Media/Entertainment
Who Wants A Politico Puff Piece On Hope Hicks? WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
This is just what we need right now.
April 27, 2020 11:50 AM
Hope Hicks returned to the White House in February as a “counselor to the president." It's not been a roaring success. Hicks slinked back from California shortly after Donald Trump skated on impeachment charges, which might turn out to have been the high point of Trump's last -- we hope -- year in office. She now reports to Jared Kushner, whose brain trust has only bungled everything it's touched regarding the COVID-19 response.
Politico reports that Hicks “urged the president to act as a frontman for the coronavirus crisis," and unless the coronavirus crisis is a thrash metal band, that was an incredibly stupid idea. She believed the president, who let's not forget is Donald Trump, "could offer calming messages, critical health information and important updates on the progress of the White House's response efforts." Is she trying to undermine him? Trump was better off just letting Dr. Anthony Fauci speak while nodding sagely in the distance or repeating whatever Dr. Deborah Birx said as if it was his own idea. Men have done this to women at business meetings for decades. Instead, the president's pitching Trump Brand COVID-19 Bleach Away.
<blockquote>It's an approach in perpetual flux, thanks largely to a <strong>mercurial president</strong> who acts on his own instincts, prefers the spotlight in the crisis and offers up rhetoric often designed more for his base than the masses in the midst of an unprecedented situation.</blockquote><p>That's cute. The media is still soft-selling Trump's bananapants behavior: He's just “mercurial," like an 19th Century romantic poet. Meanwhile, Trump appears to be just a few press briefings away from recommending we ingest mercury: The 'rona won't stand a chance!</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1254763185019781120" id="twitter-embed-1254763185019781120" type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1254763185019781120&created_ts=1587993830.0&screen_name=soledadobrien&text=Time+to+do+a+puff+piece+on+Hope+Hicks%2C+so+she+continues+to+be+a+good+source%21+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F6qR4EmDQfM&id=1254763185019781120&name=Soledad+O%27Brien" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="14ef6565bc0135dfb4bd2557e1c430af"></iframe>
</p><p>This Politico piece is so shamelessly flattering you'd think Hicks wrote it herself. She's trying her darnedest to manage chaos with a capital "C," which rhymes with "T" and stands for "Trump." Now that the daily coronavirus briefings have proven a <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/reports-of-bleach-and-lysol-drinking-increase-day-after-trump-sarcastically-suggests-it" target="_self">(lethal)</a> disaster, Hicks needs to "position" Trump so that Americans confined to their homes still view him as the man in charge, but she also has to "guard" the president from too much disinfecting sunlight. It's a "political risk" whenever Trump speaks during a crisis, because that only reminds voters that <em>Trump</em> is the president during a fucking crisis.</p><p>Tony Sayegh, a former assistant secretary of the Treasury and a good buddy of Hicks's, was quoted saying this nonsense:</p><blockquote>[Hicks] understands the president is the message. It cannot be outsourced to anyone. [Trump] is at his strongest when he is communicating directly with the public. Her instincts are impeccable and lead to good decisions."</blockquote><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-proxy-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vbWVkaWEucmJsLm1zL2ltYWdlP3U9JTJGbWVkaWElMkZsNGhtWFpGNEp2cmp4bkIwUSUyRmdpcGh5LmdpZiZobz1odHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRm1lZGlhLmdpcGh5LmNvbSZzPTI1MCZoPWIxMTQ3MjRlYzM2ZjBhMDRjZTQwYWZkMjEyM2VhYjViNThjMzA5ODM4MDNlOTRkMTU5OTA0MmM3MjY4MGU2NTQmc2l6ZT05ODB4JmM9NjQxOTAyMDY3IiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMjk4ODg5NX0.sNmLO1xD4ge3FE6pEP6gJ3cWHofaLBJxCsaB2EXI1KA/img.jpg" id="cb71e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0aa0aa6962bd3de05fa672b0e7c7d960">
