Abbott and DeathSantis, the Sluggers of Murderer’s Row

By DICK POLMAN

Let’s stipulate right away that Andrew Cuomo is a misogynist sleazebag who needs to resign forthwith. Nothing can excuse the behavior that’s meticulously compiled in the New York Attorney General’s report. But just for the sake of argument, permit me to suggest that, in the annals of gubernatorial sinners, nobody can compete with Greg Abbott or Ron “DeathSantis” DeSantis, the sluggers of Murderer’s Row.

It takes a truly twisted mentality to believe that it’s good policy to kill off one’s own citizens. But that’s how life and death go when you’re governed by the MAGA variant.

Florida being Florida, it’s no surprise that, nationally, one of every five new COVID infections is recorded in the “Sunshine” State; that Florida leads the nation in per-capita COVID hospitalizations; and that on a daily basis, Florida keeps breaking its own records. But that means nothing to DeSantis. His latest mantra is specifically tailored to dupe the dumb: “There will be no restrictions and no mandates.” He has signed an executive order that bars school districts from requiring masks, and intends to fight municipalities that try to impose COVID restrictions. As the mayor of Miami Beach lamented the other day, “DeSantis is like the pied piper, just leading everybody off the cliff.”

Am I cruel to call people “dumb”? Check out this Florida woman, who says we should live or die the way her grandparents did: “When they got sick, they didn’t need the crutch of pharmaceuticals or antibiotics to get better. They just got sick and they got well.” Two quick observations: (1) Two generations ago, we didn’t have a pandemic. (2) Today, average life expectancy is much higher – thanks to science.

Meanwhile, deep in the heart of Texas, where 56% of the population reportedly remains unvaccinated, COVID cases predictably spiked 209% during the last two weeks of July. But on July 29, Abbott celebrated that achievement by signing an executive order that bars state agencies and localities from mandating vaccinations or masks. (“No person may be required any jurisdiction to wear or to mandate the wearing of a mask covering.” And most significantly, private businesses that have received public funds cannot require proof of vaccination; in translation, any restaurant that has received COVID relief money is barred from protecting its customers and employees.

Abbott’s shtick is that the decision to vaccinate should be a matter of personal choice. Which is basically a license for the irresponsible vaxxholes to spread the Delta variant far and wide – a weird policy, shall we say, considering the fact (documented by Texas health authorities) that 99% of the Texans who’ve died since February have not been vaccinated.

What explains the Abbott-DeSantis death match? That’s an easy one. The cult formerly known as the Republican party virtually requires it.

Abbott is up for re-election next year, and the conservative base he needs to woo is committed to Freedom even if it sustains the pandemic. DeSantis is even worse. He’s eyeing the presidency in 2024 – just in case the exile in Mar-a-Lago foregoes another candidacy – which means he has to build up a national “brand” by slumming with the lowest common MAGA denominator. That’s why, last week, he delivered a “no mandates” speech to a conservative policy conference in Utah. That’s why he’s sliming the nation’s most prominent infectious disease expert – that would be Anthony Fauci – declaring that we need most in America is “Freedom from Faucism.”

President Biden rebuked those guys Tuesday, Aug. 3 – “Governors, please help; if you’re not going to help, get out of the way” – but Abbott and DeSantis are undoubtedly fine with that, because in pandemic politics (as if that should even be a thing), if Biden wants something it surely must be bad. Even if it means trying to save lives.

Maybe the death-cult strategy will backfire. In Florida, there’s new polling evidence that DeSantis has taken a hit; back in May, his approval rating was reportedly 55%, but a new survey says he has slid to 44 – and 62% of Floridians want mask mandates in their schools. Alas, we’ve all learned to be wary of the polls, and we’ve learned the hard lessons of underestimating the Crazy that’s been unleashed in the land. But if you’re reading this column in a blue state with a high vaccination rate, just be thankful you live where you do.

And one last thing: As detestable as Andrew Cuomo is, at least he leaves his victims alive.

Dick Polman, a veteran national political columnist based in Philadelphia and a Writer in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania, writes at DickPolman.net. Dick Polman, a veteran national political columnist based in Philadelphia and a Writer in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania, writes at DickPolman.net. Email him at dickpolman7@ gmail.com. See the linked version at <https://www.dickpolman.net/2021/08/04/abbott-and-deathsantis-the-sluggers-of-murderers-row/>

From The Progressive Populist, September 1, 2021

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