In the current WuFlu crisis, the problem for the Trump-is-an-idiot crowd is that when you step back a bit — and when you subtract his clumsy statements and the usual government missteps in any crisis — the guy has been right about almost everything. Uncontrolled migration, globalization, and the Chinese supply chain — everything Trump has tried to rectify — are precisely what make flus like this so dangerous.
Plus he’s been nice to the Jews so they’ll share the vaccine with us when they make it. Always be nice to the Jews!
The science writer Matt Ridley — a relentless debunker of panic narratives from peak oil to global warming — writes “It is now likely, though not inevitable, that [the virus] will kill hundreds of thousands of people.” Among the reasons the threat is real, he says, is globalization. “If we persist in creating conditions in which viruses can be easily transmitted and amplified, then we will persist in experiencing waves of new viral epidemics.”
So every time you hear a Democrat complain about Trump’s actions, ask yourself this: Do you really want to replace him with the party of open borders and world government? A party that worries we’ll insult our dear Chinese Communist friends by naming the virus improperly? A party that is about to be led by an empty suit who can’t remember the name of God? It would be insane.
Even with Trump at the helm, the Democrats have to be thwarted in this moment at every turn. They are the party of “Never let a crisis go to waste,” which translates into, “Always use people’s fears to extend the power of government.”
There’s a reason this works. Crises like this are exactly what government is good for. Barring the End of Days, a crisis is, by definition, a limited event demanding the rapid acquirement of factual information that can be quickly translated into specific actions. As an example: inventing a vaccine and getting it out to the people. So it’s a time when you can make a specious argument like: “Look how well government is doing! Wouldn’t it be great if it did this all the time?”
That’s why the Democrats are always declaring a crisis where none exists. The climate is a crisis. A Trump phone call is a crisis. Thursday is a crisis. It’s their opportunity to spread the fears of their hysterical base to the rest of us in the hope of cramming their agenda through.
Just watch them.
Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are already holding up action against the virus by stuffing their proposed bills with unnecessary gifts to useless bureaucracies and attempts to expand the welfare state permanently.
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez tweeted: “Right about now would be a great time to weigh emergency measures like: Extending Medicare/Medicaid coverage to all; Eviction freezes; No-strings UBI programs; Eliminating work requirements for SNAP &other assistance; Humanitarian provisions in prisons & decarceral policies.”
Sure, that’ll help!
In the leftist New York Times, leftist writer Farhad Manjoo wrote an op-ed headlined, “Everyone’s a Socialist in a Pandemic.” With the subhead: “Companies and lawmakers are suddenly realizing the value of a strong social safety net. Let’s hope they don’t forget when the crisis passes.”
But no, let’s hope they do forget. A crisis taps into the skills of experts and authorities in the same way a toothache taps into the skills of dentists. But just because you need a filling, doesn’t mean the dentist should run your life.
In normal times, experts and authorities can be the biggest buffoons of all. They don’t know what they don’t know and they can’t do what they think they can. They gum up the works with an excess of caution. “Wash your hands every time you pet your dog.” “Wear a helmet when you jog.” They drastically underestimate the extent and use of their expertise.
In normal times, individual creators driven by normal human motives like curiosity, greed, decency, and glory — people like the Wright Brothers and Bill Gates — are more likely to change the world for the better than massive sclerotic bureaucracies with their five year plans to steal your money and produce nothing.
One of the reasons Trump’s America First agenda has worked so well is because it’s simple enough for the government to put into practice. Guys like Obama who think they can play three–dimensional chess with the whole planet make a mess out of everything — as indeed he did. Guys like Trump who just want to clean up the neighborhood have taken on as much as government can handle.
So let’s let this crisis go to waste. Let the government have its day. And when this is over, put that power-hungry sucker right back in the Constitutional box where it belongs.