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</p><p>That's just ... wrong. Trump's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/10/trump-poll-numbers-dip-handling-coronavirus" target="_blank">poll numbers</a> have sunk along with the nation's hopes. It could be because voters are trapped with their families and cranky, but it's more likely that whenever they see Trump on TV, he's talking crazy. If Hicks is, as reported, the “key figure" in placing Trump “front and center" at the coronavirus briefings, she has failed miserably to protect the president from his biggest weakness, himself.</p><p>Eventually, the Politico profile breaks down into a pity party. Hicks had returned to DC because she supposedly missed "the pace and dynamism" of the White House, but no one told her the world was about to end. She expected to “travel and offer advice" for Trump's re-election campaign, and a second Trump term seemed possible back when people had “jobs." Hicks is given credit for recognizing that the “whole government" needed to focus on the coronavirus, and you're probably like, “Really? Hope Hicks had to tell them this?"</p><p>Check out these LinkedIn testimonials planted in the piece:</p><blockquote>With her quick-witted sense of humor, [Hicks] tends to get along with the majority of staffers inside the backbiting White House, and she can deliver advice to the president in an unfiltered way without angering him because Trump trusts her and views her like another daughter or member of his family.</blockquote><p>There is zero evidence that Hope Hicks is funny. This is Hope Hicks.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Meet Hope Hicks, Donald Trump's Go-To Gal | Forbes</small>
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</p><p>See? That wasn't SNL's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A76LFGvmbXM" target="_blank">Kate McKinnon.</a> Maybe she's a clever punner or something, and that's what brings smiles to the backstabbing, dysfunctional White House. </p><blockquote>While working at the White House, Hicks is known to rise early (a former White House official said she gets up at 4 a.m.) and stay late, well past the evening briefings. She's not known to have any <strong>strong political views</strong> or pet policy projects.</blockquote><p>She's an empty vessel who enables evil but she's punctual and goal-oriented! Someone who willingly works for a xenophobic racist <em>might</em> have political views. Imagine a Politico article making a similar claim about a young black woman who worked for Louis Farrakhan. </p><p>We're done here. </p><p>[<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/27/trump-hope-hicks-coronavirus-crisis-210808" target="_blank">Politico</a>]<br></p><p><em>Follow Stephen Robinson on </em><em><a href="https://twitter.com/SER1897" target="_blank">Twitter.</a></em></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/33mKzZe" target="_blank">Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons</a>.</p><p><strong>Yr Wonkette is supported entirely by reader donations. Please click the clickie, if you are able!</strong></p><p></p><form name="donation" method="post" class="donation-form"><p class="subheadline">How often would you like to donate?</p><div class="form-row row--plan"><label class="plan-type__label"><input type="radio" name="plan_type" value="once" class="plan-type" required="" checked> Just once
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polls
'It's Fine If You Die' Miiiight Not Be Best Trump Campaign Slogan
Trump is losing the Olds in a biiiiiiiiiiig way in the time of coronavirus. And we don't just mean he's killing them.
April 22, 2020 10:23 AM
Texas GOP Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick doubled down this week on his previous amoral comments about how senior citizens should totally be willing to die to resurrect Donald Trump's beautiful biggie large huge economy. This time he said it even more succinctly: There are "more important things than living." Take THAT, Nana and her bingo friends! Why don't you stop your whining — and your coughing, we need the ventilators for the young people — and maybe just stop living so much all the time?
Donald Trump hasn't said words like that out loud, because he's too busy giving himself grundle squeezes on TV about what a good job he's doing, while COVID-19 has playtime in seemingly every nursing, retirement and assisted living facility in the country. The message is pretty clear, though. Donald Trump doesn't care about anything but himself, and America's senior citizens — the most reliable voters in the country, who usually tilt way Republican — are not "himself," so fuck 'em.
And it sounds like they've heard the message. New polling shows that Trump's fortunes with America's olds have shrunk so much you can drown them in the bathtub.
