I haven’t written all that much about coronavirus hysteria for a variety of reasons, but in the words of the Johnny Graziosi character in one of my wife’s favorite Hugh Grant movies, Mickey Blue Eyes, “There’s something going on here, Vinnie.”
I have written two articles about what that “something” might be as far as how Trump and the GOP have responded to the crisis so far.
Earlier this month, I posited the idea that Trump’s lackadaisical response to the coronavirus and his accusations that the Democrats were “politicizing” it to bring him down was a deliberate attempt to cover up his decision to eliminate the post of the senior director for global health security and biothreats on the National Security Council. When the coronavirus started spreading globally, there was no one in the White House to coordinate a response, a situation made worse by Trump’s refusal to appoint someone to lead a response team because he thought it would be seen as failure, and he didn’t think such a person “would be loyal to him.”
A few days ago, I wrote about how the coronavirus could be the pièce de résistance to the GOP’s goal of advancing Ivanka’s feminist socialist agenda after they joined hands with Democrats to work legislation creating government-mandated, and eventually government-financed, paid family leave and sick leave to stimulate the economy.
Even when Trump appears to be doing something to address the situation, his actions come with more indications of a possible cover-up. For example, his just-announced European travel restrictions contained a few interesting exemptions for countries where Trump-owned golf resorts struggling for business just happen to be located.
As far as using the coronavirus to spread socialism is concerned, that could be just the tip of the iceberg. Based on an excellent article written by John Whitehead, the founder and president of the Rutherford Institute, the coronavirus could lead to the end of liberty and the introduction of a full-blown police state and tyrannical government.
“This coronavirus epidemic, which has brought China’s Orwellian surveillance out of the shadows and caused Italy to declare a nationwide lockdown, threatens to bring the American Police State out into the open on a scale we’ve not seen before.
“If and when a nationwide lockdown finally hits — if and when we are forced to shelter in place — if and when militarized police are patrolling the streets — if and when security checkpoints have been established — if and when the media’s ability to broadcast the news has been curtailed by government censors — if and when public systems of communication (phone lines, internet, text messaging, etc.) have been restricted — if and when those FEMA camps the government has been surreptitiously building finally get used as quarantine detention centers for American citizens — if and when military “snatch and grab” teams are deployed on local, state, and federal levels as part of the activated Continuity of Government plans to isolate anyone suspected of being infected with COVID-19 — and if and when martial law is enacted with little real outcry or resistance from the public — then we will truly understand the extent to which the government has fully succeeded in recalibrating our general distaste for anything that smacks too overtly of tyranny.
“This is how it begins.”
An overreaction you say? Consider the recent order by Gov. Cuomo of New York to implement a “containment area” around a one-mile radius in the city of New Rochelle which has been identified as a coronavirus “hot spot.” Residents are being mandatorily quarantined, schools and churches have been closed, and the National Guard has been deployed to enforce the order.
You might be thinking that since we’re talking about left-wing New York it will never happen nationally, but you’d be wrong.
Trump told reporters yesterday that it’s a “possibility” that he could impose travel restrictions within the U.S. if certain areas get “too hot.” And he’s considering using the NY model but with some added muscle because Cuomo’s order isn’t strong enough for Trump:
“We haven’t discussed that yet. Is it a possibility? Yes. If somebody gets a little bit out of control, if an area gets too hot.
“You see what they’re doing in New Rochelle, which is good frankly. It’s the right thing, but it’s not enforced, it’s not very strong. But people know they’re being watched. New Rochelle, that’s a hot spot.”
The assault on liberty at the hands of the people we elect to protect it has been going on for quite some time with limited success. But the coronavirus could be the thing that helps them cross the finish line in the race toward tyranny.
David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative. He holds members of every political stripe accountable and promotes conservative principles over political parties.
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