DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus What the Republicans Has Turned Into

Also, a study I saw from the University of Minnesota and other articles from NPR state that they don't think that we will ever reach 80-85% of vaccinated to reach herd immunity-but they do feel that this will be a better summer but if we only get to 65-70% vaccinated and states continue to open-we will have issues again late summer into the winter again

And they don't know a bunch about this yet-
How long will the vaccines last?
How effective are they against variants?
Will the unvaccinated who already have gotten covid and recovered be able to get sick again in fall respiratory season?

They want a headline that specifies that Republicans are to blame! Because all the PROOF in the world will never be enough for them to accept the blame.

then it will be fake news from a liberal rag

https://apnews.com/article/personal-taxe...7880faf15d5dea3


Republicans promote pandemic relief they voted against
By STEVE PEOPLES
today

FILE - In this April 15, 2021, file photo, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., speaks during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Every Republican in Congress voted against the $1.9 trillion "American Rescue Plan," which President Joe Biden signed into law three months ago. But ever since, Republicans from New York and Indiana to Texas and Washington state have promoted elements of legislation that would not exist if they had their way. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said it pained her to vote against the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.

But in the weeks that followed, the first-term Republican issued a news release celebrating more than $3.7 million from the package that went to community health centers in her district as one of her “achievements.” She said she prided herself on “bringing federal funding to the district and back into the pockets of taxpayers.”

Malliotakis is far from alone.

Every Republican in Congress voted against the sweeping pandemic relief bill that President Joe Biden signed into law three months ago. But since the early spring votes, Republicans from New York and Indiana to Texas and Washington state have promoted elements of the legislation they fought to defeat.



The Republicans’ favorite provisions represent a tiny sliver of the massive law, which sent $1,400 checks to millions of Americans, extended unemployment benefits until September, increased the child tax credit, offered housing assistance for millions of low-income Americans and expanded health care coverage. Republicans tried to negotiate a smaller package, arguing that Biden’s plan was too expensive and not focused enough on the nation’s health and economic crises.



Democrats are promising to make the pandemic relief vote — and the Republican resistance to it — a central element in their political strategy moving into next year’s midterm elections as they defend delicate House and Senate majorities. And there are early signs that Republicans may struggle to defend their opposition to the popular legislative package, which was designed to protect the nation’s fragile economic recovery following the worst public health threat in a century.

GOP lawmakers have been especially bullish about promoting the rescue plan’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which devoted $28.6 billion to the struggling industry. Applications for the program opened this week.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., topped a group of at least eight Republicans who have encouraged constituents to apply in recent days. The others included Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; Greg Pence, R-Ind.; Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash.; Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas; Troy Balderson, R-Ohio; and Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio.


“The Congresswoman is using her platform to inform her constituents of federal funds and resources available to them,” Stefanik spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said. “She did not claim to support the bill in the tweet, and her constituents deserve to know about federal programs they can apply for regardless of how she votes.”

Wicker’s office noted that he voted against the full package, but led efforts to ensure the restaurant relief was included.



“Sen. Wicker co-authored the amendment that successfully added the Restaurant provision to the reconciliation bill. Why wouldn’t he want to encourage participation?” Wicker spokesman Phillip Waller said.

The Independent Restaurant Coalition acknowledged the Republican’s awkward position, but offered its thanks anyway.

“Senator Wicker did not vote for the package (we wish all members did!), but his work on the RESTAURANTS Act from the beginning made the relief fund possible,” the industry group tweeted. “We are grateful for that work.”

And White House spokesman Andrew Bates sarcastically expressed appreciation for the Republicans who have begun to tout elements of Biden’s stimulus.

“The American people — majorities of Democrats, independents, and Republicans — have long been firmly unified behind the American Rescue Plan,” Bates said. “So it’s heartening to see Republicans in Congress reaching across the aisle to endorse it — even retroactively.”

The politics of the Republican position are complicated.

The GOP ultimately benefited politically after uniting against the massive economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2009. Republicans scored massive gains in the House and Senate the following year. While the GOP is optimistic it will retake the House majority in 2022, it’s far from clear whether the stimulus vote will help it get there.

Polling suggests the Biden stimulus is overwhelmingly popular. Two in 3 voters have consistently supported the $1.9 trillion package in recent polling, while individual elements such as the $1,400 direct payments to individuals are even more popular.

