Kevin McCarthy has a new conspiracy theory about the recent guidance on masks
Capitol physician Brian Monahan, in response to the recent COVID-19 surge, is reinstituting a mask mandate for the U.S. House of Representatives — and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is bitterly opposed to it.
On Tuesday night, the California Republican tweeted that "liberals" have a sinister ulterior motive for this mandate:
Make no mistake\u2014The threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state.— Kevin McCarthy (@Kevin McCarthy) 1627439344
Of course, Democrats and liberals do not want to "live in a perpetual pandemic state." That's why they have been enthusiastically getting vaccinated and urging others to get vaccinated. But the refusal of some, including large segments of the conservative population, to get vaccinated has contributed to the recent increase in cases that has prompted some experts and officials to advocate returning to some mitigation methods.
Twitter has been full of negative reactions to McCarthy's tweet. Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, who has often been described as a "Never Trump conservative" but now rejects being called conservative, accused McCarthy of promoting "dangerous" behavior:
you are encouraging people to engage dangerous and life-threatening conduct. Not that you care...— Jennifer 'pro-voting' Rubin (@Jennifer 'pro-voting' Rubin) 1627480843
Vox's Aaron Rupar compared McCarthy's tweet to the far-right conspiracy theories of Infowars' Alex Jones:
This tweet from the House Minority Leader is just as nuts as stuff you'd hear Alex Jones sayhttps://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1420209661735804934\u00a0\u2026— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1627442351
Former FBI Special Agent Asha Rangappa posted:
Do you really not understand that viruses can mutate and spread by aerosol transmission? I\u2019m honestly asking bc if you truly cannot wrap your ahead around these basic concepts you shouldn\u2019t be talking (and shouldn\u2019t be in public office)— Asha Rangappa (@Asha Rangappa) 1627485089
When reporters, on Wednesday, asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to weigh in on McCarthy's opposition to bringing back the mask mandate for House members, she told them she would follow Monahan's guidance and said of McCarthy, "He's such a moron." Twitter user David Weissman agreed with Pelosi's description of McCarthy, telling the House minority leader:
Make no mistake, you're a moron. #MoronMcCarthy— David Weissman (@David Weissman) 1627493733
Elizabeth C. McLaughlin, founder of the Gaia Project for Women's Leadership, tweeted:
You know you sound like a dementia riddled grandpa shouting off his porch, right?— Elizabeth C. McLaughlin (she/her) (@Elizabeth C. McLaughlin (she/her)) 1627443502
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