<p>Josh Kraushaar at the <a href="https://www.nationaljournal.com/s/706226?unlock=JEQN8P9FC23KQ8J3" target="_blank">National Journal</a> reports on new polling that should make the Trump White House shit its Depends. One is an NBC/<em>Wall Street Journal</em> <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnAnzo/status/1252214964795912199?s=20" target="_blank">general election poll,</a> which has Joe Biden up six points in 11 battleground states, and doing better with white people than either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama did. But holy shit, look at these senior citizen numbers:</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE1NDIzMi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNTkwNTc4Mn0.cHRurAkSWGxgFyuovmgtxWIRyCSQmuM3EGaCtq1LMNc/img.png?width=980" id="1aa40" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="56144d7d9be88ed1e2c373ad597fb2b4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
</p><p>That's right, Joe Biden is up <em>nine points</em> with senior citizens. It's Biden's best showing except for the 18-34 crowd, where Biden beats Trump by double-digit landslide numbers. For comparison, Kraushaar notes that Hillary Clinton <em>lost</em> the olds <a href="https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls" target="_blank">by seven points</a> in 2016. </p><p>Oh, but it's not just one poll! Kraushaar points us to the new <a href="https://morningconsult.com/form/coronavirus-outbreak-tracker/" target="_blank">Morning Consult poll,</a> which says America's olds now award Trump NO BUTTERSCOTCHES for his handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic:</p><blockquote>America's senior citizens are growing critical of his approach. In mid-March, this group approved of Trump's handling of the outbreak at a higher rate than any other age group, with a net approval of +19. A month later, that level of support has dropped 20 points and is now lower than that of any age group other than 18-29-year-olds. </blockquote><p>Oh, but it's not just two polls! The new Quinnipiac finds that olds <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=3657" target="_blank">disapprove</a> of Trump's mishandling of coronavirus 52-45, where in March they <em>approved</em> of it 48-45. AND it finds that Biden beats Trump by <em>13 fucking points</em> among the olds, at 54-41. Biden was ahead in that poll in March, but it was more of a squeaker.</p><p>If there is an outlier poll here, it is <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/trumps-handling-of-coronavirus-may-further-alienate-seniors.html" target="_blank">probably from CNN,</a> which actually finds a tiny uptick in support for Trump among olds. They probably only asked really dumb olds who watch "Hannity" too much.</p><p>To be fair to Trump, it's probably pretty hard for seniors to hear his glorious tales of his conquests over the squeaky wheels of the stretchers carting all their friends out of Shady Pines.</p><p>It appears Trump has seen the polls.</p><p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1252928613743235072" id="twitter-embed-1252928613743235072" type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1252928613743235072&created_ts=1587556434.0&screen_name=realDonaldTrump&text=States+are+safely+coming+back.+Our+Country+is+starting+to+OPEN+FOR+BUSINESS+again.+Special+care+is%2C+and+always+will%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FhaJl29ofWz&id=1252928613743235072&name=Donald+J.+Trump" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="017719ac79b654e1d076d430fb33b23f"></iframe>
</p><p>He even wished an old lady a happy birthday this morning!</p><p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1252915913835364353" id="twitter-embed-1252915913835364353" type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1252915913835364353&created_ts=1587553406.0&screen_name=realDonaldTrump&text=Happy+Birthday+to+the+great+Cindy+Adams+of+the+New+York+Post.+Cindy+is+90%2C+but+looks+39+to+me.+She+is+going+strong%21&id=1252915913835364353&name=Donald+J.+Trump" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="562a6c24e48163171e7184da6603d700"></iframe>
</p><p>And he threatened to shoot Iranian boats out of the sky, but that's not because he's trying to butter up the olds, it's because he's an abject moron:</p><p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1252932181447630848" id="twitter-embed-1252932181447630848" type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1252932181447630848&created_ts=1587557285.0&screen_name=realDonaldTrump&text=I+have+instructed+the+United+States+Navy+to+shoot+down+and+destroy+any+and+all+Iranian+gunboats+if+they+harass+our+ships+at+sea.&id=1252932181447630848&name=Donald+J.+Trump" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="b841fd61d376e2001c6e9f71dbaaae47"></iframe>
</p><p>Point is, Trump's message of <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/president-lazyass-live-tweeting-fox-news-maybe-inciting-armed-insurrection-typical-friday" target="_blank">"LIBERATE!"</a> isn't going over well with anyone. (Virtually NOBODY <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/yahoo-news-you-gov-coronavirus-poll-most-americans-reject-antilockdown-protests-124259347.html" target="_blank">supports</a> these Republican PAC-funded "Give Me Liberty And Also Give Me Coronavirus At The Olive Garden" protests.) And it's definitely not going over very well with the old people, who stand most likely to have to forfeit the rest of their Golden Girls years if Trump is successful and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gets his way. </p><p>Imagine where those numbers will be by the summer, after stupid fucking Republican governors have had a chance to <em>really</em> massacre their citizens with coronavirus in the name of bringing Trump's beautiful economy back, by re-opening their states before any sane public health expert would recommend. </p><p>Womp womp. </p><p>[<a href="https://morningconsult.com/form/coronavirus-outbreak-tracker/" target="_blank">Morning Consult</a>]</p><p><strong><span></span>Follow Evan Hurst on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/evanhurst" target="_blank">RIGHT HERE, DO IT RIGHT HERE!</a></strong></p><p><strong>Wonkette is fully funded by readers like YOU. If you love Wonkette, SUPPORT WONKETTE FINANCIALLY.</strong><br></p><p></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/33mKzZe" target="_blank">Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons</a>.</p><p></p><p></p><form name="donation" method="post" class="donation-form"><p class="subheadline">How often would you like to donate?</p><div class="form-row row--plan"><label class="plan-type__label"><input type="radio" name="plan_type" value="once" class="plan-type" required="" checked> Just once
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News
SC Senator Tim Scott Thinks Donald Trump Is Psychic Now
Can we just have one respectable senator from South Carolina?
