My Nomination for the Most Bizarre Tweet of the COVID-19 Season – Democrats Locked Down the Economy for Political Gain

Drum roll please…

The editor of The Federalist Sean David tweeted this yesterday.

Let’s back up a minute. Who recommended the lockdowns? Why President Trump’s own coronavirus guidelines! Also, most state governors of both political parties imposed stay at home orders because of evidence of community transmission. The President’s own task force recommends the stay at home orders and compliance with state orders.

Let’s back up a little bit more. Why are the lockdowns in place? Because COVID-19 is highly contagious and potentially deadly. Did the Democrats do that too, Mr. Davis?  Did over 40,000 Americans die to hurt Donald Trump? Did all the nations of the world lockdown their economies just to hurt Donald Trump’s re-election chances?

Is the virus a Democrat, Mr. Davis?

It is sad and discouraging that The Federalist has an audience for this perverse reasoning.

We aren’t even close to the election yet, so I suspect there will be other entries in this category. But for now, this is my front runner for most bizarre tweet of the COVID-19 season.

 

127 thoughts on “My Nomination for the Most Bizarre Tweet of the COVID-19 Season – Democrats Locked Down the Economy for Political Gain”

  1. “IN THE AGE OF COVID-19, ANGLO-SAXON EXCEPTIONALISM IS A KILLER.”

    Is that bizarre enough for you, Warren?

    Hang on a mo’, it might actually be true. For example, talk of the “China Virus” could mislead some Americans into thinking that this pandemic in ‘not really their problem’; in the UK, people used to say that Britain would not be like Italy* (“those Italians do such-and-such, and don’t do this or that; it won’t be anything like so bad here!”).

    * Sadly they were right: things in the UK are in many ways worse than they are in Italy. On current trends, the final body count in Britain will almost certainly significantly the higher.

  2. I didn’t know Democrats had control of the White House. the House of Representatives, and a majority of State legislatures and governorships. Fascinating how they could pull that off

    1. Doubtful. If a comment were deleted it would show up as being deleted. Further , if warren were to delete a comment he generally specifies why. If you posted a comment that disappeared, it is likely just a glitch in the system.

      1. I agree Warren has never been one to block or remove comments, I don’t know what happened but here it is.

        Discussion on wthrockmorton.com 161 comments
        You’re So Vain, I Bet You Think This Crisis is About You
        Big K
        Big K 15 days ago
        Removed
        Looks like Trump’s fast actions saved about a million American lives! Now he has to get the economy going again.

  3. Hunter Biden created the Covid-19 virus in a secret lab deep inside the Burisma headquarters- then flew to China and bribed the commies to make ‘Murricah sick. Quick- tell Devin Nunes!!

    1. You mustn’t joke about this – it really is true, you know. At least until after the election.

  4. And here I thought that the Federalist was published by and for Conservative eggheads. I thought that they were waaaaaay too Conservative and wrong-headed for me–rather like William F. Buckley, Jr. used to be–but intelligent people, nonetheless. I take it all back.

      1. Like National Review and First Things, they have sold out to the populist hypernationalist wave.

  5. Some religious people have been lied to for so long they can’t tell the difference between God and Satan.
    Satan is the god of chaos and father of lies.
    Who cares what one says about their spiritual pedigree.
    Oh, God deliver us from evil people who call themselves Godly.
    There’s a big difference between the Prince of Peace and god of chaos.

    1. Jesus, when offered the easy path to political power by compromise, rejected it firmly. Evangelicals seem to have been all too eager to sign that contract, however…

      1. “My sheep hear My voice and a voice of a stranger they will not listen to.”

        You can’t con a pandemic.

    2. I really do sympathize with your sentiment here. Money-fueled religiosity has the potential to do the most terrible harm … and perhaps especially at this time when there is such a temptation to play fast and loose with people’s lives for the sake of so-called economic progress. (I entirely except that the lockdowns are hurting people economically, but the Christian response is not to ignore the fact of this pandemic, but to share resources better.)

  6. This is what comes from hatred of the truth. And excellence. The Federalist has aided the destruction of the federal courts, and we’ll be suffering it for decades.