And just three months after the bill was signed into law, the Republican opposition has only begun to be tested.

The Democratic National Committee has already launched “digital takeovers” of local news websites in Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Nevada, New Hampshire, Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania to thank Democrats and highlight the Republican obstruction. The White House’s political arm has also put up billboards in 20 states calling out Republicans and focused on the Republican opposition in training for Democratic officials.

“Between now and next year’s midterm elections, we’re going to make sure every voter remembers how Republicans tried to stand in the way of this economic boom and our return to normalcy,” said DNC spokesman Ammar Moussa. “And you can count on Democrats to call Republicans out for their hypocrisy when they try to tout the same programs they voted against.”

Beyond funding for restaurants, Republicans have also touted millions of dollars in health care grants allocated to their districts in the latest stimulus plan.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., in late March pointed to millions of dollars in such grants on social media, saying he was “proud” to see the taxpayer dollars returning to his district. A spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., issued a news release at roughly the same time to promote more than $41 million spread across 12 health care centers in his district.

“I am glad that this funding has been secured,” he said, neglecting to mention how it was secured.

The four-term Republican congressman defended his decision to highlight the grants this week in a statement.

“Despite what anyone claims, all money that is appropriated by Congress is derived from the taxpayer, not President Biden,” Mooney said. “Taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent, especially as it affects their towns and communities.”

Malliotakis, who took office in January, promoted more than $3.7 million in health care grants from the Biden stimulus among her achievements in a self-issued “First 100 Days Report Card.”

“These grants were among the 9% of funds dedicated to COVID-19 relief that I was always in support of,” Malliotakis said in a statement. “Regardless of any particular vote, I’m going to help individuals, small businesses and nonprofit organizations get funding they are entitled to.”

If that's what you took away from my posts, then I really don't know how else I can phrase it for you. You are the one that's alleging that Republicans are the reason why we won't hit herd immunity, and you are the one that linked to an article that listed a whole host of reasons and briefly touched on the one reason you mentioned.

You simply refuse to acknowledge the evidence you yourself are bringing to the table because it would lower the soapbox you're on right now.

Take it up with the FDA, then. They are the ones that are responsible for giving full approval of the vaccines, which ultimately makes them the key governing body that doctors rely on to advise patients getting the vaccine. Lack of full approval (and the data behind it) is why most doctor's won't advise pregnant women to get the vaccine. It's why adolescents can't get the vaccine.

The lesser of two evils is really the main part of the argument that went into authorizing the vaccines for emergency use, but there's also a reason why there's a big difference between that and full approval.

I'm not sure how many other ways I can explain this. For someone who proudly puts themself on the side of doctor's/scientists/etc, it's remarkably easy for you to disregard the fact that those same people haven't yet said it's ok to fully distribute these vaccines.

Since you decided to go down the road of "what you yourself said", you pointed out the main reasons it wasn't fully authorized. No matter how safe it is, without long term studies, regulations prevent the FDA from giving full authorization. So the "take it up with the FDA" portion of your comment really doesn't make any sense.

As for breaking it down into different groups of people, I understand what you're saying but that is simply another portion of the long term process required of the FDA for full approval. I'm not sure how anyone can't see that when over 200,000,000 vaccines have been administered with far less serious side effects than many fully approved FDA prescription drugs the answer isn't already obvious. Many ages and races make up those 200,000,000 vaccines.

That doesn't change the requirements the FDA has to go through for full approval but the evidence is clear that it's pretty much safe for every demographic. Studies have already been conducted for children and is awaiting FDA approval.

Full FDA approval is an arduous process that takes a lot of time and has nothing to do with the actual safety of the vaccine no matter how safe it is.

It has SO little to do with you and much more to do with the obvious. Trump poopooed the vaccine and his dumbest supporters don't want to get it now. Trump, after being pressured by the media, reluctantly told them to get the vaccine. This only reinforced their fears and conspiracy theories. Republicans are talking about robots in the serum! How much proof do you need?

But hey, don't take my word for it, go look yourself because your time would be better spent doing that than arguing with me to change my mind. I gave you all the proof you need. It's all around you every day, those trump supporters are just nuts.

Many will also argue its “trump’s vaccine, that never would have happened without him!!!” out of one side of their mouths. While refusing to take it, out of the other side of their mouths.

It’s mental gymnastics performed at a gold medalists’ level.

