Friday, March 20, 2020

About do-overs, from WI voting law to Senators voting Trump out

Amazing: A Federal judge in Madison, recognizing the unique threats to normalcy and democracy posed by the pandemic, has reinstated online voter registration procedures the Walkerites overturned in their years' long quest to suppress enough votes to make their gerrymandered rule in Wisconsin permanent.

In other words, bad decisions do not require permanence when extraordinary events demand extraordinary, remedial repairs.

Now we move to the uniquely bad decision by the cowards in the GOP-run US Senate who put partisanship over principle and refused to oust Trump when it was deserved, and they had the chance, which paved this ruinous way forward:

* Three days after Trump's February 2nd acquittal which hardened his grip on power, not reality or competence - - and February 2nd is seven weeks ago and and an eternity measured in Covid-19 time - - this story which appeared after the virus had already killed 300 people in China was probably lost in the impeachment news cycle shuffle:

U.S. Hospitals Unprepared For A Quickly Spreading Coronavirus 
JOHN AUERBACH [President of Trust for America's Hospitals]: Infectious disease outbreaks can accelerate quickly, and you don't want to wait until you see what that is like and then say, well, now let's begin a sort of slow and deliberate planning process. You really want to get ahead of it.
* Now fast forward after many weeks of Trump's showtime rallies and golfing weekends at Mar-a-Lago to this story yesterday, Thursday:
Trump keeps saying ‘nobody’ could have foreseen coronavirus. We keep finding out about new warning signs.
* Then, quickly, this news on Friday, today: 
U.S. intelligence reports from January and February warned about a likely pandemic
* As Trump dawdled some more, another Friday disaster:
Trump Resists Pressure to Use Wartime Law to Mobilize Industry in Virus Response

* So I found myself in complete agreement with MU alum, journalist and frequenter Twitter commentator @CharlesPPierce when he tweeted Friday:
Impeach him again. Do it tomorrow.
Because, as I see it, we're running out of tomorrows. 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why Governor Evers doesn't issue a shelter in place order. He is counting on Wisconsinites to self-regulate, a risky proposition if there ever was one. I hope he takes a another look at this and takes a strong stand so people don't remain confused about how severe this pandemic is.