    I strongly recommend that anyone who cares about honesty and integrity in academia read this: https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2020/04/richard-epstein-has-yet-more-to-say-about-our-pandemic

    Richard Epstein has positions with the Hoover Institution, NYU and the University of Chicago. He has been furiously deleting embarrassing statements he made about COVID-19 (thankfully, there’s a Wayback Machine) and literally rewriting his previous statements about the likely death count from the disease while continuing to argue that the economy is more important than human life. He should be stripped of every academic position he holds.

    It seems clear that the Right finds facts and science to be inconvenient barriers on the road to personal financial enrichment. Paul Campos is right: This is academic fraud.

    1. Richard Epstein has positions with the Hoover Institution, NYU and the
      University of Chicago. He has been furiously deleting embarrassing
      statements he made about COVID-19 (thankfully, there’s a Wayback
      Machine) and literally rewriting his previous statements about the
      likely death count from the disease while continuing to argue that the
      economy is more important than human life

      oceania has always been at peace with eurasia, comrades.

  7. After people (like you) pushed the Russia Hoax and impeachment on everyone why wouldn’t a large part of the population feel like they’re using this to either take away their civil liberties over throw the POTUS or both?

    1. First, your premise is wrong (Russia wasn’t a hoax) and two, perhaps you have noticed that nations around the world are locking down and people are dying around the world and here at home. Is all of that happening to get Trump? That is weapons grade paranoia. Another thing: Trump has called for thirty days to slow the spread. I realize he is giving mixed signals but that is your problem. Your man can’t get his stories straight. In the real world where disease is real and death is final, there is no hoax. Perhaps you could read something about the Spanish Flu pandemic. This has happened before and all of the same measures were used to counter it. Sure some people complained but what is happening now isn’t anything completely unprecedented.

      1. I just wonder, Warren, if the fact that some EU countries are in a position to start easing restrictions is making Trump jealous?

        (Of course, in the UK, where the initial attitude was somewhat more trumpesque than in, say, Germany, the authorities are now being refreshingly honest – the message is “don’t hold your breath when it comes to the easing of restrictions”. As for my own view: well, I think I was underestimating the gravity of the situation a couple of months ago; I thought it would be a bit above the top end of ‘winter ‘flu’ scale, whereas it is probably at least twenty times worse than that: in the first full week of April 2020 over 18000 Britons died; in the same week last year and the year before and the year before that and the year … it was around 10000. This is pretty shocking, and very poignant in juxtaposition to the lovely Spring weather I can see through my window this morning.)

        1. I think Trump is less worried about the EU than he is China. If China can get its economy moving way ahead of the US that will seriously effect his trade-war with them.

      2. In what context was the Russia Hoax not a hoax?

        As far as the tweet it’s simply an example of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

        1. In the context that Russia did meddle in the 2016 presidential election to the benefit of Trump. That is not a hoax.

          1. Plus the like two dozen criminal convictions related to those actions by people in his inner circle.

          2. There weren’t “two dozen criminal convictions.” There were 8 or 9 guilty pleas and/or criminal convictions and many of them were for “process crimes.” They were not for crimes relating to election tampering of conspiracy of any sort. In addition, a number of the indictments have been dismissed. They were what some have called “show indictments,” indictments that were made that were never going to be prosecuted. About 30 of these people indicted were outside of US jurisdiction. They were likely indicted to for a public show, not with any anticipation of bringing actual charges.

            In some cases, charges are already been dismissed by the courts, including being dismissed with prejudice, meaning there was never enough to charge them to begin with and they cannot be recharged.

            The current situation with the IG report, the Michael Flynn case, and the ongoing investigation is revealing illegal actions that took place to bring many of these charges. It is possible that in the coming days we will see more of them overturned and other charges brought against those who perpetrated this. It is documented that FISA applications were misleading and contained false statements.

            This is off topic for this thread, but it is always good to remind people of the truth.

            To quote someone, “Stop lying.”

          3. There weren’t “two dozen criminal convictions.” There were 8 or 9 guilty pleas and/or criminal convictions and many of them were for “process crimes.” They were not for crimes relating to election tampering of conspiracy of any sort. In addition, a number of the indictments have been dismissed. They were what some have called “show indictments,” indictments that were made that were never going to be prosecuted. About 30 of these people indicted were outside of US jurisdiction. They were likely indicted to for a public show, not with any anticipation of bringing actual charges.

