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For anyone who lived through the start of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, the current coronavirus pandemic is cause for deja vu or flashback nightmares. The rapid acceleration of an unknown pathogen through the population, the failure to minimize risk, the pervasiveness of denial were all key characteristics of the early days of the AIDS epidemic, just as they are for the COVID-19 outbreak.

The unifying thread between the two viruses is the Republican Party. In both cases, GOP leaders took a bad situation and made it worse, risking thousands of lives in the process.

Related: Republican reneging on the social contract in times of crisis breeds disaster

When HIV first appeared in 1981, the Reagan administration was just getting underway. Much as with the Trump administration, the Reagan White House was just about the worst possible group to respond to the unfolding crisis. The only difference between the Trump administration and the Reagan administration was their initial response.

Trump called the virus a hoax. The Reagan White House made HIV a joke.

At a 1982 White House press briefing, spokesman Larry Speakes laughed when a reporter asked if Reagan was aware of what people were calling the gay plague.

Instead of answering, Speakes took the occasion to affirm his heterosexuality. I dont have it, do you? he asked the reporter. On a different occasion, Speakes jokingly questioned the reporter, Lester Kinsolving (who repeatedly pressed the issue despite his own homophobia) about his abiding interest in fairies.

Response to the coronavirus still lends itself to homophobia, though not at the same volume. But what is the same is the rights insistence that the virus is caused by someone other than their idea of an American. This time, its the stupid insistence on calling the disease the Wuhan virus, or as Trump did, a foreign virus, as if a pathogen had a nationality.

Its a classic us vs. them mentality, the same as fueled the AIDS epidemic.

Then theres the footdragging. Reagan himself never talked about the AIDS epidemic until 1985, by which point it had killed 12,000 Americans. Reagans head of Health and Human Services, Margaret Heckler, kept reassuring the public that the blood supply was 100% safe for hemophiliacs and the average citizen.

In fact, it was anything but safe. The administration simply didnt care about the epidemic and certainly not about the gay men AIDS was killing. There was no sense of urgency, despite warnings from public health officials that the disease was spreading.

In 1986, the National Academy of Sciences declared this is a national health crisis . . . of a magnitude that requires presidential leadership to bring together all elements of society to deal with the problem.

Needless to say, the leadership never came. By the time Reagan left office, more than 89,000 Americans had died from AIDS. Activism from organizations like GMHC and ACT UP exhibited more leadership than Reagan and his fellow Republicans did.

Were seeing the same thing playing out now, but in real time and at a much more accelerated pace. Trump and his administration are asleep at the wheel. Mike Pence, whom Trump made point person on the coronavirus response, quite literally made an HIV epidemic worse when he was governor of Indiana, a time when it was far easier to stem outbreaks than the 1980s.

But if you lived through the AIDS epidemic, none of that will be a surprise. Its just the repeat of a tragedy from a party that apparently learned nothing from the death of tens of thousands of Americans from HIV.

Read more here:
Republicans are very good at making epidemics much worse than they should be - LGBTQ Nation

Republicans and conservatives appear to be the least worried of all about the coronavirus, even as alarming news coverage amplifies public uncertainly about treatments, cures, risks and preventative behaviors.

Yes, theres a panic poll.

Here are the simple stats from a new Economist/YouGov survey: 67% of Republicans are either not too worried or not worried at all about the risk of contracting the illness, or the actual seriousness of it.

The survey found that 59% of independents and 38% of Democrats agreed with that. Among conservatives, 68% said they were not worried, making that group and Republicans the most carefree of the 30 demographics surveyed in the poll, which was conducted March 1-3. More numbers in the Poll du Jour at columns end.

Meanwhile, yet another survey reveals a strong sentiment among Republicans toward President Trump. A new Rasmussen Reports survey released Thursday found that 60% of Republican voters see the coronavirus as a scare tool to get Trump. Over one-third of all voters 35% agree with that. And Democrats? Two-thirds disagree, and instead insist that the coronavirus is a major threat to the nation. The survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted March 3-4.