April 20, 2020 10:15 AM
Last week, Tim Scott, the least repulsive but still bad United States senator from South Carolina, joined Donald Trump's half-assed "Opening Up America Again" task force, a group that includes every Republican senator except for Mitt Romney. Scott seems pleased with this dubious honor.
During an interview with Neil Cavuto the other day, Scott emphasized the need for people to “get back to work," specifically hospitals. It seems like they're pretty damn busy but Scott claims he's spoken with hospital CEOs across South Carolina who say what they really need more than the funding Democrats won't shut up about is the ability to start performing elective surgeries again. That's where the big money is.
Cavuto asked Scott if he thought it was “inevitable" that we'd see a spike in COVID cases if we “open things up, no matter how carefully" it happens. Scott agreed but said the question was really about “individual responsibility." Yeah, he'll drizzle some Republican talking points on anything, no matter how inappropriate. It's like ketchup on a hot dog.
<blockquote><strong>SCOTT: </strong>We're starting to see around the country, whether it's Michigan or Minnesota, Virginia, North Carolina, and today in Columbia, South Carolina, protests from the American people saying they want their ability to move more freely reestablished. </blockquote><p>That's not “individual responsibility." That's protesting the unfortunate realities of a public health crisis. Scott thinks we'll just have to “rustle with this," but we're going to put protocols in place for safely restarting the economy. Meanwhile, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/493501-south-carolina-to-reopen-public-beaches-retail-stores-next-week-amid" target="_blank">plans</a> to reopen public beaches and retail stores next week. This is the "individual responsibility" that'll lead to those “inevitable" resurgence in COVID cases.</p><p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1251882072639037440" id="twitter-embed-1251882072639037440" type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1251882072639037440&created_ts=1587306919.0&screen_name=Acyn&text=Tim+Scott+claims+the+President+was+foreshadowing+the+pandemic+and+the+possible+recovery+in+his+SOTU+address+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FGdYx9SNJlG&id=1251882072639037440&name=Acyn+Torabi" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="436408126923463cd563c205eb0a337c"></iframe>
</p><p>Scott was on "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo yesterday. His book, <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw1Qd0CEgn4" target="_blank">Opportunity Knocks</a></em>, was released last week and it's hyped before his talk show appearances now, as if people have money to waste on his Horatio Alger feel-good fairy tales. Bartiromo congratulated Scott on his book and the title's clever “play on words" (huh?) because Scott also promoted “opportunity zones" as part of the GOP's 2017 <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/would-this-guy-lie-to-you-about-trumps-super-awesome-tax-plan-yes-yes-he-would" target="_blank">tax scam bill.</a> Once she remembered this wasn't a late night talk show, she moved on to asking Scott about the dismal economy. <br></p><blockquote><strong>BARTIROMO: </strong>How bad has it gone? The damage has been obviously worse in terms of health and people's lives but on the economic front how would you assess things?</blockquote><p>Scott described the situation as one of “devastation," which ain't no lie, but unfortunately he believes Trump can actually help.