christianity in this country.
lowtechcyclist
@Steeplejack (phone):
I’m getting my Moderna booster and flu shot at my local CVS at 1pm. Unfortunately, after that, I’ve got to go back to work, so no pint. But at least I get paid leave for the time away.
Fair Economist
Three to one is a pretty big ratio, and the actual ratio of Republican nutcase deaths to sane Democratic deaths is even higher, because all counties have some of both, so some of those Biden county deaths are also Republican nutters. If the Republican don’t seize power again soon, this will meaningful corrode their supply of gullible voters over the next decade.
Baud
Another apt quote.
Jeffro
@germy:
@Betty Cracker:
But it’s so much more fun playing “was it one too many…or a Covid side effect?”
Ok, back to Betty’s post and the Leonhardt article: I have to believe that somewhere in the RNC is a memo that has the math worked out and feels that the net Covid death loss is still worth it if it rallies their base/kneecaps the Biden Recovery/etc etc. Nickel bet.
West of the Rockies
Regarding the disparity described above, on this particular morning my response is… good.
lowtechcyclist
@Kent:
I’m a born-again Christian, and I wish I could say your assessment was wrong. Unfortunately, it’s all too on the mark.
Kosh III
Cull the herd!
eclare
@germy: Never heard no alcohol…I have heard not to take certain OTC pain meds.
Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
There are a lot of things people do where I think, “Okay, that isn’t something I’d do, but I can understand why somebody else might do it.” This shit is not one of them. This is literally (and I use the word literal literally, not figuratively) beyond belief to me. I can’t begin to understand it. I mean, shit, they booed Donald fucking Trump a few months ago in Alabama when he told them they’d be wise to get the shot. Donald Trump is their hero. Some of these people believe he is their fucking savior. Again, they believe that literally, some of them. And they wouldn’t listen to their own hero and savior when he told them what they could do to save their own lives.
I try to make some kind of sense here, and I’m just fucking lost. I’m adrift, I’m at sea, I’m befuddled, I’m totally and utterly lost here.
eclare
@Hoodie: Exactly. The judges liked that grave constitutional result.
SFAW
@Kosh III:
Kull wahad?
Burnspbesq
@Hoodie:
Grave constitutional and statutory issues, which apparently should be so obvious to everyone that no explanation is required.
I got news for ya, yer honors: I sat through both Con Law and Administrative Law at a supposedly top-20 law school, and I have no fucking clue what you’re on about.
And to respond to Betty’s question, if judges feel free to ignore 200 years of Supreme Court precedent, there is no limit to what they can come up with.
UncleEbeneezer
Not just a “liberal elite” Betty, but aren’t you also a COASTAL Liberal Elite? ?
WaterGirl
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.):
:: subliminal message send in your pet pics now ::
Steve Gravelle
It should be noted the rural “Trump counties” are where the smartest, hardest-working 60% of every high school graduating class has moved away asap, for the past three generations (at least).
cope
I’m about halfway through Rick Perlstein’s 900-odd page “Reaganland” (which told me more about Carter’s presidency than I ever knew). It describes the crystallization of fear, hate and anti-intellectualism that has defined the Republicans ever since. Not news, I know, but he tracks all the details involved in this conscious decision by a group of people to gain and maintain absolute power over the rest of us. I for one certainly wasn’t paying enough attention in the ‘70s.
different-church-lady
Don’t we have a tag for “GOP Death Cult”?
MinuteMan
The skew would be even larger except that the elderly who are most at risk have a higher vax rate even in red death country.
eclare
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.): To paraphrase a “christian” pop song, Darwin take the wheel!
SFAW
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.):
For years, I’ve been saying they should all be deported to the walled-off country of Dumbfuckistan (whose borders, interestingly enough, originally looked just like those of Texas, but have now duplicated Wyoming), and about 20 million AR-15s (or equiv) drop-shipped to them, then wait a few months.
But given their imperviousness to even their god-trumperor, I’m thinking it should be renamed Antivaxistan. Probably get a higher percentage of those morons willing to move there.
[NB: Asylum in the USA would be to granted to any left-of-center voters needing to move from
WyomingAntivaxistan.]Steeplejack (phone)
@germy:
I haven’t heard that. Guess I’ll ask at CVS.
SFAW
@WaterGirl:
I don’t know why, but I suddenly have an urge to send you pics of my pets. It’s the strangest thing.
Scout211
California reflects the rest of the U.S. in that counties that voted for trump have higher death rates.
