Remember how hilariously funny it was, just a few days ago, when Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz wore a gas mask onto the floor of the House in an attempt to make light of what he saw as Democratic overreaction to the public health emergency we’re all now facing? Well, guess what? A few days after Gaetz pulled this stunt of his, his first constituent died from the virus. But that’s not the end of the story. Today, the Congressman announced that he would be going into self-quarantine after it was reported that he’d come into contact with someone at last week’s CPAC conference who has since been diagnosed as having the deadly virus. And, what’s more, it’s also being reported that Matt Gaetz, before making the announcement about his self-quarantine, was on Air Force One with Donald “it’s contained” Trump.
I’m tempted to suggest that Gaetz is getting exactly what he deserves for making light of a public health emergency, and helping the President in his campaign to underplay the seriousness of what we’re facing. Sadly, though, I was raised better than that. So all I’ll say is that I sincerely hope that this brush with the virus, whether he comes down with COVID-19 or not, gives him a new appreciation for what we’re up against, and what his role should be as an elected official during a time of crisis.
update: It looks as though Gaetz locked himself up on Air Force One once he found out that he’d been exposed to the virus, but the President, apparently not understanding how viruses are transmitted, called him out.
I just spoke to Rep. Gaetz, who said he was put into a "closed up room" on AF1 after he found out he might have been exposed to Covid19.
After landing, Trump "coaxed" him up front before leaving.
"He was not hyper cautious about being in the same space that I was in."
— Ben Terris (@bterris) March 9, 2020
14 Comments
What a fucking idiot. No wonder the fascist enabling, Constitution trampling, Ruskie stooge Maytards relate to him. Birds of a feather…..
Let’s hope he dies ASAP and that his anus resembling excuse for a mouth finally ceases it’s poisoning of America.
It’s wrong but you gotta smile at this one. What a dick.
Here’s my wild speculation. Trump will make Pence the virus fall guy and dump him from the ticket for the soulless cyborg Nikki Haley. Desperate move to save his own ass. You heard it first.
Two minutes hate
Yeah, Bob. We heard it first a week ago when Paul Begala said it.
From the Boston Herald (March 3rd, 2020):
Nikki Haley will replace Pence on Trump ticket, CNN pundit predicts
https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/03/03/nikki-haley-will-replace-pence-on-trump-ticket-cnn-pundit-predicts/
Matt Gaetz is fanning the flames of public hysteria by being in self quarantine. He should prove there is nothing to fear by spending all his time in the White House and in GOP party meetings, shaking hands.
Bob, did you miss my nasty suggestions about Nikki Haley last week. I like to talk about how well known it has been for a long time in South Carolina political circles that she is a sexual compulsive. It’s a real and serious pathology, though people like myself like to pretend it’s funny, and other people pretend it’s a characteristic of a strong person. It’s actually just a compulsive, pathological behavior.
Trump is also well known for being a sexual compulsive.
Sexual compulsives are a lot of fun. They have an impossible time maintaining healthy romantic relationships, however, for obvious reasons.
Bill Clinton was obviously a sexual compulsive as well. It always cripples a person in ways they usually never realize. Politics attracts a lot of people with sexually compulsive behavior. It’s often a flaw of an otherwise very capable and ambitious personality.
I should have said Bill Clinton IS a sexual compulsive. Because I have no reason to believe he’s gotten help. I’ve actually never observed any sexual compulsive who has. It’s very difficult to recognize as a problem – much more than a drug or alcohol addiction.
Aloha iRobert. Your comments on sexual compulsives is spot on. I have a good friend who has actually institutioalized himself to try to gain control of his compulsion. It was almost like a drug or gambling addiction. He would pawn others peoples shit to get cash to to use to impress woman. It was almost like crack to him. He seems to have his compulsive behavior under control, but he must stay busy, so he continues to work even though retired.
The Trump administration plan for dealing with the coming epidemic
In stage one we say “Nothing is going to happen”.
Stage two we say something may be going to happen but we should do nothing about it.
Stage three: We say maybe we should do something about it but there is nothing we can do.
Stage four: We say maybe there was something that could have been done but it is too late now.
We seem to be well on our way to stage 3. I see the virus has gotten to Michigan. My rough math tell me that some thing like 14000 additional deaths are going to happen in the Detroit metro area over the next year. I suppose culling the herd of the old and feeble fits into the Randian view of the world.
“What about all that circulated air on airplanes?
Traveling by plane doesn’t necessarily increase the risk of contracting a communicable disease more than another kind of mass transit, according to the World Health Organization, as ventilation systems on aircraft use filters to trap bacteria and viruses before air is recirculated.”
They’re still at it.
Republican Senator Ron Johnson: “Getting coronavirus is not a death sentence except for maybe no more than 3.4 percent of our population…probably far less… We don’t shut down our economy because tens of thousands of people die on the highways.”
https://apple.news/AFOl6uXuiSvu7FEMZxaqMaw
One Trackback
[…] the President has refused to self-quarantine, or, for that matter, even stop shaking hands. [Trump was also on Air Force One with Representative Matt Gaetz, who was also exposed to the […]