</p><blockquote><strong>SCOTT: </strong>The president has got to balance living and livelihood ... Poverty also has a negative consequence that can linger for decades if not generations. He's understandably concerned not just about our health. He's done a great job of trying to balance that. But he's also concerned about the economic health of this nation. And we both know that poverty kills.</blockquote><p>Trump <a href="https://www.wonkette.com/trump-kicking-3-million-people-off-food-stamps" target="_blank">tried</a> to kick millions of American off food stamps, so it's not clear he's that concerned with the lethal effects of poverty. Scott proceeded to ludicrously claim that Trump, who can barely see 20 minutes into the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWO7yHWRXAw" target="_blank">future, </a>had the foresight to prepare for the COVID-generated economic crisis. </p><blockquote><strong>SCOTT:</strong> What [Trump's] trying to do is position this economy to come back with a vengeance. I think during his State of the Union speech when he was talking about the “Great American Comeback," he was ... <strong>foreshadowing</strong> the necessity of a V-shaped recovery coming out of this virus before we even knew about a virus. So it's really important for us to get back to work.</blockquote><p>This reminds me of a high school English teacher who'd always whisper at us, “FORESHADOWING! FORESHADOWING" when discussing a plot point in a book that would prove important later. We didn't have spoiler alerts back then. The State of the Union was on February 4, and the first coronavirus case in Washington state was reported on January 21. Trump didn't “foreshadow" the virus. He ignored it. We wouldn't need a “great American comeback" if we had a competent American president.</p><p><em>Follow Stephen Robinson on </em><em><a href="https://twitter.com/SER1897" target="_blank">Twitter.</a></em></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/33mKzZe" target="_blank">Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons</a>.</p><p><strong>Yr Wonkette is supported entirely by reader donations. Please click the clickie, if you are able!</strong></p><p></p><form name="donation" method="post" class="donation-form"><p class="subheadline">How often would you like to donate?</p><div class="form-row row--plan"><label class="plan-type__label"><input type="radio" name="plan_type" value="once" class="plan-type" required="" checked> Just once
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What If You 'Reopened' The Economy And Trump And Like Five Fake Tea Party People Came?
PSST: NOBODY WANTS THIS.
April 16, 2020 03:32 PM
Some conservatives want to recklessly “reopen" the economy during the COVID-19 outbreak. They believe that the only people who support government-mandated shutdowns are Ivy Tower liberals, comfortably working from their fancy homes while drinking cappuccinos (because they can afford espresso machines). These disconnected, science-humping liberals have no problem temporarily sacrificing liberty for the security of not dying. They lack the wisdom of the common man who would cheerfully die from a painful respiratory disease for the honor of selling his fellow American a jumbo popcorn at the movie theater.
Yesterday, Jesse Kelly — a common conservative talk show host — shared a tweet about the idiotic “OperationGridlock" protest in Michigan. He declared that a “storm was coming" and he'd tried to warn us in our "NYC/DC bubble" but we wouldn't shut up about the virus that was killing people in that bubble. Now real Americans are fed up with the shutdowns that dragged on longer than Martin Scorsese's The Irishman. It's time to reopen America, damnit. People wearing plaid demand it.
Pollster Frank Luntz responded to Kelly's tweet with data, which is like kryptonite to a conservative.
No one is dying to return to work or go see a concert so much that they'd literally die for it.