THAT LUXURIOUS TOUCH

While the rest of us clear grocery store shelves of hand sanitizer to foil coronavirus, the well-heeled folks are going for luxury.

The rich are preparing for coronavirus differently: concierge doctors, yachts, chartered planes and germ-free hideaways. The rich are sparing no expense, advises Jonah Bromwich, a features reporter for The New York Times.

Among their favorites of the moment: Pear and bergamot-scented rinse-free hand wash from Byredo at $35 for a single ounce. The company is completely sold out of it. Then theres a high-end air purifier by Molecule Air for $799 or a private jet flight from Florida to New York for $20,000. V.I.P. emergency rooms are also in fashion defined as well-stocked, members-only hospital facilities. Custom fitted facial masks are popular, writes Mr. Bromwich who adds that the germ-free panic room is also a must-have.

For those who really want to bunker down as global infections mount, a well-stocked home bunker represents the ultimate luxury, he noted. It is equipped with a negative pressure system to restrict the circulation of pathogens, and is basically an isolated guest wing consisting of a bedroom and kitchen stocked with IV hydration, medicines, lab supplies, gloves, gowns, masks, oxygen and food, as well as a set of dishes and linens.

And forget the villa in Rome. Mr. Bromwich also says the rich are chartering yachts to spend germ-free, pleasant moments on the sea.

It totally makes sense. Youre keeping your family contained in a very small, should-be-clean environment. And going from your car to your F.B.O. meaning fixed base operator, or private jet terminal to your private jet right onto the tarmac. And from there, right onto your yacht, and not having to deal with the public, Jennifer Saia the president of B&B Yacht Charter in Newport, Rhode Island told the reporter.

WALLOWING IN ADJECTIVES

When in doubt, roll out the adjectives.

After President Trump was acquitted Feb. 5 in the impeachment proceedings against him, his foes in the news media immediately search for a new narrative. Portraying the president as some kind of swashbuckler appears to have fit the bill.

Since the liberal attempt to remove the president ended in failure, the media talking heads are fretting about how Trumps acquittal has created an emboldened chief executive who threatens the rule of law like never before, writes Bill DAgostino, an analyst for the Media Research Center, a conservative press watchdog.

Journalists often find a convenient word they like then everyone uses it.

During the month of February, Mr. DAgostino and his team found 239 instances in which TV journalists alleged Mr. Trump was emboldened cataloging the occurrences on MSNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC. Fox News played a minor role in the effort, using the E-word only five times.

Many of these claims about an emboldened Trump featured the kind of overblown language one might expect from an action movie trailer, Mr. DAgostino says.

And while emboldened is the word of choice for the time being, the study also found that the following descriptors for Mr. Trump were also used in the coverage: Wild, unbound, dangerous, angry, unleashed, unchained and furious.

NOW THERES A THOUGHT

Yes, lots of pundits and strategists still claim President Trump and the Russians somehow stole the 2016 election.

But that might not be logical.

If Mike Bloomberg couldnt buy 2020, how could Russia buy 2016? asks Mollie Hemingway, senior editor for The Federalist.

We had years where people were saying a couple hundred thousand dollars in barely literate Facebook ads from Russians caused Donald Trump to win. Here you had a guy spend nearly $1 billion and he went nowhere, she tells Fox News.

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POLL DU JOUR

84% of U.S. adults are not wearing a medical face mask in public out of concern for coronavirus; 90% of Republicans, 81% of independents and 85% of Democrats agree.

14% are very worried about the coronavirus; 6% of Republicans, 12% of independents and 21% of Democrats agree.

33% are somewhat worried about the virus; 27% of Republicans, 29% of independents and 42% of Democrats agree.

35% are not too worried; 40% of Republicans, 37% of independents and 30% of Democrats agree.

18% are not worried at all; 27% of Republicans, 22% of independents and 8% of Democrats agree.

Source: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted March 1-3.

Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.

Go here to read the rest:
Inside the Beltway: Poll: Republicans least alarmed by coronavirus - The Washington TImes

Republicans are demandingthat the Supreme Court stand up for the Manhattan District Attorney's office as it fights for subpoenas of President Donald Trump's taxes.