I see quite often a statistical “trick” that is used in the red states and the red counties. Using the number of deaths or the number of COVID cases, the numbers seem quite low compared to more populated states and counties. They don’t talk about the rates per 100,000, though. You have to dig deep into the data to find that. My county population is around 45,000. The case rate per 100,000 doubles the cases and deaths, so you don’t read about that often in the local online “news” sites.
Steeplejack (phone)
@lowtechcyclist:
Trade-offs: no pay for this retired shut-in.
SFAW
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
Yer still commenting here, ain’t ya?
Q, E, and checkmate, libtard!
Betty Cracker
@Kent: Opposite corner of the country, and my experience with wingnut relatives is the same.
@Fair Economist: Whether their penchant for death to own the libs results in an even more catastrophic culling of the herd depends on what happens next, according to the article. The recent promising news on pills to treat COVID-19 might keep the toll down (if they take them). Maybe a combination of sane people with vax and boosters plus plague rats generating antibodies could make a difference. I guess there’s still the possibility of a worse variant that screws ALL of us.
Ksmiami
@Jeffro: lol they’re wrong about their assumptions that rural America contributes meaningfully to GDP… yes their voters are a drag but the economy will improve with or without them
Ksmiami
@Burnspbesq: we’re going to have to drag them out and nullify the Supreme Court… sorry
Roger Moore
@Jeffro:
This isn’t hard to figure. The fatal rate is only about 1%, so even if every Republican gets sick and no Democrats do, it still makes a difference only at the margins. Since a lot of Republicans have gotten vaccinated and plenty of Democrats still get sick, the difference is only likely to be a fraction of a percent. If it has a larger effect than that on voter motivation, that will overwhelm any difference in death rate.
brendancalling
I’m getting a booster this week, but as for the partisan divide? I. Don’t. Care. Any. More. About. These. Fucking. People.
@SFAW: I think it was I that convinced you that the wiser destination was Wyoming, which is much easier shape for wall-building. Remember, only WE call it “Dumbfuckistan.” We market the place as “New Freedom Land.”
Mike S
Elected republicans are willing to kill their constituents for political gains. They know that their massive propaganda machine will blame those deaths on Democrats and the so called liberal media will “both sides” it.
I am barely holding on to my humanity through all of this. It is a fight to not be glad about these disparities.
Baud
@Kent:
The country is still like 65-70% Christian, so your numbers can’t be accurate. But the sentiment behind it is, I believe.
UncleEbeneezer
@Kent: Correction: WHITE Christianity. Though I assume that’s what you meant based on context of rural America
But yes, agree with this. The other problem causing the divide is many of US frankly waking up and finally refusing to just go/get along with the Racism, Sexism, LGBTQphobias etc. of our family members and starting to push back or sever ties with them. For me it started with Trayvon Martin and BLM, then Trump. Covid and their ridiculous response, was just the final straw for many of us.
WaterGirl
@SFAW: hahaha
Peale
@Roger Moore: What they can also banking on is that they might gain the otherwise “liberal” woo-medicine crowd and its huge coffers to its side. So if for every Republican death, you gain two new alternative medicine convert, its a win for them. And there are a lot of alternative medicine curious out there.
lowtechcyclist
Hey, we get to keep Yellowstone and the Tetons. I’d like to keep Devil’s Tower too, but I’d be willing to give it up for convenience’ sake. They can have the rest.
brendancalling
@lowtechcyclist: That was always the plan. We keep Yellowstone and the Tetons. They don’t get that (they’d ruin ’em anyway).
Baud
@Peale:
The bigger problem is that we’re not winning over more of the people for being pro-vaccine. It’s seems like people find it easier to leave us than join us.
hueyplong
@UncleEbeneezer: Swampy Liberal Elite. Slightly less arrogant and condescending to the snowflake RWNJs than the Coastal variety.
Geminid
@UncleEbeneezer: There are a lot of Black people in the rural South, from Delaware to Texas. Most of them go to churches. On Homecoming weekend, their relatives come from metropolitan areas to the family church.
Old Man Shadow
If assholes are bound and determined to kill themselves off despite our best efforts to the contrary… well, I’ll save my tears for people who actually deserve them.
Villago Delenda Est
Let survival of the fittest do its thing. We’re better off without morons like these.
Villago Delenda Est
@lowtechcyclist: Let them find a new short life in the Great Divide Basin.
lowtechcyclist
@UncleEbeneezer:
This too. No more Sister Souljah moments, no Defense of Marriage bullshit, no placating their prejudices. And yeah, that ticks them off, they can sense they’re losing control.
