The Delta Force: Why Bad Covid Numbers Work for Republicans

ProTrump, pro-virus forces have gone even further to achieve their political ambitions than anyone would have imagined. Half of Florida’s districts —representing 1,000,000 students—are fighting the 2024 presidentially ambitious Gov deSantis to keep kids healthy and alive. South Carolina Gov McMaster believes wearing masks is a parental decision, like what to cook for Tuesday night dinner. In South Carolina two dozen schools and two entire districts have retreated to remote learning, closing their doors in the face of the enemy’s onslaught.

Nationally, 250,000 children contracted Covid-19 in the last week of August, a 10% increase, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics as reported in the Guardian. 750,000 kids tested positive for the period between August 5 - Sept 2, they reported. Infection rates are soaring, children’s’ hospitals are rapidly approaching crisis points, the new school year in jeopardy of free falling in numerous areas. While districts in high vaccinated cities are not entirely free of its effects, Covid19 has struck the greatest blows in low-vaccine areas.

Abbott, deSantis, McMaster, Noem in South Dakota, play a political game, at the expense of protecting their citizens livelihoods and lives—and the youth and children of their states. It is not that they don’t believe in the efficacy of the weapons we have against Covid, but the complete opposite. Biden’s good grades and high popularity in dealing with the virus sent another virus into Trumpists across the country—the panic virus. They feared conquering Covid19 by Biden would hurt the renegade party’s chances in 2022 and 2024. Republicans refusing mask and vaccine mandates would block or sabotage Biden by pro-actively working against the efforts to defeat the virus and its variants. GOP candidates could point to the administration’s and Democrats’ failure to curb the disease, without mentioning their own respective roles as 5th column, pro-Covid forces. We know masks work, vaccines work. Science has reams of data backing it up. There is no other explanation why the best weapons in this biological war have been kept in the silos by callous governors and cruel party members.

Teacher unions also deserve some blame for not backing fully the staff mandates for vaccines. Although they tend to wax progressive, unions are very diverse politically. Maybe the leaders are trying to satisfy them all. But after criticizing safety standards in the spring and not backing vaccine mandates for SY21/22, they hurt themselves, their credibility, and the kids, especially, the under-12 cohort, immeasurably.

So, to all of our saboteurs, selfish politicians, rank and file enablers, to all the soldiers in the pro-Covid19 Delta Force, a rare but well-deserved four stingers.