Pandemic, Pandering and Partisan Politics

The story is told that back in 1957, Horace Stoneham (1903-1986), the longtime owner of the National League’s New York Giants, got it into his head that for economic reasons, it would be best to move his team from the Polo Grounds out west to Minneapolis. Stoneham confided this plan to his friend, Dodger owner Walter O’Malley (1903-1979), who in turn let his friend Horace in on a secret: O’Malley himself was already negotiating with the powers-that-be out in Los Angeles to move his team out West. O’Malley suggested that Stoneham ditch the plan to move the Giants out to Minnesota, instead contact San Francisco Mayor George Christopher, and move his team to the City by the Golden Gate . . . thus preserving their bitter rivalry. It was a brilliant idea; today, 63 years after their mutual move out west, there is still no stronger antagonism in all professional sports than that between the two teams . . . and their respective fans.

Decidedly, rivalries and gross animosities exist in many areas of life. In American politics, one can go all the way back to Jefferson and Adams; their personal and ideological antipathies were so great that the latter steadfastly refused to attend the inauguration of the former in 1800. The Roosevelts of Oyster Bay could not abide their kinsmen from Hyde Park . . . despite a mutual family member (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt) coming from one side of the clan and marrying into the other. (BTW: they actually pronounced their family name differently: T.R. and his clan pronounced it “ROOS-e-velt,: while FDR and his, “ROSE-a-velt.”) For the past several years, due partly to the growth of social media and partly to the - shall we say - “sportive” nature of politics itself, Democrats and Republicans, Conservatives and Progressives have become as lethally combative as fans of Dodger catcher Johnny Roseboro and Giant pitcher Juan Marichal (that’s them in the picture above, with pitcher Sandy Koufax attempting to play peacemaker).

When all is said and done, historic sports rivalries are nowhere near as serious or as lethal as those in the world of politics. Take the vast divide between conservative Republicans and even moderate Democrats when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines, the wearing of masks, social distancing and science versus conspiracy. Today, there is a vast gap between those who are ready, willing and able to wear masks, maintain social distancing and get vaccinated just as soon as their name is called, and those who simply will not comply with any recommendation whatsoever. These folks – mostly conservative Republican men – see in any governmental guideline or suggestion, an invasion meant to take away their First Amendment liberties. Witness the following verbal contretemps between House Freedom Caucus founder Jim Jordan and America’s leading epidemiologist, Dr. Anthony Fauci:

The very idea - heatedly expressed by Rep. Jordan - that the entire COVID-19 protocol is nothing more than an assault on American freedom and liberty is, of course, utter twaddle. I would imagine that “Gym” Jordan, his Congressional colleagues and political partisans wear seatbelts when they drive and vaccinate their children before sending them to school instead of crying “FOUL” and warning of a loss of individual liberty. I simply cannot accept they really believe that placing restrictions on businesses during a time of pandemy is nothing but the first step on the downward path to perdition; what they do believe is that loudly proclaiming such is a wonderful way to raise funds, get like-minded souls to the polls and get themselves reelected. It is an obvious case of pandering for purposes of partisan political gain.

Consider the following:

As of April 15, 2021, just over half of American adults have now received at least one inoculation; this according to a Monmouth University poll released 48 hours ago;
Similarly, a Quinnipiac University poll, also released on Wednesday, showed that 45 percent of Republicans told pollsters they did not plan to get vaccinated;
More than two in five Republicans said they would avoid getting vaccinated at all costs; thus suggesting that President Biden has not succeeded in his effort to depoliticize the vaccines;
The states with the highest vaccination rates are now mostly Democratic-leaning, while the states with the lowest rates are deeply conservative.
Democrats believe more strongly than Republicans in the power of government. Compare, for example, the chaos of the Trump administration’s virus response, to the Biden administration’s. Democrats belief in the power of government certainly doesn’t ensure they will manage it competently, but it may improve the odds greatly.
Vaccine hesitancy has declined substantially, polls show. But it is still notably high among registered Republicans.

The relationship between vaccination and politics reflects demographics. Vaccine hesitancy is highest in counties that are rural and have lower income levels and college graduation rates — the same characteristics found in counties that were more likely to have supported Mr. Trump. In wealthier Trump-supporting counties with higher college graduation rates, the vaccination gap is smaller, the analysis found, but the partisan gap holds even after accounting for income, race and age demographics, population density and a county’s infection and death rate.

When asked in polls about their vaccination plans, Republicans across the country (especially men without college educations - have been far less likely than Democrats to say they will likely avail themselves of the free inoculations. As previously mentioned, Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University polls indicated that almost half of Republicans did not plan to pursue vaccinations. Only around one in 20 Democrats said the same. The question is why? While it is possible that some of the differences in vaccination rates are driven by distribution issues and eligibility rules, most researchers find that hesitancy has more to do with which “team” one roots for.

There has been a tremendous amount of anti-science, pro-”Socialist” claptrap spread around the internet in recent months. The messages stress that Democrats are urging vaccines, business closings, masking ordinances and social distancing in order to magnify and heighten the fear of the so-called “Socialist agenda” on the American public; of erasing the entire First Amendment. It has been bought hook, line and sinker by a near majority of conservative Republican men. However, one should also be cognizant of there being a handful of prominent anti-vaxxers on the Democratic side as well. Robert Kennedy, Jr., the son of the late United States Senator, has been a leading voice in the anti-vaxxer movement. As far back as 2005, Kennedy wrote an article in Rolling Stone and Salon called "Deadly Immunity", alleging a government conspiracy to conceal a connection between thimerosal and the epidemic of childhood neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. The article contained five factual errors, leading Salon to issue corrections. Six years later, on January 16, 2011, Salon retracted the article completely. Most recently, Kennedy has promoted multiple conspiracy theories related to COVID-19 including false claims that both Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are trying to profit off a vaccine, and suggesting that Bill Gates would cut off access to money of people who do not get vaccinated, allowing them to starve. What motivates an otherwise worldly, progressive environmental activist like Mr. Kennedy to immerse himself so publicly and utterly in conspiracy theories when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines? I for one am mostly stumped, although I do know that one of Bobby, Jr.’s 6 children (son Conor) suffers from anaphylaxis peanut allergies. Kennedy wrote the foreword to The Peanut Allergy Epidemic, in which he and author Heather Fraser link increasing food allergies in children to certain vaccines that were approved beginning in 1989.

Kennedy I can’t figure out. However, with regards to conservative Republicans, I am convinced that their conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines and utter distrust for science has everything to do with pandering for the purpose of partisan political gain . . . plain and simple. Shame on those who promote this strategy. Whether they realize it or not all they can hope to accomplish in the long run is to significantly lower the number of conservative Republican voters they can count on to come out to the polls and support their fear-driven platform in 2022, 2024 and beyond.

Go Dodgers . . . get your shots!