UncleEbeneezer
@Geminid: Exactly. And while their churches have their issues on abortion and LGBTQ rights, they definitely are NOT the ones embracing Trumpism.
lowtechcyclist
@Villago Delenda Est:
I think we’ve got a winner here!
Cameron
Republicans seem to be feeling their oats. This is mostly about Texas, but I’ll bet the same thing is going on in Florida. I hope the Democrats are ready to kick back hard.
https://digbysblog.net/2021/11/08/uh-huh/
Matt McIrvin
@germy: Only thing I ever heard was to generally avoid anti-inflammatory painkillers right before your shot (on the theory that you actually want some inflammation response).
And early on, the authorities were telling people to leave a couple weeks on either side in between a COVID shot and any other vaccination, but they stopped saying that.
Eolirin
@Baud: Well, what do we stand for emotionally? Nearest I can tell it’s equality, and that’s a weak motivator except for people who are being oppressed. That’s not going to be a winning message for white people.
It’s always going to be much easier to cleave off people by getting them scared or angry and making it into a choice between more inclusion or something terrible than it’s going to be to convince people that more inclusion is good for them. You have to get them to stop hating or being disinterested in other people. That’s not a task for a political movement.
We’re also pro rationality which isn’t a winning message for anyone really
Having positions that are sensible doesn’t earn you any points, it’s only when you can point at the other guys and be they’re going to kill you that that gets traction. Pro vaccination stances don’t help at all because they’re not painting the other side as trying to take away the vaccine from people who want it. As long as people who want the vaccine can get it there’s no emotional weight to other people refusing to get it.
Woodrow/asim
I’d not hold so fast to that assertion.
This is just anecdotal — I’m sure there’s a half-decent Pew Research or Gallop polling on this I could find if anyone really cares to dispute — yet I don’t see people from my age bracket (roughly Obama’s) being regular churchgoers. Yes, more’ll come for a Homecoming, or WINTERHOLIDAY business…
…but a lot of the people I know, don’t even come for those. A church wedding or funeral might be it.
That’s not to say the Black church doesn’t still hold a lot of power in our community, overall. It is to say that said power is far more dispersed than in, say, the heyday of the SDLC. If you look at the groups in, say, Georgia, that helped us win the Senate, I don’t recall religious groups being the majority part of the coalition that got voters out — a major part, yes, yet not the only part — not anymore.
Matt McIrvin
@UncleEbeneezer: I’m seeing a bunch of handwringing over Youngkin basically saying “we went too far, we have to start placating the racists again”.
Citizen Alan
@The Dangerman: Back in 2010, Obama said “the fever” would eventually break. Twelve years later, and it still rages on.
Peale
@Baud: The mistrust of “Big Pharma” and “Modern Medicine” and “Western Medicine” runs deeply through our society. The belief in “detoxification” treatments is widespread. I’m amazed we got to 70% vaccinated for adults. If we get to 60% of the children, I’ll be amazed.
VeniceRiley
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.):
#Horshack hand… Oooh! I know! Donald J. Turnip told them what they wanted to hear, parroting the shit spewing Bannon/Brietbart/Conservatard/qanon back to his base. The second he stops doing that causes cognitive dissonance and he pivots back to it. He’s the rider, not the tiger.
Citizen Alan
@lowtechcyclist: I don’t expect to ever set foot in a church again except for a wedding or a funeral, and even then, it would have to be for someone I really cared about.
Eolirin
@Citizen Alan: It will eventually break, one way or another. Because either they come enough to their senses to get out of our way of climate change, or we all die. But these things are measured in decades not years, unfortunately. When all is said and done there’ll be continuity through centuries worth of work.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
@Jeffro:
At a death rate of 25 per 100000, especially with it clustering in the same families, they probably think the math does work in their favor. Its horrifying, but that is who they are.
UncleEbeneezer
@Eolirin: I don’t think that’s true. I think there is research and data that even white people respond to positive framings of Equality. Maybe not a MAJORITY of white people, but enough to win elections at the margins. We all love to be the heroes of our own stories. The trick is getting those framings out in a way that attracts enough people to reject the negative stories (that also have tremendous appeal).
Geminid
@UncleEbeneezer: I lived in a small Black community near Stuart’s Draft, Virginia most of the last decade. I got the impression that they were fairly pragmatic on moral issues. The Baptist church and the COGIC church my late friend Chris belonged to would never perform a same-sex marriage, but I don’t think there was a lot of dismay when marriage equality came. These are very ardent Christians, but I think they have a more practical view of secular life than do white Evangelicals.
