In case you missed it recently, reports leaked out that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi savaged Dr. Deborah Birx during negotiations over the next installment of COVID relief legislation, calling her "the worst" and accusing her of spreading Coronavirus disinformation. Smearing Birx -- whose life work has been incredible and whose expertise and credentials are unimpeachable -- has been something of a sport on the political left for some time. When Dr. Anthony Fauci is criticized by right-leaning people, it is treated as an attack on science itself by many in the media. Yet when ugly aspersions are hurled at Birx, swift condemnations (and counter-accusations of sexism) are strangely scant, at least if the barbs are coming from the Left. This is really nasty stuff from Pelosi:
She accused BIRX of spreading disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, while praising ANTHONY FAUCI, who she said “came to his senses, and is now a hero.”
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 31, 2020
Really nasty, certainly, but not unexpected. Appalling, slimy slanders and irresponsible rhetoric are par for the course with Mrs. Pelosi. Within the past few weeks alone, she has repeatedly smeared opponents in cartoonish and revolting ways -- ranging from idiotic comments like this to truly heinous garbage. She doubles down, secure in the knowledge that pushback will be fleeting and perfunctory. This exchange on ABC's This Week shows that Pelosi said what she's alleged to have said (she doesn't deny it), and has absolutely nothing of substance to back up her petty, catty potshots at Birx:
On ABC, Pelosi fails to back up her smear of Birx. It's pure guilt by association. If she can't substantiate it, she should withdraw it. https://t.co/cRvwx3OfzQ pic.twitter.com/Z66nMeQ9Te
— Will Saletan (@saletan) August 2, 2020
She should, but she won't. And she'll pay no price for her terrible behavior. The civility police and the 'respect the experts' crowd don't really mean much of what they say. Saletan, an intellectually-honest and curious journalist on the center-left, also highlighted another recent politically-motivated effort to tar Birx unfairly:
The article is full of claims attributed to Birx, saying in April that the numbers were heading in the right direction. Maybe that's because ... they were? "Mitigation was working." “All metros are stabilizing.” The US "was on the same trajectory as Italy." That was all true. /2
— Will Saletan (@saletan) July 19, 2020
Here's Birx pushing back very politely, showing who is the bigger and classier person in this one-sided feud. Meanwhile, here is some encouraging news about the pandemic appearing to continue slowing down in some recently-hammered sunbelt states (accompanied by at least some concern about a midwestern uptick):
All emergency room data is heading back down toward May levels in Florida: pic.twitter.com/OXFIQpnQuS
— Jennifer Cabrera (@jhaskinscabrera) August 2, 2020
Clear sign that epidemic in sunbelt is slowing, however spread in midwest is rising and could offset gains achieved in South. Some models put level of total infection in South high - around 20% of Arizona and Florida population; which may be one factor in slowing rate of transfer pic.twitter.com/tKQZpGNtRS
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) August 2, 2020
AZ corona update:
— Alicia Smith (@Alicia_Smith19) August 2, 2020
The positive rate reported today was 18.83%. This is down from yesterday (20.07%) and down from the same day last week (20.78%).
Number of people currently hospitalized continues to fall, now at lowest level since June 22, a sign that it is past peak. pic.twitter.com/q6vjLgkIjg
FL corona update:
— Alicia Smith (@Alicia_Smith19) August 2, 2020
There were 7.104 new cases reported today. This is down from yesterday (9.6k) and down from same day last week (9.3k)*
The positive rate was 9.28%. This is down from yesterday (11.04%), down from same day last week (11.08) and the lowest in over a month. pic.twitter.com/PtWD6phSxA
And if you're curious where the 'return to school' arguments are headed, look at these three tweets:
"I don't think I can emphasize it enough, as the director for the Centers for Disease Control, the leading public health agency in the world: it is in the public health interest that these K-12 students get the schools back open for face-to-face learning." pic.twitter.com/yLHHO4F9MX
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) July 31, 2020
NEW from CDC: #COVID19 outbreak at an overnight camp in Georgia infects *at least* 260 campers & staff.
— Amy Maxmen (@amymaxmen) July 31, 2020
-51% of positives 6-10yo
-44% 11-17 yo
-Camp required a test <12 days before arriving & attempted "pods"
-Masks required for staff but NOT campers
(1/2)
I strongly disagree with Montgomery County’s decision to mandate the closure of private and parochial schools. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/4pESSu93Tj
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) August 1, 2020
I'll leave you with two major reminders:
these are lives and livelihoods destroyed https://t.co/YdCgtOZkWI
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) August 1, 2020
Another 2 weeks.
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) August 2, 2020
For comparison as of August 2nd, death rates per 100K:
Michigan- 65
New York- 168
New Jersey- 178
Florida- 31
Strong evidence FL now past peak for the recent spike in cases/hospitalizations (deaths still lag)https://t.co/HDVfAyOSTAhttps://t.co/3J0trppJSZ https://t.co/dQsxltkAdM
UPDATE - POTUS is now attacking Birx, too:
At no point did Birx hit Trump or his administration. She simply acknowledged the persistence and resurgence of the pandemic, and urged Americans to take precautions.
— Will Saletan (@saletan) August 3, 2020
And that, the current president cannot abide.
Here's a transcript of Birx's interview. https://t.co/kAp8Htbrd8