Reopen, And Guarantee A Trump Loss!

By now, Trump supporters everywhere are screaming "plandemic," as if somehow the Democrats could be responsible for a global outbreak in every single country. Many have insisted that the reaction to Covid-19 is a hoax. They've protested in front of many state capitals, some of them armed to the teeth, screamed at the cops trying to control the situation, and brandished flags saying "Don't tread on me." (And a few General Lee Confederate battle flags, but that's a subject for another day.) They're insisting we reopen now, and so is President Trump, tweeting things like "Liberate Michigan!" or, "Liberate Pennsylvania!"

My response to that is simple: Go right ahead! IF you want to guarantee Trump will lose in November.

I'm of two minds on this one. Of course I don't really want right-wingers to end the shutdown and reopen the economy, because the ones who will pay the price are not necessarily the ones who will be out and about. Most likely, it will be those with weakened immune systems or the elderly who die as a result. No one has the freedom to rist someone else's life needlessly. And yet, I know full well it's impossible to control a little less than half of the entire nation if it's hell-bent on not cooperating with any state's shutdown order. The cry of "Live free or die!" is as American as baseball and apple pie, and only the latter is available at all right now. Eventually, I have no choice but to shrug my shoulders and say, "c'est la vie." It's not like I can really control these people anyway.

But here's what I can do: I can prophecy about what your reopening will achieve - and what it won't. It's an easy prophecy to make.

It will guarantee a comeback of viral infections, and guarantee a Trump loss.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that with greater opportunity for viral spread, the greater the actual spread will be. It was never possible to stop the spread entirely, but that wasn't the goal. The goal was to slow it down. Lift the restrictions put in place to slow the virus down, and the viral spread will speed up. That will produce a measurable increase in the number of infections, in the number of verified cases, and, unfortunately, the number of deaths.

The resulting spike in resulting cases and deaths will renew public fears, and cause a backlash. The states that were forced to reopen will suddenly find themselves having to shut back down again. Perhaps by June. And, of course, that means any hope of economic recovery by November becomes a pipe dream.

What excuses will Trump supporters have then? It's not like they'll be able to deny Trump's open call for states to reopen. Hell, he called on his supporters to "LIBERATE!" states with shutdowns. His supporters heeded his call, and protested state capitals, with guns brandished! But a renewed outbreak? In the middle of summer? That will be impossible to refute!

Just as it will be impossible to refute Trump's utter mismanagement of the coronavirus response.

But consider what could happen if Trump supporters comply with the shutdown orders? (They won't, but play along.) What if they settle down, continue to stay home, and the economy doesn't recover as a result of the shutdown continuing?

Why, in that case, they get to blame the entirety of the economic depression on the Democrats. In particular, Democratic state governors. And it might even sell! Trump could cruise to an easy victory, even in the midst of one-fifth of all Americans being out of work.

In other words, if you're a Trump supporter, the best way to ensure his reelection is to stay home!

The one thing we don't know for certain is how far the virus has spread already. But we do know that, when weighed against the overall population, the United States has had fewer of its citizens confirmed to have Covid-19 than most other developed nations. That may be due to the lack of testing to begin with, but it may also be due to the fact that most Americans don't live in New York City, and the viral spread has nowhere to go but upward.

If we enact widespread testing for the antibodies which result from Covid-19, we might get a sense of how many people have been infected so far. That might tell us that many people have already been infected, and that herd immunity is near. If so, my prophecy will be wrong. But if I'm right, and the virus has not spread very far yet, if our efforts to flatten the curve have been successful, then we are on the verge of a new spike in coronavirus cases.


There is a remote chance I might be wrong. But if I'm right, you Trumpers out there are about to fuck yourselves, and your president, big time!

The saddest part is that you will have killed the innocent to do it.


Eric

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