RandomMonster
If only the deer were armed.
Chief Oshkosh
@Roger Moore: If one assumes (big assumption) that deaths are 3:1 in purple districts, this might be enough to change outcomes of a couple of Congressional races. Maybe. Still, every little bit helps. Sad that it’s come to this, but as a wise man once said:
Fuck ’em.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
That is really out of it that death doesn’t even move them.
SFAW
@RandomMonster:
The second amendment only talks about bear, not deer. Not sheep(le), either, libtard.
Searcher
@Betty Cracker: I’m currently prognosticating that we’ll have another winter wave, primarily in the ungovernable tribal regions, but that after that we’ll settle down to a new normal of not-quite-herd-immunity.
brendancalling
@Mike S: I’ll give the so-called-liberal-media credit this time: they have been very clear that it’s the GOP and conservatives doing this to themselves.
As for holding onto your humanity and not being glad about these disparities, stop worrying. For example, I doubt you worried too much about Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer after they got sentenced, and cumulatively they killed far fewer people that the GQP! As I see it, unless you’re a devout, worshipful Christian, you’re under no obligation to love these people, respect them, care about them, or even give them a moment’s thought.
The most you can do is shrug, shake your head, and walk away. They were warned, over and over again.
In my family, BTW, we have some skin in this horrible game. My brother-in-law by marriage, and his wife, are super-Jeezos, and they refuse to get vaccinated. They have 5 kids or more, all of them under the age of 10. My dad and stepmom have tried to get them to relent, but they’re “doing their own research.” So basically, every day I’m half-anticipating a call that the BIL or SIL is in the hospital or dead. I have made peace with this potentiality. But I no longer care—they have made their choice to join the death cult, and it will be sad for their children if they die. I will comfort my mother-in-law (who has begged them to get vaccinated) and go to the funeral, but I sure as fuck won’t care.
Citizen Alan
@Eolirin: Well, yes, I suppose the fever does break when the patient dies, but that’s not the medical outcome any of us are hoping for. And the Death Cult will never get out of our way on climate change. They would rather die and take us with them than ever admit that a dirty hippie liberal was right about anything.
Geminid
@Matt McIrvin: That Virginia Governor race sure has spawned a lot of bad takes!
jonas
@Steeplejack (phone): Same here! (Except shot after work, then drinks!)
SFAW
@Matt McIrvin:
Well, if you libtards would just TRY to see it from their point of view, instead of claiming you’re morally superior to them racists, they would almost CERTAINLY vote for a Demon-rat. Almost certainly.
And besides, Lincoln was a Republican, libtard.
hueyplong
@SFAW: For the love of God, don’t forget to point out that Robert C Byrd was in the Klan.
Searcher
@Chief Oshkosh: Looking at the turnout for my own district, there were about 300k voters in 2016, which I’m assuming is a pretty good baseline number.
If you assume exactly 150k are unvaccinated party-B voters, and that every one of them contracts the disease and 0.6% of them die of it, you’re looking at about 900 deaths, which is a lot of deaths but only about 0.3% of the voters.
So in the most extreme cases, you’re looking at a shift of the vote by about 0.3%; in this example it’d move from 50-50 to 50.15%-49.85%.
Eolirin
@Peale: We’re already at 70% of adults I think.
Pharma and the broader medical community haven’t done themselves any favors though. When we have bullshit like pushing opiods as non addictive it’s of course going to make it that much easier for insane politically motivated people to push safety questions around vaccines. Cynically increasing the costs of people’s insulin and epipens also doesn’t help foster trust. It’s not really that surprising that con artists are easily able to take advantage of that discontent.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Peale: If the anti-vaccing was just Woo then it would be at the same rate in the Blue States as the Red States. What is really odd how the Woo as moved to a Rural working class thing,
MattF
Dismaying WaPo essay from a sibling of anti-vaxxers.
Zelma
@Kent:
There is no doubt that politics and a certain kind of Christianity have become entangled, but I think you are exaggerating when you refer to “a few urban churches” as being the only places where religion is not “politicized.” The so-called mainline Protestant churches – Episcopal, ELCA Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, UCC and even the northern Baptists – might represent a diminishing segment of American Protestantism, but they still number their members in the millions. And there are millions of moderate and liberal Catholics.
