The format for the South Carolina Senate debate between Lindsey Graham and Jamie Harrison will now be changed. It will go from a debate format to an individual interview format. Why? Because Lindsay Graham, who has recently tested positive for Covid-19, refuses to take a pre-debate coronavirus test.
Harrison stated that he would not allow politics to put his family and campaign staff at risk. Graham has stated that he already has a negative test, but would abide by agreed-upon safety rules. The question becomes, why won’t Lindsey Graham take the test?
The answer is simple and very political. Three GOP Senators have already tested positive for Covid alongside Graham. If he tests positive, it puts the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court at risk. It should be noted that Graham is the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Without him, a committee vote cannot be taken up.
This is just another example of Republicans putting party above the safety and well-being of the nation. Of course, they are just parroting the behavior of their “dear leader,” Donald Trump.
Trump tested positive for Covid. Currently, thirty-four people connected to the White House have tested positive as well. The irony is that it appears to be the official nomination ceremony for Barrett that was the super spreader event that caused all this.
It is a rational thought to believe that, now that Trump has contracted Covid, he would take the pandemic far more seriously. The opposite is true. Since Trump has left Walter Reed Medical Center, he has been more cavalier about the pandemic than ever. In fact, he seems to be trying to make a connection between him and deification. His base, as usual, is eating it up.
There is no updated information about his current Covid status, but it is less than ten days since his diagnosis, so it is very likely that he is still contagious. He does not care. He has continuously put his staff, and the Secret Service agents tasked with his safety, at risk for their lives. Now, he wants to hold rallies again. I can only imagine that each of these will become super spreader events of their own.
This brings up more questions. During the Vice-Presidential debate, Mike Pence had an issue with his left eye. His spokesperson put out a statement that he just had a broken blood vessel in his eye. Given the propensity of the Trump administration to straight up lie, can we trust that statement? Today, Pence spent the day in Florida, at The Villages, the largest senior retirement community in the United States.
I suppose we will find out soon enough if Pence just had a broken blood vessel. I cannot think of anything more horrible than the virus spreading through this community, home to more than 100,000 of the most vulnerable of our citizens. All for political theater.