Newsweekreported that37 Republicans have signed onto a briefdemanding the High Court uphold the DA. The brief was filed Monday by the Republicans, including former members of Congress and the Executive Branch as well as notorious Trump antagonists George Conway and John Dean.

The group said in the brief that they "are concerned that President Trump's assertions of absolute immunity from process, while in office and more generally his arguments against accountability in any forum could impose lasting damage on our constitutional system of checks and balances as well as on the rule of law."

It also argues that Trump's lawyers are demanding the court "depart radically from that principle by holding that criminal investigations may not touch the president's affairs in any way, even when those investigations require nothing at all from the president."

"This extraordinary assertion is not based on any specific claim of privilege, but rather on a sweeping claim of absolute immunity," the brief continues.

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The case they reference is part of a grand jury investigation into alleged payments Trump made to women he allegedly had affairs with.

Federal judges have already ruled against Trump, which is why it's now appearing before the court, who will hear oral arguments March 31.

"The Framers designed a system in which no one is above the law, not even the president. Historically, this court has adhered to that principle. It should do so again and affirm the decision of the Second Circuit," the brief explains.

Read the full report atNewsweek.

See the rest here:
Dozens of Republicans tell the Supreme Court to force President Trump to turn over his taxes - Salon

The state of Virginia just made history as the first Southern state to pass a ban on anti-gay conversion therapy.

The heartening development to outlaw the discredited practice, in which pseudoscience is employed to try to change peoples sexual orientation, came largely at the behest of Virginia Democrats and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam on Monday. While the Democrats do deserve credit on this one, its also important to recognize the dozen Virginia Republican state legislators who bucked the rest of their party to come down on the right side of this vote.

The bill, HB 386, outlaws licensed counselors and medical professionals from offering minors any practice or treatment that seeks to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender. Importantly, it only applies to those under age 18.

Bans on this kind of anti-gay conversion therapy are something everyone should support, regardless of political persuasion or even personal religious views on homosexuality. Why? Because conversion therapy doesnt work. Its a debunked form of medical malpractice and fraud, something even die-hard libertarians think should be illegal.

Theres really no disputing this point. Almost all of the major medical organizations condemn conversion therapy, and theres essentially zero evidence of it ever working. As I previously wrote:

Of course, its not just that conversion therapy doesnt work. Neither does tarot-card reading or fortune-telling, but those arent illegal. The reason Virginia lawmakers are right that anti-gay conversion therapy must be outlawed is because its not just ineffective, but demonstrably harmful, so much so that it puts young peoples lives at risk.

One study showed that youth who faced familial pressure to change their sexual orientation were more than twice as likely to attempt suicide. Those who faced formal conversion efforts from religious clergy were three times as likely to attempt to kill themselves.

Increasingly, this is becoming a point of bipartisan consensus. Republicans governors such as Larry Hogan and Charlie Baker have signed bans on conversion therapy into law, and even Utahs Republican-controlled state legislature just outlawed the fraudulent practice. Now, in Virginia, its heartening to see a dozen Republicans backing the ban as well, even if many still opposed it.

State Sen. Jill Vogel broke with all the other Republicans in the Virginia Senate to vote for the bill. Meanwhile, in the House, 11 brave Republicans crossed the aisle to vote to ban the practice. This is an encouraging sign of progress. Lets hope even more Virginia Republicans come around on this issue soon.

Original post:
Cheers to the 12 Virginia Republicans who backed gay conversion therapy ban - Washington Examiner

Senate Republicans on Thursday battered Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning for carrying water for Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Medicaid expansion and placing GOP candidates in jeopardy in an election year.

The backlash was a response to Denning and Kelly's appearance Monday in Wichita to promote a Medicaid expansion deal the two reached before the session began in January.

Criticism of Denning erupted during a meeting of Senate Republicans, with Denning and Senate President Susan Wagle sitting side by side. Wagle, a Wichita Republican who has vowed to prevent passage of Medicaid expansion, said Denning betrayed his caucus by teaming up with a Democratic rival.