Yep. Covid-19 (Trump's plague) anti vaxxing is just one of many ways they drive me nuts. I struggle daily wondering how we ever lived with them before. I think Faux News and GOPer/Trumpian lies have done something irreversible to their mental health.

The Republican Party cares more about getting rid of Liz Cheney than they do getting rid of Matt Gaetz, who went on drug-filled benders with underage girls.

If that’s the the GOP and modern day conservatism is, keep me far away from it.

Hilarious how their conspiracy theories call dems pedos all the time, yet the only pedos I've seen exposed in the government have ALL been GOPers.

I think that makes perfect sense. If I truly thought this was "trumps vaccine" I wouldn't want to get it either.

This is the reason for my 'take it up with the FDA' statement. If the evidence is obvious, then your argument is with them for not approving the vaccine.



It actually has everything to do with safety (and efficacy). That's the whole point of the approval process, actually (approval is given when the vaccine is proven to be safe and effective).

Worth quoting again.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/06/arizona-republicans-bamboo-ballots-audit-2020

Good lord above .... This actually makes the GOP supporting child abusers over Cheney pretty rationale by comparison.

C'mon Trumpians.... Defend this one.

You mistake someone voting for Trump as them being 'trumpians'. You paint with a broad brush, which makes you, and others that post similarly, look foolish, really.

You, until recently, not so much....but we have a few on here that despise anyone that voted for trump, and call them names incessantly.

Not a good look.

I was thinking similarly... I'm a life long republican and got my vaccine as soon as I could.... I didn't agree with everything that Trump did but still voted for him as I do not like a lot of Biden's policies.... still don't....

I think both sides really need to do a lot less trying to 'win' or get one up on the other side.... America would be much better if both sides of the isle met in the middle to work together rather than trying to win...

I don't despise anyone that voted for Trump. That's a lot of folks.

I don't even despise the hardcore Trump faithful. Although I do wonder what an earth they have going on in their heads after what we witnessed for 4 years.

What I do find myself doing is laughing at and mocking those that are part of the group that - for example 1. Don't comment on Gaetz but wanted to jump on Biden about his aide that was rude to a reporter (the aide that was removed). 2. Believe a giant proven lie that the election was stolen 3. Cry cancel culture - when that is the very essence of what Trump did and is. . . . I believe those people need to be called out for the BS that they promote.

I agree... 100% with you...

I want a fair election and felt that Trump was within his right to protest or take them to court... when he lost that it should have been over... I wish he would have congratulated Biden at that point and moved forward

Gaetz seems like slim and I hope due process works and if he's found guilt gets what he deserves... anyone who participates in sex trafficking should get what they deserve

I've never liked Cancel culture... and unfortunately both sides have rallied behind cancel culture, typically very quickly without the full story....

J/C

Fiorina had - what I thought was - a very good interview discussing Trump and Cruz and the state of the Republican party.

The embedded video is worth watching.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/carly-fiorina-ted-cruz-cnn-2021_n_609513abe4b05fb33f4b5a7d

Interesting that she mentioned George Washington's farewell address. He pinpointed a few things in there, North and South being one of them, as well as political parties.

This quote really stands out:

"All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.

However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

Being a Trumpian is a lifestyle. Not who you voted for.

j/c...

They invoke cancel culture where it means the most. In our own government.

So, am I a Trumpian in your eyes?

Conservatives are Not Getting Vaccinated, to Own the Libs

Today, I received a text from our local pharmacy here in North Carolina, asking us to contact two friends or family members and tell them to get vaccinated.

That this is even necessary, illustrates this nation’s worst present affliction: political tribalism.

In the wake of the single most devastating public health crisis in our lifetimes, one that has killed well over a half a million people here in the United States and forced all of us into more than a year in lockdown—this simply shouldn’t be.

No one should be begging adult human beings who’ve been the loudest for months in demanding that we “reopen America, ” to do the one thing that could allow that to happen safely and quickly.

And the tragedy of all of it, is that were it not for the previous president and his party’s incessant attacks on Science and medicine and empathy since the pandemic began—they would have already been vaccinated. This would simply not be an issue.

This resistance to getting the shots isn’t based on reliable evidence that suggests any medical risk, it is simply the putrid fruit of a political movement that has trafficked in conspiracy from day one of this disaster: with the former president spending months downplaying the virus, debating the death toll, mocking mask-wearers, pushing phony cures, and turning safeguards into a form of anti-American oppression.

