The political losers are killing your neighbors

Jerry Kremer

Back in the old days when people used to tell jokes, one of my favorite one-liners was, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help you.” It always elicited a few laughs, but I made it clear that the role of government, dating back to 1776, is exactly that. In times of crisis, no private organization is going to step forward to help us weather a health scare or any other challenge. It’s the job of government to be there for us in times of need.

The more I think about it, the current attacks on the nation’s effort to battle the coronavirus pandemic and the persistent undermining of public health measures are a national disgrace, and history will record them as such. And the people who are the fomenters of “health hate” should be treated in the same way as the hundreds of people who were arrested for participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The arrival of Covid-19 in January 2020 wasn’t the first time in the country’s history that we asked our health professionals to provide relief and assurance. In 1918, the nation was decimated by the flu pandemic. In 2002, we had the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, scare. In 2004, America learned of the H5N1 avian influenza, or bird flu, which necessitated the destruction of millions of chickens to keep us safe.

In all of those cases, America turned to agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. We followed the media reports, looking for assurances that no serious illness would invade our homes and upset our daily life. During those times, people like Dr. Anthony Fauci and others stood behind lecterns with charts and graphs. They assured the country in measured words that the government was trying its best to protect us.

When the Covid-19 plague hit our shores last year, the two federal agencies were the first to alert us of a possible new virus that had developed in China. Did they get it right from the beginning? Not knowing how serious it was, they made a few miscalculations on the issue of masks and how quickly the virus might spread, but their job was made even harder by a president who didn’t want to talk about the coronavirus because it would interfere with his re-election plans. It was at that point until that a life-or-death challenge became a political football, and it remains one today.

Instead of one nation united, we have red and blue states fighting over mask requirements. We have so-called elected officials discouraging their constituents from getting vaccinated. We have media personalities such as Fox’s Tucker Carlson, who rails against vaccines even though, according to media reports, he has been vaccinated, as has most of the staff at Fox News. And then we have a variety of public officials mocking the doctors and the vaccine.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who sees himself as a possible president, is selling T-shirts making fun of Doctor Fauci. In the meantime, Florida is now one of the states with the largest number of new reported Covid cases. To add to his arrogance, DeSantis is fighting with the cruise ship industry over its insistence on checking boarding passengers for symptoms of the virus.

Political stupidity when it comes to protecting the public isn’t confined to any party. It is hard to imagine that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of a great political legend, is traveling around the nation, discouraging people from getting vaccinated. For many in the anti-vaccination movement, Kennedy is considered their No. 1 hero. His poor dad must be turning over in his grave.

It’s too late in the game to expect there to be a united effort to stop Covid from ravaging our country. Innocent people will continue to die as a result of raw politics. Families will continue to lose cherished members of all ages. There’s a lesson to be learned about politicizing disease, but it seems that no one who needs to hear it is willing to listen. The coronavirus scourge isn’t over, and there will be many more losers thanks to a handful of political losers.

Jerry Kremer was a state assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. He now heads Empire Government Strategies, a business development and legislative strategy firm. Comments about this column? JKremer@liherald.com.