David Frum was on a bit of a tear this morning. About how stupid and anti-science Republican voters are, of course.
In 2016, poor health strongly predicted Trump voting. A county's rate of diabetes, alcohol consumption, obesity, etc. predicted its propensity to vote Trump *even better* than race/education. https://t.co/ew0d9lUxfr pic.twitter.com/6sHUf2EyYj
— David Frum (@davidfrum) April 21, 2021
I think of that grim relationship between Trump and sickness as I read the latest stories about how so many Republicans continue to refuse COVID vaccines. 2/xhttps://t.co/Lg7kVsAuwh pic.twitter.com/kKbgvUnbp6
— David Frum (@davidfrum) April 21, 2021
As @DKThomp points out, vaccine refusal is especially strong among younger Republicans 3/xhttps://t.co/AvGhSAu61T
— David Frum (@davidfrum) April 21, 2021
The self-harm of Trump voters should concern us all. They are fellow human beings. And because their self-harm also drives them to dangerous political extremes, their self-harm is also an important civic matter too. BUT … 4/x
— David Frum (@davidfrum) April 21, 2021
We can’t believe David admitted that Trump voters are fellow human beings. He’ll probably be getting some calls about that.
But we digress:
… there's an issue of personal responsibility here too. A heroic scientific effort – achieved at huge cost – has delivered vaccines that are astonishingly effective at protecting life from COVID. So effective that we may not need to worry about herd immunity. If so … 5/x
— David Frum (@davidfrum) April 21, 2021
… If so, if the vaccines work as well as they seem to work, then vaccine refusal really does become a personal decision, like a motorcyclist refusing to wear a helmet.
I believe we ought to try to save people from self-harm. But there are practical limits to paternalism 6/x
— David Frum (@davidfrum) April 21, 2021
Trump and the Fox leadership have vaccinated themselves of course. But they have a different message for their followers. They have persuaded them that it's a test of identity and loyalty to refuse COVID protection. 7/x
— David Frum (@davidfrum) April 21, 2021
There’s lots more left, but that tweet seems like a good stopping point.
CNN’s Jim Sciutto endorses it, after all:
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) April 21, 2021
Figures a CNN hack would blindly endorse David Frum’s BS. And make no mistake: it’s BS.
100% lie from Frum https://t.co/8wf0C6nedZ
— John (@John7Istheman) April 21, 2021
This is just a flat out lie. Period. https://t.co/7IXd2UK5Ll
— Art (@realartinro) April 21, 2021
Insane and false take of the year https://t.co/IKE0hEEqJH
— Lisa (@kittywhisperer7) April 21, 2021
Back when Donald Trump was predicting that there’d be a COVID19 vaccine by the end of last year, media were shaming him for cruelly getting people’s hopes up. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris was telling every American that she was wary of any vaccine developed during the Trump administration.
Liar!
Trump has told people to trust the vaccine & encouraged them to get it, while Kamala said – She won’t take the Covid vaccine because Trump said so. ? https://t.co/utjcFGkmeC pic.twitter.com/p7DFZFiSCJ— Misty Clance ?? (@mistclance) April 21, 2021
This is an absolute lie. Trump was telling Americans to trust the vaccine when Cuomo was saying he’d ban it in New York and Harris was questioning its efficacy. People have many reasons for vaccine hesitancy, Donald Trump and Fox News are not among them. https://t.co/qy8uinM7iR
— David Marcus (@BlueBoxDave) April 21, 2021
Democrats’ favorite expert on The Science™, Anthony Fauci, is still undermining vaccine confidence at every opportunity, insisting that even people who have been vaccinated should wear masks and avoid indoor gatherings indefinitely.
Are there anti-vaxxers on the Right? Absolutely. There are also people whose concern may even be warranted:
This is what I'm talking about: people like David From can't accept that some Americans have reasonably assessed the risk of COVID, learned about the vaccines, and decided they would rather not take one right now. His only explanation is that they're ignorant dupes. 1/3 https://t.co/gwE0yUQRIp
— John Daniel Davidson (@johnddavidson) April 21, 2021
But in fact, they have understandable concerns about the vaccine: some, especially young people who want to start families, are wary of the unknown long-term effects of an experimental vaccine; others have religious or moral qualms. 2/3
— John Daniel Davidson (@johnddavidson) April 21, 2021
David Frum doesn’t have to agree with their decision. But if his argument against them rests on blatant lies, he has no leg to stand on.
The only reason you ever knew David Frum's name in the first place was his willingness to tell brazen lies in public. https://t.co/doi8OSodWS
— Lassie is with Merrick, now (@K9DefenseLeague) April 21, 2021
