Advice for Democrats on COVID

I am going to say the quiet part out loud, but only because I know that Democrats (i) do not read my blog and (ii) even if they did, they won't listen to my advice - because they can't.  While I would very much not like to see this outcome, I'm not worried about it happening, because Democrats' hands are tied. I will explain why, later.  Democrats, you are missing a golden opportunity on COVID, and I don't think you realize it.  Either that, or you have come to the same conclusion as I have already.

"Never let a crisis go to waste" has been a mantra for the left (Rahm Emanuel is often credited with the saying but it predates him). Take a look at this example (or this one) if you doubt me. Democrats are allowing a 'crisis' to go to waste with COVID, but not in the way you'd think. Being no strangers to fabricating a narrative, with a compliant media, Democrats could use the tail end of this crisis to end Big Pharma.  As COVID hysteria winds down (perhaps after the latest iteration the want to use as election rule-bending fodder), they could easily manufacture a narrative about the inefficacy of COVID shots, which largely did nothing to prevent people from contracting COVID, or spreading COVID, or dying from COVID.

The narrative would be that Big Pharma took advantage of the crisis, mislead the government and profited immensely from it while doing nothing of value, almost as if they were war-profiteering from the COVID epidemic.  It could be the impetus to fine or sue Big Pharma into bankruptcy, and that in turn could fuel the 'need' to have government step in and take over the pharmaceutical industry entirely.  Obamacare 2.0 as it were.

The scary thing is, in our haste on the right see big pharma punished for their role, we might enjoin the effort or at least stand aside and let it play out.  That of course would be a mistake.  Corrections need to be made but not the ones Democrats would have in mind.

A terrible outcome no doubt, but Democrats will never do it.  There's too much at stake reputationally for them.  They fed the hysteria, not only of the crisis but of the remedy.  Let's Go Brandon tried to illegally mandate that businesses over a certain size mandate COVID shots as a condition of employment.  They were all in on COVID shots.  Do you think they can admit they were wrong?  They'd rather have COVID shot complications not be a known thing and allow Big pharma to get away with it than admit any errors in judgement on their part.  They have to appear perfect to the uninformed.  They believe they still do. They also need the threat of future COVID crises as potential dangers to use.  They cannot wean themselves off of any of that.

COVID as opportunity. Pay attention conservatives.

Jeff Deist discusses why COVID is an opportunity for the Right. In my 10th Rule for Patriots (Be Prepared), I mentioned the Democratic mantra 'never let a crisis go to waste'.  COVID is not a crisis, but it is messed up situation.  That's the closest to a crisis it actually gets.  Jeff Deist is right, this is an opportunity, not just a threat. He argues it's an opportunity for new ideas to be presented.  He's right, but I think it's bigger than that.

[2023 UPDATE:  The above video was removed, here's a related video instead]

What I see as the real opportunity is to further push things like working from home. That facilitates decentralization. Decentralization of any kind, including work environments, enables decentralization of living locations which in turn enables a more rural populace, which is conducive to common sense, and conservatism. To me that's the real opportunity. The other Democratic mantra, demographics is destiny is not wrong, but they have overplayed the racial aspect of that. There are so many attributes that are part of demographics and you can overwhelm the 'systemic racism' messaging with demographics. Rural vs. urban is a lever that serves conservatism. Let people flee California. Encourage work from home, encourage the opportunity for small town values to flourish.

It's just a COVID question; no cancelling allowed

I find myself asking why the unending COVID scare is becoming unending.  Is the virus mutating faster than we can keep up?  Possibly but I don't think that's it.  Neither is it that deaths from COVID are unsustainable for humanity globally.  But lockdowns and masks and vaccine mandates persist and ramp  up time and again.

Why?

Could it have something to do with the fact that the same party that  unilaterally foisted Obamacare on America is trying to use the pandemic to foist single payer (government) health insurance on the entire nation?  Are they trying to leverage the pandemic to evolve a scenario where centralized health care appears to be the only option? As the pandemic drags into towards a second full year, the administration that promised a quick end with the supposedly "nothing to do with Trump" vaccines available, is continuing to up the COVID problem with intense hysteria-generating hype and illegal mandates.  

Why?

Who benefits from COVID mutations and continuing lockdowns and mandates?  Mostly nobody.  But Big Pharma does.  And Democrats do too but only under certain conditions.  Continued use of the pandemic pits one leftist (Rahm Emmanuel) rule "Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste" against another leftist Alinsky Rule "A tactic that goes on too long becomes a drag".  Two years of COVID hysteria are a drag to everyone, leftist foe and ally alike.  They risk losing support from their base by dragging this on to long.  So what's the potential upside?  If they can nationalize health care, they can achieve a longtime socialist goal as well as regain, likely even up the level of support from their base of support.

But how?

It's going to be argued as the only financially viable option, as this obscenely progressivist Newsweek article, full of erroneous arguments claims:

When the benefits of one country's investments in public goods spill over into other countries, international coordination is needed. When these spillovers are global—as is the case with pandemic preparedness and early response—this international coordination must be global.

The same principles should hold to payments—contributions should be universal and progressive. All countries that benefit, which is to say all countries, should pay something. Countries with the largest and most open economies should pay the most—both because they are able and because they gain the most in economic terms from pandemic prevention.

Not only are they haphazardly arguing for nationalized health care, but rather globalized health care, at least relative to pandemics, with richer countries like the U.S. paying a disproportionate share of the global cost.

Is this what you progressives really want? 

Now is the time to play hardball with China

In brief:

Remember back in 2010 when China joined Russia in dropping the U.S. dollar as the medium of bi-lateral trade? And again in 2014 when the two nations teamed up to kill the dollar? Remember China hacking U.S. government and corporate secrets, pretty much always. China has a pretty lengthy history of aggressive, bad neighbor behavior.  And now their stock market is in deep trouble. It's in free fall and could be at the start of a crash.  True or not, make no mistake, there's underlying trouble.

Never let a crisis go to waste, right?

Now is the time to play hardball with China.  It's the perfect time to do something to prevent job offshoring, to remove Most Favored Nation status for China and to repatriate jobs to America.  It's an opportunity to not just knuckle under to China's belligerent rise as a world power. Strike them economically when they cannot afford it.  Why not?  They've been trying to do it to America for years.