In other words, had Donald Trump simply said when this all began: “This is a serious danger. We’re all in it together. This has nothing to do with politics. We all need to mask and distance and wait on a vaccine and get it once it arrives” that’s what Conservatives would have done and we would not be here:

We wouldn’t be pleading with friends and relatives and co-workers to get a vaccine they somehow now seem to fear more than the virus itself.

FoxNews wouldn’t be running continual anti-mask, anti-vaccine programming designed to convince people to avoid sound medical advice and resist healthcare.

We wouldn’t be enduring people who were telling us all last year to take hydroxychloroquine, despite its documented hazards in such usage—now refusing a carefully engineered vaccine made precisely for the purpose of protecting them against this virus.

Tens of millions of Americans would not be opting out of a medical treatment that most of the world is waiting for and millions of people are literally dying without right now.

And we wouldn’t be listening to our parents and aunts and next door neighbors and politicians, talk about some vague hesitancy that they say they can’t explain.

(I can explain it, Conservatives: you’ve been brainwashed. You are afflicted with partisan politics and bad theology, and you are unable to think clearly because of it. You are so intent on validating your vote that you will do anything to feel that way.)

And as grief-worthy as the past year-plus has been, and all the senseless loss and cancelled plans and emotional trauma we’ve experienced, this year is perhaps even more tragic, because the help we all waited for is here, and a huge swath of this nation is refusing it, all to declare their allegiance to a former president and political party who weaponized this pandemic from the moment it began, and inexplicably turned it into a partisan event.

And so, the herd immunity they all spent months pining for, will likely not be possibly, precisely because they are taking a stand against Science and facts and Democrats. They are quite literally making “owning the Libs,” a hill they are willing to die on—or kill lots of other people on.

A friend of mine shared her exasperation with her Trump-supporting family members, saying, “I’ve tried everything. I’ve tried showing them the vaccine development process, I’ve tired giving them the Science. I’ve tried guilt and pleading and appeals to the compassion of Jesus, but nothing works. They simply will not be vaccinated because they’ve come to feel that getting it would be a defeat.”

And that’s the sad truth here: the refusal of tens of millions of professed adults to be vaccinated despite the unthinkable death we’ve witnessed, is a symptom of a political movement that was so bereft of ideas, it needed to turn a pandemic into a war against their opponents. In doing so, they made opposing the vaccine a political stance that is simply wasting lives and delaying progress and exacerbating suffering.

If only we could figure out how to give people immunity from ignorance and to boost their empathy…

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2021/05/06/conservatives-are-not-getting-vaccinated-to-own-the-libs/

Well, I know it's just a blog and this guy is some kind of ex mega church pastor, but apparently we share this same sentiment. So I'm not the only one who sees it.

Trump's Republicans assault democracy while Biden gets down to work

(CNN)As the Republican Party finds new ways to pay homage to Donald Trump and attack democracy, Joe Biden is pushing ahead with the grunt work of building a substantive presidency that could change the shape of America.

The contrast in approaches between the White House and the GOP encapsulates the risky bet that each has adopted at what is beginning to look like a tumultuous and potentially decisive turning point in the political history of the early 21st century.

In the country's relentless march through the next biennial election cycle, each side is making choices now that will provide the foundation of their strategies in 2022 and 2024 elections in which Trumpism and Bidenism will again be on the ballot in some form.

The President traveled to Louisiana on Thursday to promote a package that expands the definition of infrastructure from transportation projects to broadband Internet right through the provision of home health care for sick or elderly Americans.

But he chose a traditional backdrop, an aging bridge, to argue for tax raises on corporations and the wealthiest Americans to fund vital projects -- a centerpiece of his plan. He also offered some flexibility on the scale of a hike to corporate rates -- as he tries to get GOP senators on board -- hinting he may settle for a 25% ceiling instead of his initial bid for 28%.

"I'm not ready to have another period where America has another infrastructure month, and doesn't change a damn thing," Biden said at a highway bridge that carries I-10 in Lake Charles.

"The truth is, across the country, we have failed -- we have failed to properly invest in infrastructure for half a century."