All are strongly opposed to racism, most are accepting of LGBT rights, and most do a lot of good work. But for complex reasons having to do with the megaphone that the media has given to the loudest and most controversial religious leaders, it’s as if a cloak of invisibility has fallen over them.
Partly this is an institutional failure and a lack of PR smarts on the part of the mainline churches’ leaders. Partly it reflects the fact that their members are divided politically. I would say that my own little Lutheran church is perhaps 60% Republican and 40% Democrat. (I live in a red county in a blue state.)
Our pastor – a woman – would never preach a political sermon, nor would she suggest how her members should vote. But she does preach a message of Christian love and care. Our presiding bishop – a woman – has issued strong statements opposing racism, intolerance, and hatred. But these messages never seem to be heard beyond the confines of our denomination.
The ELCA does an amazing amount of good in the community, in the nation, and in the world. We are currently gearing up to help Afghan refugees through our longstanding refugee resettlement program . Lutheran Disaster Relief is on the ground whenever a crisis occurs. Lutheran World Relief is working all over the world. Lutheran Social Services is the second largest religious social welfare organization in the US.
So, Kent, it’s not just a few urban churches doing good work. But I understand where you are coming from. I find it hard some days to identify as a Christian in contemporary America. I wonder how the religion which has given me such comfort and done so much good work has come to be identified in the minds of many with such un-Christian ideas.
Sorry for the length of this post, but this issue has troubled me for a long time.
Geminid
@Woodrow/asim: You would know better than I. And I did notice that the older generation of Black people were the most commited to their churches. My friend Chris would be 65 now, and while he was very devout personally, he was not that much of a church man. For his parents and aunts and uncles, church was a major focus.
Eolirin
@UncleEbeneezer: I don’t think people don’t respond to it at all, I think it’s a weaker motivator for most. It doesn’t hold up in the face of fear or anger or loss of privilege. So it’ll almost always get swamped if you ask for sacrifice, it’ll get swamped if people are under stress. You’re not going to get people to change positions in a durable way by appealing to their better angels.
And certainly the history of voting patterns for democrats bear this out. We only win decisively when Rs are in charge and start breaking things and people start to get a bit panicked. A lot of our voters only stay motivated when the stakes are higher, like presidential elections.
mrmoshpotato
I’ve got nothing to add to this. Well put.
FelonyGovt
Had my Moderna booster on Friday and it kind of kicked my butt, was really tired all weekend. But I was really happy to get it.
I can’t believe the stream of anti-tax bullshit coming from the other side. If they lose voters because of it- as the kids say, sorry, not sorry.
Woodrow/asim
I think the mainline denominations fear a number of bad impacts if they speak too loudly against those un-Christian denominations. They are stuck in a similar vise as generations of Democratic leadership around the shitty side of the GOP, and for similar reasons.
One major one — opening and holding a Big Tent, in religion or politics, is always more complex and challenging than applying a narrow and rigid bias. Moreover, if’s also less comforting because you’re more opened to being challenged — and sadly, too much of American religious tradition is predicated on “comfort,” over avoiding challenge.
(Maybe other traditions as well, yet I’d avoid claiming enough expertise to draw that line.)
Eljai
@brendancalling: My cousin and her husband are super Jesusy. I’m not sure exactly what tradition. I just always assumed they were evangelicals of some sort. We were all brought up Minnesota Lutheran so she changed at some point. Anyhoo, her husband died of covid in September. He was only 61. They were both unvaccinated and my cousin got really sick too, but never had to be hospitalized. They have 5 kids with one that still lives at home. I did feel bad. It was completely unnecessary. But what the ever-loving fuck can you do?
Omnes Omnibus
@Eolirin: Fairness. Even small children grok fairness.
laura
Pretty stoked for my 1:35 pm flooster (covid booster & flu shot) and the dankest bitterest coldest IPA or two to follow. The only plans for the evening are corn chowder- with the last of the sweet summer corn and falling asleep during the antiques road show. I cannot understand why anyone wouldn’t get a potentially life saving free vaccine except that performative lookatmeee! rush that comes from making a spectacle of one’s self and the opportunity to sicken or kill others without consequence or care.
bluegirlfromwyo
@Baud: That’s where choice comes in. They believe people should be able to choose to be plague rats, just like they believe people should be able to choose to freeload off others who buy health insurance. Doesn’t make a difference if they’re vaxed or insured. This is the obamacare mandate temper tantrum writ deadly.