            In some cases, charges are already been dismissed by the courts, including being dismissed with prejudice, meaning there was never enough to charge them to begin with and they cannot be recharged.

            The current situation with the IG report, the Michael Flynn case, and the ongoing investigation is revealing illegal actions that took place to bring many of these charges. It is possible that in the coming days we will see more of them overturned and other charges brought against those who perpetrated this. It is documented that FISA applications were misleading and contained false statements.

            This is off topic for this thread, but it is always good to remind people of the truth.

            To quote someone, “Stop lying.”

          4. Did you read your article?

            There are not “nearly three dozen criminal convictions.” There are nine people listed as convicted or having pled guilty, some of them to multiple offenses but only 9 people:

            1 Manafort
            2 Stone
            3 Flynn
            4 Gates
            5 Cohen
            6 Papadopolous
            7 Van der Zwaan
            8 Pienedo
            9 Patten

            The article does identify 34 indictments, convictions, and pleas. That is “nearly three dozen.” But that includes indictments, and remember that a great number of those indictments (13 people and 3 companies) have been dismissed.

            As for process crime, I would be interested to know how you concluded the Giuliani invented the term to minimize this situation.

            Are you aware that in 2008, three people wrote an article entitled “Prosecution of Process Crimes: Thoughts and Trends”? And Giuliani is not one of those three and this Trump thing was still eight years in the future. You can read the argument there and see all kinds footnotes that document it. The term was also used in 2009 in an article bu Erin Murphy entitled, “Manufacturing Crime: Process, Pretext, and Criminal Justice.”

            Do you think Giuliani invented a term that had already been in use for at least a dozen years? Or do you simply not know what you are talking about again? I wouldn’t call this a lie because I don’t think you intended to mislead. You were simply ignorant of the truth.

            You should have learned by now that when I come here and say something, it will be backed by facts and arguments.

          5. Yes, many of the cases are still in process. It was an extraordinary amount from a single investigation that was hamstrung by extreme limitations placed on it by the DOJ. I can’t imagine how much worse it would be for the administration had they not been so hamstrung. That you defend this says a LOT about you.

            And yes, Giuliani invented the term in this context. The words ‘process’ and ‘crime’ certainly are legitimate english words predating him, and they have at times been placed next to him, but they have never been used to describe criminals of this sort as he did.

            I’m not going to go back and forth with you any further, you’ve never argued in good faith and I know where this rabbit hole goes.

          6. So once again, I expose you for not knowing what you are talking about and I prove it with facts from published sources including your own sources, and I am the bad guy? How does that work?

            As for process crimes used to describe criminals of this sort, let me quote you from the 2008 article I referenced:

            The United States Department of Justice has come under attack in recent years because of its increased attention to, and prosecution of, crimes committed during the course of its investigations ‘-obstruction of justice,2 perjury,3 and making false statements.4 These crimes have been labeled “cover-up ‘ 5 or “process crimes,”6 [The numbers are footnotes.]

            Notice the list of crimes: obstruction of justice, perjury, making false statements.

            Notice the label attached to them: “Process crimes.”

            When you compare many of the charges in the Mueller investigation, you will see that they are exactly what the article describes as process crimes. Again you should know by now that I am correct. You can even read the article: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2195&context=faculty_scholarship

            Had you done a basic Google search, you would have easily found it and known Giuliani didn’t make it up to apply to these sorts of crimes.

            If you think I am defending it, you are wrong. I am not defending it at all. I like Trump less than you do. My point is about truth. You are not telling the truth. The DOJ placed virtually no limits on Mueller. That was part of the Trump complaint and there were legal issues involved that are still being litigated.

            As for not going back and forth, you have once gain been exposed as not knowing what you are talking about. Rather than simply admit, “I wasn’t aware of that,” you are trying to turn it around on me. I am not the bad guy for knowing more than you do and for telling the truth.

            You were wrong. Period. Admit it. Don’t turn it against me because I know the truth.

            I have always argued in good faith. You know that as well. But when you get exposed you tend to blame others.

          7. the really scaring thing is, he isn’t drunk in this video clip. This is the way he is sober.

          8. I hope your numbers for American Christians are more than a little over-estimated. There are sane Christians, along with the right-wing nuts.