<p>From <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/308264/americans-remain-risk-averse-getting-back-normal.aspx" target="_blank">Gallup:</a></p><blockquote>When asked how quickly they will return to their normal activities once the government lifts restrictions and businesses and schools start to reopen, the vast majority of Americans say they would <em>wait and see what happens with the spread of the virus</em> (71%) and another 10% would wait <em>indefinitely</em>. Just 20% say they would return to their normal activities <em>immediately</em>.</blockquote><p>So, it's like what reasonable people have said all along. You can't “restart" the economy until you resolve the public health crisis. We focus a lot on morons who violate current social distance guidelines and stay-at-home orders, but there probably aren't enough of them to keep the economic engine churning. People who fuck around with infectious diseases aren't a longterm customer base. </p><p>Big business doesn't want it either.</p><blockquote>"I really don't understand how they are communicating on this," one CEO <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly-coronavirus-special-edition/2020/04/15/closing-time-488927" target="_blank">told POLITICO </a>on condition that neither they nor their firm be named for fear of angering the White House. "He's got to stop talking about turning the economy back on and start talking about making people feel safe, things that are happening around testing and the health care system. That's the only way you will really get the economy reopened over a period of time."<br><br></blockquote><p>Matt Walsh with <em>The Daily Wire</em> attempted to “well, actually" the Gallup poll findings.</p><p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1250771283341606918" id="twitter-embed-1250771283341606918" type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1250771283341606918&created_ts=1587042086.0&screen_name=MattWalshBlog&text=The+pro-shutdown+camp+is+soothing+itself+with+bullshit+polls+showing+that+a+majority+of+Americans+supposedly+are+st%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FWSbyGEuaXw&id=1250771283341606918&name=Matt+Walsh" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="69521e33b9f59cf612e0d0e14e4f0d84"></iframe>
</p><p>OK, once more for the back of the room: Someone can deeply regret losing their job. They can regret that their child won't have a normal graduation ceremony. They can also regret that their summer vacation plans were cancelled. This doesn't mean they would willingly endanger themselves and their loved ones. They might possess the maturity and basic common sense to appreciate that these extreme lockdown measures are keeping them safe and alive. Fix the virus. Then fix the economy. They want our elected leaders to provide a plan that isn't just throwing us into the deep end of a lake and seeing if we'll swim.</p><p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1250843256721735687" id="twitter-embed-1250843256721735687" type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1250843256721735687&created_ts=1587059246.0&screen_name=MattWalshBlog&text=What+does+%22wait+to+see+what+happens%22+mean%3F+A+poll+is+not+good+data+when+it+includes+a+vague+option+that+could+mean%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FqYwZz1nTB2&id=1250843256721735687&name=Matt+Walsh" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="d1fcfd15405c02bfd4e1851a061eb4c0"></iframe>
</p><p>This libertarian <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLCEUpIg8rE" target="_blank">FREEDOM!</a> approach would “reopen" the economy, place employee health at the whim of their employers, and accelerate the spread of the virus. You'd gain nothing worthwhile. Businesses would still shutter. People would lose their jobs, and the government would lose their numbers. After all, the government rebooted America! Economy 2.0 is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdF5IsyOxU4" target="_blank">virus</a> free! </p><p>Luntz <a href="https://twitter.com/FrankLuntz/status/1250830199370858497?s=20" target="_blank">shared</a> a Pew Research poll, which showed that Americans currently fear the spread of infectious disease more than nuclear proliferation and terrorism. Walsh however <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1250759381089730560?s=20" target="_blank">“guarantees"</a> that people will return to their lives as usual once the restrictions are lifted. He knows this is true because of a thousand or so <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/04/15/devos-group-right-wing-fringe-organization-threaten-public-health" target="_blank">Besty DeVos-wrangled </a>idiots in Michigan and that feeling in his gut.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="86d295ab2876c43ebea0090422e10200"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FZ6aKCoRMuI?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Reservoir Dogs 1080p - You don't need proof when you have instinct</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ6aKCoRMuI" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p><p>According to a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/15/poll-dont-stop-social-distancing-coronavirus-spread-187290" target="_blank">Politico/Morning Consult</a> poll released yesterday, the number's even crazy higher: <em>81</em> percent of Americans said we "should continue to social distance for as long as is needed to curb the spread of coronavirus, even if it means continued damage to the economy." Only 10 percent of Americans think we should stop social distancing so the economy can thrive in a world ruled by apes. (That is about as close to universal as polling can get.) Walsh rejects this as a straw man. He thinks you can “restart" the economy and let people take their own reasonable precautions — wear a mask, wash your hands, try not to bump into anyone when at the park. Most experts on this subject agree that half-assed mitigation is barely better than no mitigation at all. People would still die at alarming rates, and that might just impact the GDP.</p><p>[<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/308264/americans-remain-risk-averse-getting-back-normal.aspx" target="_blank">Gallup</a> / <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/15/poll-dont-stop-social-distancing-coronavirus-spread-187290" target="_blank">Politico</a>]<br></p><p><em>Follow Stephen Robinson on </em><em><a href="https://twitter.com/SER1897" target="_blank">Twitter.</a></em></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/33mKzZe" target="_blank">Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons</a>.</p><p><strong>Yr Wonkette is supported entirely by reader donations. Please click the clickie, if you are able!</strong></p><p></p><form name="donation" method="post" class="donation-form"><p class="subheadline">How often would you like to donate?</p><div class="form-row row--plan"><label class="plan-type__label"><input type="radio" name="plan_type" value="once" class="plan-type" required="" checked> Just once
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