Roger Moore
@Eolirin:
Correction: that’s not going to be a winning message for well-off straight white Christian cis men. It may not be a winning message for people who differ from that by one category, it’s unlikely to be for people who differ in two categories, and by the time you get to three or more categories forget about it.
brendancalling
@Eljai:
Exactly. WTF can you do?
Villago Delenda Est
@Zelma: The media goes for the man who bites dog, every single time, because of “engagement” which translates into revenue.
Elie
@Kent:
I’m not a historian but I seem to remember more than one example (Incas, Aztecs, Anasazi) whose people encountered a massive change in their environment and/or culture that they could not or did not have the intellectual or cultural tools to address. They largely disappeared, though there are still some descendants. Also, what happened to the Neanderthals?
We always assume that people will getter over self destructive perceptions and behavior, but they don’t always.
Roger Moore
@Matt McIrvin:
And it’s all coming from the usual suspects, i.e. the people whose answer to every question is to placate racists. IMO, we should ignore everyone who always finds an excuse for why their preexisting notions are correct.
Roger Moore
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
If it were generic anti-vax than you’d expect the places with high rates of vaccination for other diseases to do well at vaccinating for COVID. But that’s not the case. Just look at Mississippi, which has one of the highest rates of vaccination for MMR and one of the lowest for COVID. They know how to get people vaccinated; they just refuse to do it in this case.
Elizabelle
Sadly, we did not notice their absence in the recent round of voting for Republicans.
Patience, grasshoppers.
Had lunch with my sister yesterday. My rebel yell brother in law has still declined to get vaccinated. He and his 2-time cancer occurrence brother. Jebus. I’d suggested to my sister that maybe her husband was vaccinated, and just hadn’t told us he was. She said no. Make of that what you will.
I think everyone else on our side of the family is vaccinated. The sane ones.
Matt McIrvin
@Eolirin:
“They’re dirty and will infect you with disease” is a pretty powerful message that could be adapted to pro-vaccination positions. We even go on about “plague rats” among ourselves. But it’s not an argument that liberals usually feel comfortable making, because it’s usually marshaled in support of bigotry: xenophobia, racism, homophobia, etc. “Purity/contamination” arguments are more often right-wing than not.
Booger
@Citizen Alan: Last time I was in a church was for a funeral, and I saw the pictures of that evil Ratzinger glaring down at me with that feral smile and I said never again.
Matt McIrvin
@SFAW: I have gotten the absolutely sincere “I bet you didn’t know that the old segregationists were all Democrats” zinger more than once.
Roger Moore
@Matt McIrvin:
The argument that unvaccinated people are a risk to everyone around them is a solid one, but we need a sharper way of saying it. As long as we’re talking about vaccination and masking as choices about personal safety rather than public health measures, we’re accepting Republican framing.
RaflW
@The Dangerman: I hope you’re correct, but the patient may remain ill for quite a while as the fever rises before the crest.
terraformer
@Fair Economist:
If they count the votes, then it doesn’t matter if their supporters die off
Cameron
@terraformer: 2022: a new season of The Voting Dead.
Jager
@Betty Cracker:
I asked the nurse handling to observation area after I got my 1st Moderna if it was okay to have a glass of scotch, she said, “If it was me, I’d take a Tylenol, and an extremely dry martini.”
Kent
I have an enormous amount of extended family in rural Trump-land. I would say that there are two types of people who don’t move away.
First, the unambitious and uncurious who often find themselves trapped their by circumstances (early marriage, kids, church, family obligations, etc.) or just don’t ever have the initiative to make any changes.
Second, the local elites who’s parents may have build some prosperous local business like a car dealership, restaurant chain, contracting business, etc. It is easy to just inherit some prosperous source of income and never do anything else in your life. These tend to be the worst MAGA filth because they actually think they got to where they are in life by their own efforts.
RaflW
Looking at the age of deaths gives detail to what I think we all of course already know. Older Americans have been the bulk of the casualties.
In 2016 voters 50-64 broke 6% for Trump, and age 65+ broke 9 points towards TFG.
In 2020 the 50-64s were still 6% more “R” (though of course the cohorts aged and moved up) but 65+ now broke only 4% for Trump.
Was some of that their own looking around and seeing friends die while the Vulgarian mismanaged everything? Hard to say.
But of the ~748,000 deaths via the CDC data, approximately 699,000 were age 50 and up. Younger voters in both 2016 and 2020 broke heavily Biden. The risk for the GOP in 2022 is not nothing, Virginia’s complicated tea leaves notwithstanding.