          9. I do. In fact, I planned on voting for whomever the DNC nominated, because I knew they wouldn’t nominate anyone as dangerous and incompetent as Trump.

          10. Same. Biden wasn’t my preference but right now there are potted plants that can do a better job than Trump.

          11. Biden seems like he might have dementia. I hope you guys get someone better than that for 2024. Do you want socialism also or are you more of a classical liberal?

          12. I mean, 1) Trump seems like he has dementia, and 2) the dementia storyline is part of a known misinformation campaign, so I’m fine with Biden.

            And we already are socialist. What do you think Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, the military itself, the FDA, the EPA, the DOE and dozens more federal, state and local agencies and services are?

            The question is: Do you want more socialism or less? My answer is: I want better socialism, in some cases that is more, in some cases less, in some cases it’s fixing the socialism we have.

            Pretending we aren’t socialist and haven’t been since literally the first federal programs were enacted early on in our nation’s history is ignorant. The abuse of the term these days to simply mean “any program I disagree with” is not an exercise I will partake in.

          13. So after realizing you can’t possibly defend Trump, you’ve taken to trying to attack Biden. won’t work, for every unflattering video clip you can find of Biden, there are dozens of trump doing far worse.

          14. Yup. It’s really rich for Trump supporters to role tape of gaffes for Dems. I mean really, the guy who just told people to inject bleach is somehow better?

          15. Again, nothing compared to Trump’s stuff. Can you find any clips of Biden suggesting people should give themselves LETHAL injections or that researchers should investigate that possibility as a “cure”? otherwise stop wasting bandwidth.

          16. You’re right I can’t find any video of Biden suggesting people inject bleach into their bodies to “cure” them of a virus, because he never said anything that stupid.

            Glad to see you finally starting to realize you can’t really compare clips of Biden to Trump when it comes to saying foolish, stupid things.

          17. So your questions are rhetorical and need no replies. I won’t bother then. Have a nice weekend!

          18. I didn’t think you answer was intellectually honest. That’s all.

            Hope you have a nice weekend also.

          19. Ah, yes. “Miracle Mineral Solution”, i.e. drinking industrial bleach as a quack cure-all. Hey, it cures cancer and autism (though They don’t want you to know that), why not COVID?

            And the Miracle Mineral Solution cult WAS making overtures to Trump Tower DC…

          20. I have not followed this conversation closely but I want to note that I don’t care if they process crimes – they are crimes. Arguing about what kind of crimes they are seems silly. Lots of people close to the president broke the law. Once you start rationalizing, you lose.

          21. I am not rationalizing and yes, they are crimes. But there’s a much more complex issue at stake that is beyond the topic here. There are things at stake far beyond this moment and the individual personalities. The whole foundation of the justice system is at stake.

            Essentially the argument in this case is that they are crimes that should have never arisen because the question should have never been asked. That’s not the same as saying the things done were okay or should have been done.

            The investigation was about Russian influence. Some of the crimes charged have little to nothing to do with that. In a case about Russian influence, the crimes charged seem minor in comparison. In some cases (Flynn) they were charged with lying even though those who interviewed him did not think he lied and even though the interview was carried out in a very nonstandard way. More and more information is becoming available every day. Some if it is conspiracy theory crap that is worthless. And some of it is very interesting. Investigations and the courts have not viewed the FBI favorably in this.

          22. Guiliani: From respected 9/11 Mayor of New York to a Trump Mouthpiece of a shyster.

          23. “Yes, your honor, I only committed a process crime. I pointed a gun at the teller and demanded all the money. Instead, I should have simply used a withdrawal slip. See, just the wrong process. And the bank got all it’s money back, so no harm done.”

  8. I live in WA and people responding to our governor Inslee on Facebook are constantly claiming that he has closed down our state for his personal gain. That and of course Bill Gates fortune. When I ask how specifically Inslee can possibly benefit personally and just where this influx of money is going to come from, their only answer is to call me a moron. I’ve also heard that Democrats love not working so therefore we engineered this. I actually live in the conservative part of the state and just got back from the grocery store. I was pleased to see that at least 90 percent of the shoppers were wearing masks and all were keeping a safe distance apart. BTW still no toilet paper.