Biden also spent the week working on the core task of his presidency -- ending the pandemic and repairing the economy. He announced a new target to convince wary Americans to get vaccinated. He made a decision to back waiving patents on Covid-19 vaccines, which reverberated around the world and could help save millions of lives in poorer nations. Biden also highlighted a restaurant rescue plan that is typical of his approach -- in that it uses a gusher of government money to safeguard a vital economic sector.

The plan is an apt symbol of a presidency rooted in fixing problems that makes a bet that after a murderous pandemic, Americans have arrived at one of the periodic moments in history when they are willing to endorse the sweeping use of government power to ease social and economic deprivation.

The strategy requires Biden to open a narrow path through tiny Democratic majorities in the House and Senate -- which isn't guaranteed. And if he has misjudged the public mood, he could risk a public backlash that could benefit Republicans next year.

Republicans fixated on personality cult loyalty tests

Ironically, one of the Republicans who has made one of the most targeted attacks on Biden's big government approach is Rep. Liz Cheney. But the Wyoming lawmaker, who's the No. 3 House Republican, may no longer have a leadership platform to make those arguments. She is set to be toppled as conference chair simply because she tells the truth, repeatedly, about the ex-President's lies about election fraud, points out that he whipped up an insurrection designed to overthrow Biden's victory and punctures his personality cult.

The fact that her likely replacement, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has become a fiercely pro-Trump lawmaker and promotes his falsehoods, is far less conservative than Cheney, offers an eloquent picture of the modern GOP's priorities.

Seeking to ease concerns among fiscal conservatives about her record, Stefanik played her, literal, Trump card, underscoring the power of the former President's aura in her party. "My vision is to run with support from the (ex) President and his coalition of voters," Stefanik said on Steve Bannon's radio show Thursday. Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of the small band of Republican House members willing to stand with Cheney in opposing Trump, refuted Stefanik's claims that she was a unifying figure.

"I'm gonna just go ahead and say this ain't unity. It's capitulation to crazy," Kinzinger tweeted.

The total embrace of Trump by House Republicans represents a counter-wager on the scale of the President's belief that Americans want a multi-trillion dollar overhaul of society designed to make the economy more equitable for working class Americans.

Given the popularity of Trump among GOP base voters and their willingness to buy into the false reality he created over last year's election, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's strategy could work, as he seeks to wrest control of the House next year in midterm elections that may be decided by whichever party manages to excite their core voters.

Yet Trump's appeal is limited -- he never reached a 50% approval rating as president in the Gallup poll. He alienated crucial suburban voters and led House Republicans to defeat in the 2018 midterm elections and lost the White House in 2020 and two subsequent Senate runoffs. It's far from clear that devotion to the disgraced former President is a viable path for Republicans if Biden makes a success of his presidency and the economy is doing well as voters cast ballots in 2022 and 2024.

McConnell launches his own maneuvers

On the Senate side of the Capitol, meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to signal a characteristic policy of obstruction when he said this week that 100% of his focus was on stopping the current administration. The Kentucky Republican's comments raised the question of whether a GOP counter-proposal to Biden on infrastructure and negotiations currently taking place with the White House is nothing more than political posturing.

McConnell's attitude recalled a similar stance he took against former President Barack Obama's presidency. It may also reflect insight from Biden -- a longtime sparring partner -- about the gravity of the current political moment. While Republicans in the House are almost exclusively positioning for the midterms already, McConnell, with his chamber's institutional capacity to serve as a roadblock, is also concentrating on shorter-term efforts to thwart Biden's transformational aspirations.

But McConnell may also have offered the President an opening to argue that Washington Republicans spurned his offer of compromise on key issues like infrastructure and his plans targeting American jobs and families.

His remarks also immediately trained attention back on West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who is a bulwark against the power of progressives in the party and wants compromise with minority Republicans on big Biden agenda items.

Manchin said on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time" on Wednesday night that he didn't know what McConnell's reasoning was but insisted "there are Republicans working with Democrats who want to make something happen."

Building on Trump's election fraud lies

Outside Washington, Republican state lawmakers continued to build on the ex-President's lies about election fraud to make it more difficult for Americans to vote. In Arizona, state Senate Republicans pressed ahead with a sham partisan recount of general election votes in Maricopa County after Biden's win was repeatedly verified by courts and election officials.

The Texas state House, meanwhile, debated a Republican bill that would limit extended early voting hours, give partisan poll watchers more authority and make it tougher to cast a vote in city areas where Democratic voters live.

And Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law the Sunshine State's new restrictive voting measures. Had the goal been to bolster public confidence in the electoral system he might have held a public event. But exposing the partisanship behind the move, he signed it into law on "Fox and Friends" in a stunt that excluded journalists other than those on one of Trump's favorite mouthpiece networks.

The fact that DeSantis is so willing to use the electoral system -- the core of US political freedoms -- as a prop to advance his own political career shows why some pundits believe he has the brazenness needed to serve as an heir to Trump -- a figure whose power still looms over Washington despite his departure for Florida more than three months ago.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/07/politics/...cans/index.html

/jk

While there may be a number of people refusing to get vaccinated strictly on political views, I would bet the majority are just because they don't see the need, or plain don't want to be bothered.

Call them selfish, call them arrogant, call them whatever you want. Not everything is political. I would bet the vast majority of people seldom do anything based on political views. The small segment that make the news are hardly a sample.

Just because someone is registered as R or D and say this or that, does not mean that decision was based on their political values, especially when you consider that probably better than half of the people registered in each party don't even follow politics beyond the headlines.

Maybe. But there are more on the GQP side that make the vaccine and mask wearing political then you are suggesting. And a big reason is they think it will make Biden look bad to not reach the goals he’s set.

No. I don't think you feel Trump is a good person or reflects many of your views and values. I don't think you approve of his vitriol that does nothing but paint anyone and anything that disagrees with him as some kind of enemy to our country. I don't believe you feel there was some wide spread voter fraud committed to steal the election. I think you saw him as the lesser of the two evils.

That describes a lot of people.

A major example of a Trumpian to me that posts on this board would be fish.

I'm certainly not trying to claim that everyone views my feelings as what they would describe as a Trumpian or not a Trumpian. That's just my own viewpoint.

I think painting everything with a broad brush much as you describe is wrong to do. So we do agree to that extent. But I think we can both agree that rural people are certainly not lazy and care about the safety and health of their families as far as it pertains to thinking of them as a whole.

Let me pose something to you. If in fact "they don't see the need, or plain don't want to be bothered", why would that be? Considering Covid has killed 560,000 Americans, if they listened to the virus experts, how could they not feel it was worth being bothered or feel the need? Which begs to question, who is it they're listening to that creates the situation they came to such a conclusion?

What I can do is show you that the lowest rate of vaccinations come from rural, heavily favorable Trump areas. Now that may not represent the nation as a whole. And it may not give the entire picture here. But it certainly makes it clear that politics and the stations people turn to for their information is a huge contributor to the problem.

Rural Georgia sees vaccine hesitancy as supply outweighs demand

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-hesitancy-rural-georgia/

90% of their voters voted for Trump. Their vaccination rate is less than 5%.

'Red' states on U.S. electoral map lagging on vaccinations

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politic...ations-n1264102

The same is happening here in Tennessee.

This week in coronavirus: Who doesn’t want the COVID-19 vaccine? White, rural Republicans.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/he...nes/7166086002/

Now we can all guess at what the biggest factor is for people not getting the vaccine. I agree that it isn't restricted to Republicans. But what I can't downplay is that there is certainly an obvious factor that we can all put our fingers on.

And that factor is that much of the issue depends on who people are listening to, to arrive at their decision.

I agree. I think people see the would likely survive covid if they get it. Meanwhile if you get vaccinated you still have to wear masks and social distance. Because of that, I'm not surprised for some people to say "whats the point?"

I think one of the biggest problems in all of that is that the Republicans still haven’t developed any substantive platform other than “owning the libs.”

It's not the voting for trump that paints folks with a broad brush, it's the continued support for a person that is literally responsible for tearing this country apart.

January 6th, 2021 is the biggest example.

While I see your point in voting for Trump in the future, those who voted for Trump did so two months before Jan. 6th. I would certainly hope January 6th changed the minds of some of those people about voting for him in the future.

Yes, he was always a divider. But hopefully Jan. 6th and the big lie over the election puts into plain view the danger this man is to our democracy moving forward and will only lessen his support. At this juncture, after what transpired, anyone who votes for him in the future I will certainly see in a different light.

The point is that you get vaccinated not only to protect yourself, but also it protects your family and others. It's a no-brainer.

And you only have to "keep wearing a mask" until enough of the idiots refusing vaccines get them in order to reach herd immunity.

I agree with some who think our country is going to hell but for different reasons than most.