Older voter propensity to vote may magnify what in raw national terms might seem like smallish numbers*. Some precincts or even state legislative seats are at times won or lost by handfuls of votes.
* 565,000 65+ deaths X 4% is only 22,600 putative Trump voters, scattered among all the states. At six or nine percent, the swing gets heavier.
JoyceH
@Matt McIrvin:
I hope you replied that yes indeed, the segregationists were indeed southern Democrats, AKA Dixiecrats, until the Johnson administration when the Democratic Party went all in for civil rights, and those Dixiecrats all became Republican – a party that welcomed the bigots with open arms.
Soprano2
@Elie: In “Guns, Germs and Steel” Jared Diamond says he wonders what the people on Easter Island who cut down the last really big tree were thinking. People can’t always figure out how to rescue themselves.
Soprano2
@Matt McIrvin: I half-listened to a program on 1A this morning about how to deal with the holidays this year. There was a lot of talk about being vaxxed or not, and I lost count of the amount of times I heard one panelist talk about having to have empathy and not be judgmental of people who are not vaccinated. I think people who are more liberal have a harder time being openly judgmental of others.
MattF
@JoyceH: Also, and not coincidentally, there was a massive shift of Black voters from Republican to Democratic during the 30s and 40s. One wonders if this was a part of the motivation for the shift of White voters.
JoyceH
Hey, maybe the MAGAts that survive COVID will defect to Belarus. They can have their autocracy without all the stress and hard work of creating one out of a creakily functioning democracy.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christopherm51/evan-neumann-january-6-capitol-attack-asylum-belarus
Baud
@Soprano2:
I am more conservative than I realized.
Quinerly
@cope: the one on Goldwater was an eye opener. I guess the Nixon one was the first one l read.
Elizabelle
PS: Betty C: I think this blogpost title is genius. About the non-geniuses among us.
Le sigh.
Kent
@Zelma: I take your point and I was exaggerating with the 90%. But I do think we are at a point in this country where Christianity is a net negative force. Maybe it has always been so. Christianity was definitely complicit in the two original sins of this country, slavery, and the genocide of indigenous peoples. But it seems more obvious today.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Steeplejack (phone):
Mission accomplished! Now decompressing in the Dogfish Head Alehouse, nursing a 60 Minute IPA after finishing off a bacon cheddar burger and onion rings. (No contraindications on booze from CVS.)
Also picked up two two-packs of the Binax home COVID test, as they are back in stock at that CVS (although hidden behind the counter). Gave one to my brother, who joined me for lunch but has now bugged out to get a haircut. We have (vaxed) friends flying in from out of town this weekend, and who knows what pestilence they may bring?
I will continue to scan the Interwebs, nurse my beer and maybe even have another.
JoyceH
@Matt McIrvin:
That’s because the ‘contamination’ arguments, when applied to minorities and immigrants, are false. Applying those epithets to the unvaccinated in the middle of an unrelenting pandemic has the virtue of being TRUE. If we can’t coax and bribe them to get vaccinated, maybe shame and ridicule will work. (Or at least encourage their defection to Belarus…)
Quinerly
@Steeplejack (phone): l did a long hike and had several beers after my J&J in March. Just had a Pfizer booster here in Santa Fe 2 plus weeks ago. 3 hoppy IPAs about 4 hours later. No problemo.
Baud
@JoyceH:
It’s not “false.” It’s just evil and unrelated to biological health.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Quinerly:
???
Brachiator
@MattF:
From an old WaPo story.
Both parties were racist, the Democrats arguably more so. But on the federal level, FDR and Harry Truman pushed for stronger civil rights protections.
r€nato
I suppose saying, “fuck it, die then” could be considered rude and might even violate a commenting rule. So, I won’t say, “fuck it, die then” regarding Trumpers refusing to get vaccinated in order to own the libs.
…
but I *will* say, “own me harder, daddy!”
Breitbart’s greatest article ever written
have you tried not being so easily played for a chump? Oh right, if that were possible you wouldn’t be a MAGAt. I withdraw my question, your honor.
Baud
@Brachiator:
FDR didn’t do much for civil rights. But he was popular across-the-board because the Depression was so bad.
ETA: also too, the 20s saw a resurgence of KKK activity.
Jospeh Max
Yeah, I am really down to the “then let them do so, and decrease the surplus population” point now. The garden where I grow my fucks is completely barren.
Ksmiami
@Soprano2: you mean in “Collapse?”
brendancalling
@Soprano2:
Your first mistake was listening to 1A. You should avoid that show—and, frankly, all of NPR’s shitty opinion shows—like you avoid covid.
