If They Were Republicans, the Texas Dem Trip Would Be Labeled a COVID 'Superspreader' Event by Now

By Garion Frankel July 20, 2021 at 3:37pm

The Texas Democrats’ glorified lobbying adventure in Washington, D.C., has taken an expected turn: Six of them have now contracted COVID-19.

I wish ill on none of them, and I hope all affected have a smooth and speedy recovery. After all, since they are fully vaccinated, they should have little more than a few, mild symptoms, if that.

However, I have a right to be angry at the gall of these people. They ran away from their legislative duties in Texas, illegally went maskless on their chartered plane while guzzling down their Miller Lite and pretended that they were pioneers on the Oregon Trail instead of politicians on a business trip. They even took pictures:

ON PLANE TO DC: Texas Democratic lawmakers are leaving state to break quorum to stop Republican voting bill. Veteran Capitol observers say this is unchartered territory. Photo from Democrat on the plane. https://t.co/YOuOMb0A2m pic.twitter.com/abWoARvFIC

— ScottGordonNBC5 (@ScottGordonNBC5) July 12, 2021

And now the White House is defending their actions. Press Secretary Jen Psaki is refusing to call this a superspreader event (which it is).

Doocey asks if the Texas Dem trip “is now a super-spreader event in Washington?”@PressSec: “Well, I would say that’s not a characterization we’re making from here.”

— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) July 20, 2021

Were Republicans the ones to flee the Texas Legislature, the Biden administration and the establishment media would have been all over it. They probably would have labeled them evil murderers responsible for perpetuating the pandemic, and it wouldn’t be any different from their game plan all along.

Back in October, CNBC reported on a Stanford study that blamed Trump rallies for roughly 30,000 COVID-19 cases. The researchers claimed that the study was not politically motivated, but anybody who believes them is kidding themselves.

The media and other powers that be can protect — and have protected — the Texas Democrats from the scrutiny Republicans get.

But the chaos has not stopped with the Texas Democrats. Apparently, a White House official and a Nancy Pelosi staffer, both of whom attended a reception with the Texas Democrats, are now sick.

.@axios reporting that a @WhiteHouse official and a @SpeakerPelosi staffer have both tested positive for COVID after attending a reception with Texas Democratic legislators. Both had been vaccinated against COVID

— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) July 20, 2021

Psaki added that other staffers within the government have become ill — infections that had not previously been made publicly available.

O’Keefe: “You confirmed today there’s been a breakthrough case.”
Psaki: “Yep.”
O’Keefe: “But you’re also confirming there have been other breakthrough cases?”
Psaki: “Yep.”
O’Keefe: “But you had not previously disclosed that there had been?”
Psaki: “And — that’s correct.”

— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) July 20, 2021

Psaki clarifies to @stevenportnoy that none of the breakthrough WH cases have been among commissioned officers.

— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) July 20, 2021

The Biden administration is actually right to act as if breakthrough infections are not a big deal. They aren’t. The point of the vaccines is to stop some infections, but more importantly, prevent severe illness and death. And at that, the vaccines are doing a superb job.

If you don’t believe me (and I know many readers probably don’t), just look at the U.K.’s data:

This picture paints about 3000 words. pic.twitter.com/IJ6AJA1YEr

— Alison Buttenheim (@abuttenheim) July 20, 2021

The point is the hypocrisy. Rules for thee but not for me. We conservatives cannot continue to allow ourselves to be maligned like this. The media may be filled with ideologues, but that doesn’t prevent us from fighting back.

It’s time to start doing so.

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