"For us, all of a sudden you changed direction, Wagle said. You stood with the governor, and you carried the governor's water on a bill she wanted. And now, we're being put in a very bad situation in Sedgwick County."

Another Wichita Republican, Sen. Gene Suellentrop, said Denning has lost the support of a majority of the Senate GOP caucus. Denning didnt notify Senate Republicans that he planned to make the appearance alongside the governor, Suellentrop said.

In Wichita, Denning and Kelly welcomed constituents to call GOP holdouts on Medicaid expansion, which would unlock federal funding and provide health insurance to an estimated 130,000 low-income Kansas adults and children.

"I'll ask you to make a commitment to the caucus that you will not travel with the Democrat governor again to other districts to bully us, or whatever you want to call it, Suellentrop said.

No, Denning replied. Im not going to make that commitment.

Wagle and Denning have been at odds from the start of the session, when Wagle used her authority to place Medicaid expansion in a committee controlled by Suellentrop. Wagle wanted to use Medicaid expansion, a top priority for Democrats, as leverage for her efforts to rewrite the Kansas Constitution to clarify it offers no right to abortion.

When the proposed abortion amendment failed to gain two-thirds majority support in the House, Wagle responded by stifling progress on bills passed by the House, introduced by Democrats or relating to health care.

"We had a conversation at the beginning of the session, Denning said, and she said, 'My leadership position as Senate president will be to kill Medicaid. Your position as Senate majority leader will be to do anything you can to pass it. "

Suellentrop and Wagle expressed concern that Dennings push for Medicaid expansion will hurt vulnerable Republican candidates.

In Wagles district, Republican Rep. Renee Erickson faces a challenge from former Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston, who is running for the Democrats. Elsewhere in Wichita, Republican Sen. Mike Petersen is up against Democratic Rep. Jim Ward.

The political stakes are heightened by anti-abortion lobbyists who want to install their proposed amendment before passing Medicaid expansion to avoid any possibility of taxpayer-funded abortions.

"Our biggest voting bloc in the primary is the pro-life community, Wagle said. We cannot be asked to step on that community and get re-elected, so you're putting us in a very difficult spot, Jim. Very, very difficult."

Suellentrop said Denning was supposed to come up with a plan to be used only if Medicaid expansion couldnt be stopped.

"The understanding was the bill was here in case we got rolled, Suellentrop said.

Ethan Patterson, the chief of staff for Denning, said a small faction of six or seven Senate Republicans was trying to block the legislative process.

Kansans want lawmakers to work together, Patterson said, and weve had 10 years in this building where bipartisanship did not exist.

"If the caucus does decide Jim Denning is not the leader for them anymore, we know w'ere on the right side of this issue not only for our district but for the state on what people want and what the masses want, Patterson said. So we're going to sleep easy easy tonight and moving forward."

Last month, Suellentrops committee sent a message to Denning by attaching work requirements and other controversial provisions, then voting it down anyway.

One of the changes installed by Suellentrops committee would allow health care providers to refuse service for anything that violates their conscience, which is defined as deeply held religious beliefs. That language routinely is used to protect institutions that refuse service on the basis of sexual preference or gender identity.

Denning retaliated by introducing legislation that would apply the faith-based exemption for all health care services. Patterson said the bill was aimed at the Truth Caucus, a group of conservative Republicans.

"If they want that debate, we can have that debate, but what we do not want is that debate to have to be tied to Medicaid, Patterson said. The Truth Caucus little faction within the ranks here believes that if they put that on, it automatically kills Medicaid because the governor will not sign it. That is the whole purpose of tying that to Medicaid."

Suellentrop said he hasnt scheduled a hearing on the proposal because Denning hasnt talked to him about it.

Tom Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas, said the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents of the state were tired of being used as political footballs.

"Now they're willing to play a game where LGBT people are denied health care and we just die, Witt said. It's the most disgusting and vile thing I have seen come out of this building in several years."

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Senate Republicans blast majority leader for working with governor on Medicaid expansion - Hays Daily News