  9. The longer and deeper the economic slump, the larger the chance that it will, finally, dent the juggernaut that has been Trump. Nothing else has. The Faux Russian collusion soft coup, the Ukraine non-incident, and the fact that Trump ate Two, TWO!!!, scoops of ice cream..Of course the dems want a longer lockdown, because they don’t care about actual people, only about actual power. Just look at Nancy Antoinette and her 24K freezers and her gourmet ice cream, while actual Americans are struggling to pay for food for their families..

    1. You seem to be saying that Democrats are not actual Americans. Basically writing off roughly 50% of the population of the US as if they don’t count. That’s pretty ugly thinking there.

      Democrats have to feed their families too. They own businesses and worry about their survival too. They are going stir-crazy cooped up at home just like Republicans. They are people, not some kind of mass-mind monsters.

      1. I think most of the dem leadership is absolutely corrupt and hates America. I think the folks who vote for them are products of the public schools and are largely unable to put two thoughts together in any coherent way, which makes them the ideal dupes for the dems..

        1. That’s a lot of contempt to be displaying for half the country you supposedly uphold. Are you sure that’s really where you want to be going? Dismissing a literal majority of the population as hopelessly stupid? Is that wise, or charitable, or useful?

          1. One of my blog contacts has told me about a Christian giddy with glee that COVID will kill all those Dems in the Blue States. Insanity has become part of these times.

            “…the fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.”
            — Bertrans Russel, circa 1933

        2. I think most of the dem leadership is absolutely corrupt and hates America.

          No True Scotsman logical fallacy there.

          The Dems are America. They vastly outnumber Republicans in terms of voter registration, with more than 44 million registered voters (40%) compared to only 32.5 million registered Republicans (29%), and 31.5 million independents.

          If you want to know America, get to know Democrats. Without gerrymandering and the electoral college Republicans would have no hope at all. Fortunately for democracy, efforts are well underway to fix both of those (HR1 & the interstate voting compact).

          If anyone hates America, it’s Republicans, who seem to be throwing up every roadblock possible to prevent America from making choices democratically.

        3. Yes, you love America. You just hate most of the people in it and think these are stupid. It’s sort of like how I love ballet, except for all the music and the dancing.

          You do realize, there are many states with Democratic majorities and they aren’t nightmarish hellholes. They are actually the states that contribute most of the tax money to that country you love and where the majority of the good paying jobs are.

          1. It isn’t coincidence that the strongest economies and highest standards of living are almost all blue states. And that both of those metrics have increased the further to the left they moved.

      2. But Democrats are people who value the lives of other people over the economy, unlike a fair–or at least a loud–number of Republicans. In the absence of Federal leadership, Democratic governors have done what is best for their citizens, and issued “stay at home” orders, hoping to halt the spread of the virus in the absence of either prevention or a cure. The more the “get the economy moving again” protesters violate those orders to stay home, the longer it will take to stop the spread of the virus and reduce the number of deaths. They are working against what they want to see happen.

        1. I think it’s more Loud than Fair.

          Loud Crazies have a way of defining the public face of a movement.

    2. A little more Kool Aid, comrade?

      You put your faith in an incompetent, narcissistic liar. Good luck with that.

      Me, I’ll stick with the fact and the science. 824,944 cases; 45,175 deaths, and counting. You think people should die for Trump’s incompetence?

      You first.

      1. And the largest daily death toll was only on 21 April (the very day you posted the comment to which I am replying), so talk of slackening is surely very premature …

        And there is less well-trailed issue: if (as would be likely if there were a premature attempt to ‘go back to normal’ – which I’m not sure would be a great idea in itself, but that’s another discussion) the virus were to take hold in rural areas, the death rate could turn out to be significantly higher* there … so “be careful what you wish for, Wyoming et al!”

        *https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/coronavirus-death-rates-rural-communities-a4422371.html

        1. The virus is indeed taking hold in rural areas, and the death rate is climbing. Look at South Dakota, and the Smithfield meat packing plant. It might not get as high as in cities, where there are more people and less space; but it’s there, and growing.

          1. How sad. The numbers won’t get as high as those in the cities, but, as a PERCENTAGE of the population, the death toll could well end up being higher in such places …

  10. Twas that Chinese deep state lab run by the Demoncrats that released the virus….. doncha know?

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