Joe Biden Is Done Coddling Conservatives and Their Anti-Vaccine Bullshit

[babylonsister]

Levin Report
Joe Biden Is Done Coddling Conservatives and Their Anti-Vaccine Bullshit
The administration is calling out conservative anti-vaxxers for the dangerous hacks they are.
By Bess Levin
July 12, 2021


Republican lawmakers, their pals on Fox News, and various other conservatives with major platforms say and do a lot of things these days that elicit the response, “What the f--k is wrong with you?” Describing the people who attacked the U.S. Capitol as peaceful “patriots.” Telling viewers to call child protective services on the parents of children wearing masks. Claiming Democrats are part of a satanic cult that eats children. All of these things are insane, but few are as enraging of late than the sustained campaign by vocal conservatives to convince Americans not to get vaccinated against a contagious disease that has killed 605,000 Americans and counting, a variant of which is significantly more transmissible and can result in more serious cases to boot.

For months, the Joe Biden administration’s approach to anti-vaxxers—of which Biden’s predecessor is one!—was to basically treat their fearmongering and outbursts like a toddler’s tantrums and ignore them, presumably thinking that acknowledging them would make things worse. But with new infections up, vaccination rates slowing down, and virtually all COVID-19 deaths among the unvaccinated, the federal government is taking a new tack: approaching anti-vaxxers like the dangerous hacks they are.

Per Politico:

The Biden administration is casting conservative opponents of its COVID-19 vaccine campaign as dangerous and extreme, adopting a more aggressive political posture in an attempt to maneuver through the public health conundrum. The White House has decided to hit back harder on misinformation and scare tactics after Republican lawmakers and conservative activists pledged to fight the administration’s stated plans to go “door-to-door” to increase vaccination rates. The pushback will include directly calling out social media platforms and conservative news shows that promote such tactics.

[Anthony] Fauci took some of that messaging to Sunday cable news shows, including underscoring the idea that door-to-door vaccination efforts are an attempt to remove barriers to access and that 99.5% of deaths due to COVID are among people who are unvaccinated. “Those data kind of hits you right between the eyes,” Fauci said of the fatalities. Beyond Fauci, Press Secretary Jen Psaki has pushed back on Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene—a lawmaker she once said she’d not mention from the podium—who compared the administration’s vaccine campaign to Nazis. Jeff Zients, the White House’s COVID response director, rebuked Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, who contended falsely in a tweet that government “agents” were going door-to-door to “compel vaccination.”

According to reporters Natasha Korecki and Eugene Daniels, Biden-allied groups like the Democratic National Committee will also “engage fact-checkers more aggressively and work with SMS carriers to dispel misinformation about vaccines that is sent over social media and text messages.“ In a statement, White House spokesperson Kevin Munoz said, “When we see deliberate efforts to spread misinformation, we view that as an impediment to the country's public health and will not shy away from calling that out.”

more...

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/07/biden-administration-vs-covid-anti-vaxxers

[Maraya1969]

1. Good. These people need to be called out.

[RKP5637]

2. Excellent!!! n/t

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. We are overdue for taking an aggressive stance on this!

I am glad to see that's changing. These fools need to be silenced!

[wnylib]

14. Exactly. It's a long overdue action.

[Hugin]

4. GOOD!

Now, if they will only take me up on my tranq dart vaccination scheme. We'll be in the green by Labor Day.

[unblock]

5. about f*cking time! we need to call out these pro-covid biological terrorists.

"pro-covid biological terrorist" sounds too strong?

well, what would a straight-up pro-covid biological terrorist do differently from what the republicans are doing?
hmm, they'd downplay the threat, encourage people to avoid protections like masks and vaccines and quarantining, encourage people to mingle in church and continue to go to work and restaurants, and even organize rallies to help people catch and spread the disease.

seriously, republican fit the moniker "pro-covid biological terrorist" to a tee.

[LymphocyteLover]

12. pro-covid biological terrorists works for me

About fuckin' time to take them on, indeed

[BlueJac]

6. I will mask up if I have to. Fuckem let them go to the hospital!

I have had it with their stupid stance on vaccines!

[nykym]

7. Everyone of these anti vac assholes need to be asked 1 question

Have you been vaccinated?
I believe most of the echo chamber has as the companies they work for required it.
So in essence they should be called out and told to STFU!

[Scrivener7]

8. Well, FINALLY!!! We should have started this 5 years ago.

[Paladin]

9. About fucking time. (nt)

[spanone]

10. terrorists don't mind being called out. they're proud of it.

[wnylib]

16. But it alerts everyone else to what they are.

We need to make the label stick. They are biological terrorists.

[bluewater]

11. K&R

[GoodRaisin]

13. Excellent idea.

[ace3csusm]

15. Republicans want a high Covid death count so they can blame Biden

and then say see Biden couldnt stop the virus no better then Trump...thats their play, they are willing to kill their base to reelect their guy...SAD

[flying_wahini]

17. I just wish there was a way to expose anti vaxers BUT have taken the vaccine.

Like Tucker Carlson.

[Probatim]

18. There's a subtle difference between we'll show up at your house and administer the shots if

you request (actual) and forced vaccinations (GQP, Fox, OANN, etc.).

Unfortunately, these fucking morons can't or won't do nuance, so we're stuck with crazy shit like this.

And while I appreciate efforts to counter their bullshit, it's 30-40 years too late. At least it'll be fun to see how this plays out.

[bronxiteforever]

19. Kick and recommend. Today's GOP would threaten

Jonas Salk with death and would allow polio to run rampant.

[ffr]

21. +1

[The Unmitigated Gall]

20. It's official

Puketard scumpublicans are now a death-cult.

[Dirty Socialist]

22. Do it!

Biden should do it and do it now!
Also, Biden should start threatening to go to the FCC to pull the licenses of the Con bullshitters on this

[SWBTATTReg]

23. Someone suggested pulling the broadcasting licenses from those pushing anti-vaccination stories,

etc., again, an unworkable solution since one is infringing on 1st Amendment Rights.

Why not simply withhold federal dollars from those not vaccinated if they're still trying to get vaccination numbers up? Of course would probably be an administrative nightmare so this would be probably not very workable.

I guess, the most effective way to ensure vaccine compliance is if one dies or not die, an unfortunate and very sloppy way of managing a disease.

That way, no one needs to build a complicated database of who got their vaccinations vs. those that didn't (and if they should receive government benefits or not, because they didn't get their vaccinations). rump tried something like this too, withholding benefits from states he didn't like, etc.

Some states have also pushed that proof that one was vaccinated is not to be used as a criteria for some things, an idiotic thing, as most businesses I'm seeing are requiring this proof. I also think most people in the workplace would like to know that their fellow workers are safe to work around with.

I think that the best slogan I've seen is 'If you want total freedom, get vaccinated!'...I saw this on DU several days ago. Pretty good if you ask me. It still amazes me that there are so many people that literally don't give a rat's ass about anybody else, but themselves. Well, I guess this time around, being ignorant like this will kill them. Too bad.

[Hotler]

25. Does this mean he's done playing nice and done reaching across the isle. I hope so. nt