The cynicism on display during this crisis has been truly illuminating, and horrifying, to observe. Not only from Trump himself, seemingly more interested in campaigning and touting his ratings, settling some grudges, providing false information and a sunnier picture than reality - but across his administration, the conservative media and far too much of the Republican Party in general. To wit:
- Texas, Arkansas and Ohio, among others, have tried to use the Covid-19 crisis to make abortions practically illegal: The Guardian
- And these states and others run by a GOP Governor ignored the crisis or actively fought against doing what was necessary, killing 100s, or maybe ultimately 1000s, including in Mississippi (The New Yorker).
- The Trump administration, without any real justification, is further gutting environmental regulations during the crisis: Reuters.
- In a similar vein, they are pushing to get the Keystone Pipeline XL started again while protesters are stuck inside: NPR.
- Speaking of protesters in general, legislation continues to be pushed to make protesting itself illegal - a trend that started before the Coronavirus crisis. And many in the GOP are trying to use it to further suppress the vote, as in Wisconsin, with the absurd choice now facing citizens of the state - vote and risk my life or let others decide my fate: TNR.
- Betty Devos decided now is a great time to try to again push school privatization, underly the newly minted micrograms program (aka vouchers): NPR.
- The Trump administration plans to pull out of the Open Skies Treaty, one safeguard to avoid war between the West and Russia: The Guardian.
- Businesses, who had their biggest tax cut ever less than three years ago, were given more by Republicans who also get oversight of the huge amounts of money they gave to big corporations during the Coronavirus stimulus, should not be overseen by Congress. And, as one could have predicted, Wall Street is again sucking at the government teat they otherwise hate so much (The Nation).
- Many individuals and businesses have shown community spirit by going out of their way to help those in need. At the same time, price gouging on online sales sites has been so bad eBay eliminates the sale of anything with Coronavirus in the title and Amazon has had to suspend tons of seller accounts and items. There are also ongoing investigations across the country about scammers claiming cures: The Guardian. Of course, Trump himself could very well end up on the list.
- Some Republicans, capitalizing on their penchant for rewriting history to serve their interests, actually used the narrative that “Democrats were impeaching Trump when the Coronavirus was spreading” to do some heavy fundraising: TNYRB.
- The right-wing media, who has been pretty consistently horrible throughout the crisis, now seems to have a target aimed at the back of the only voice of reason in the administration at present: The New Yorker.
- Maybe most troubling of all, the Supreme Court today voted 5 to 4 to allow Wisconsin to overrule their own governor and a Circuit Court and allow the election to go forward , essentially asking people to risk their lives if they want to vote (The New Yorker). As the Nation argues, this could be the latest parry in the Republican plan to essentially steal the election later this year by suppressing the vote as much as possible, as they did four years ago and have been doing for at least 50 years: The Nation.
- But to make it a baker’s dozen, it has just been revealed that Trump has a business interest in the company that produces hydroxychloroquine, the unproven “miracle drug” he’s been pushing on the American people: Salon.
These are just 13 examples of the endemic cynicism and corruption at the heart of the conservative movement and corporate culture today and really a signal to anyone paying attention that there is a better way forward for the country, its political institutions, healthcare, economic structure and general collective conscious. Will we heed the call to change?