Ksmiami
@Roger Moore: “Plague rat Republicans want to die and take you with them. Vote for science and Democracy; vote Blue… “ I know I’m a little bit forceful but it works
lowtechcyclist
@Steeplejack (phone):
Ditto on the mission accomplished part, envying you your beer and burger and especially the onion rings. I could really go for some of those right now.
Instead, I’m logging back in to work. Ptui.
Brachiator
@Baud:
True enough. But he was not actively hostile, and Eleanor pushed harder. The result was a good deal of popular support compared to previous presidents.
Huge overlap between Southern Democrats and the Klan.
...now I try to be amused
@Roger Moore:
I prefer liberalism because conservatives force square pegs into round holes and liberals don’t. I’m not the squarest peg out there, but I’m square enough.
Steeplejack (phone)
@lowtechcyclist:
Dogfish Head has the best onion rings around here. Dunno why. And with the “Cajun ranch” dipping sauce they are OMG.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Kent: The big change from the past is a lot of these Mega Churches are run as mind control cults. The church members only associate with each other and if they dissent with the pastor they are ostracised by their family and friends. I would offer pushing anti-vaccing would be part of that- outsiders shun them as crazy plague rats so it’s harder to leave that church and they bond more with the shared hardship.
Cameron
@r€nato: You’re right – it’s perfect. “Better dead in the ICU than a cuck pwned by libtards!” Christ, these people are insane, and it’s not just the antivaxxers.
Kay
That’s pretty funny.
...now I try to be amused
@Matt McIrvin:
Jonathan Haidt wrote that liberals take a dim view of the values of purity, authority, and loyalty because they can see how they are abused by conservatives. Haidt argued that conservatives value protection from harm and fairness as liberals do, but for liberals the latter two values rank well above the others.
Cameron
@Steeplejack (phone): I am green with envy. Love Dogfish brews, and can get both 60-minute and 90-minute at the supermarket across the street. Never had a chance to sample food in a Dogfish brewpub, though.
As I mentioned to you before, if you have the chance go to Troeg’s in Hershey (check the website first). If you have a growler, take it along – they always have at least one scratch beer brewing. Good food, too, and they’re good community people as well.
Baud
@Brachiator:
Eleanor was awesome. Well ahead of her time.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Cameron:
The Dogfish menu is upscale bar food. I would call it “reliably good.” It’s not destination dining in itself, but it goes well with a 60 or a 90 straight from the tap. And my “local” one is very close and has a good vibe.
Chief Oshkosh
@Searcher: I agree that it’s just smidge, but recall that Ossoff won GA 50.6% to 49.4%.
lowtechcyclist
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
And of course, in these churches, they’re told that God wants them to have kids, and the more the better. So when Mommy and Daddy die of Covid, they leave a passel of orphaned kids behind.
That’s the part that really pisses me off: the sheer irresponsibility of being a parent and not doing everything you can to protect both your kids and yourself from this deadly plague. They have flunked adulting, as far as I’m concerned.
Ruckus
@MinuteMan:
Us geezers in all counties, red or blue, have been taking vaccines since before most of them existed so we often are aware of what not being vaccinated means, especially when we reach geezerdom. We’ve seen the damage and often death that happens without them.
Now those redumblicans that “decide” not to be vaccinated from Covid likely were vaccinated when young so they didn’t know what rights are when that happened. Like the right to distribute a deadly disease to everyone else. Or the right to be an ignorant fuck. Notice that these rights align with their chosen political side of the aisle, conservative ignorance. We, the actual humans on the left side of the aisle like to look towards the future, rather than only focusing on the ignorant past. It’s like driving a car, a right turn is far easier than a left turn, at least in the uncivilized world where we drive on the correct side of the road (oh damnit, that’s the right side – OK every theory has it’s hiccups) and has less risk than a left turn. And of course if you only turn right you get to drive around in circles all your life.
By George I think I got it.
chopper
@Jager:
if a medical professional recommended i mix tylenol and alcohol i’d assume they were trying to have me killed
Sasha
My concern is if they are willing to die to own the libs, they are almost certainly as equally or more willing to kill to own the libs.
StringOnAStick
@chopper: Yeah. Tylenol mixed with alcohol is a liver killer.
Tehanu
I’m willing to suppose that at least some Republican voters are victims — misled, entitled jackasses. But at this point I think Republican officeholders are, not to put too fine a point on it, murderers.