Now that the Democrats have politicized the virus and got what they wanted, they are starting to be more truthful, which is rare these days.
By David Potter
President Trump called Covid-19 the China virus because it originated in China. He was labeled a bigoted racist, xenophobe, but that was simply a constructed narrative to make people hate him and get Biden elected. The fabricated hate was at least partially responsible for Trump’s loss. Now that the Democrats have politicized the virus and got what they wanted, they are starting to be more truthful, which is rare these days.
As early as last December, Fox Contributor Marc Thiessen was calling for China to be held accountable and for Democrats to stop playing politics with the origins of the deadly virus. He wrote in the the Washington Post:
“Now that the presidential election is over, can we finally blame the Chinese communist regime for the covid-19 pandemic? In the run-up to the election, Democrats treated any effort to blame China for the damage done by the virus as an attempt to deflect responsibility from President Trump — and their strategy to take back the White House depended on placing blame squarely on Trump’s shoulders. Joe Biden repeatedly said Trump’s “lies and incompetence” were responsible for the deaths of more than 200,000 Americans, declaring in the first debate that “it is what it is because you are who you are.” The strategy worked. The Fox News Voter Analysis found that 41 percent of Americans who cast ballots in the 2020 election said the pandemic was the most important issue facing the country and that 73 percent of them voted for Biden. Without the pandemic, Biden arguably would not be president-elect today.”
Now that politics is out of the way- at least partially (will it ever be fully out of the way?)- Congress can focus on China as the problem and take steps to never allow this to happen again. They seem to be heading in that direction. On May 28th, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa), along with a bipartisan coalition of representatives, introduced the Made in America Emergency Preparedness Act. It was co-sponsored by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jennifer González-Colón (R-PR), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Dean Phillips (D-MN), Don Bacon (R-NE), Susie Lee (D-NV), Van Taylor (R-TX), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA).
Rep. Fitzpatrick said, “The COVID-19 crisis has shown us that we must do more as a government and with private industry to prepare for the next national emergency. After 9/11, we as a nation said: ‘Never Again.’ And in response to this current crisis, we must never again find ourselves caught off-guard, unable to protect our communities. We should never again see nearly 600,000 American lives lost and day to day life turned upside down. This legislation focuses on ensuring our nation is taking the necessary steps to mitigate the impacts of future national emergencies, improve responsiveness, and save lives.”
It is not more toothless virtue signaling. It has substance.
This bill would establish in the legislative branch a National Commission on United States Preparedness for National Emergencies. Not later than 18 months after this bill’s enactment, the commission shall report to the President and Congress regarding (1) which medical, pharmaceutical, and emergency preparedness products are determined to be essential; and (2) actions states should take to be better prepared, national federal stockpile requirements, and national surge capacity infrastructure deficiencies in hospitals and medical centers. The bill (1) requires certain medical, pharmaceutical, and emergency preparedness products integral to the response to a national emergency to be manufactured and procured within the United States; and (2) provides for a temporary 100% expensing for firms that incur costs associated with pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturing within the United States, including personal protective equipment and other necessary items.
This bill would protect America and ready it for any potential pandemics in the future.
Reps. Fitzpatrick and Connor Lamb (D-PA) introduced a second bill last week, as well, the “Never Again International Outbreak Prevention Act.” This measure goes even further and is punitive towards China. According to James Fite of Liberty Nation, “If passed, this will strip China – and any other countries that have ‘intentionally misled the international community on the outbreak’ – of its sovereign immunity. As defined by Cornell Law School, sovereign immunity ‘refers to the fact that the government cannot be sued without its consent.’ Who would consent to being sued? Well, if successful, this bill will render that question moot, allowing families to sue in U.S. courts.”
Considering that China has substantial real assets in America, this may be more than symbolic if the bill passes. Similar versions of the two bills mentioned above have failed in the past, but the new ingredient is that the Biden Administration is pressing forward on the origins of the virus. The Democrat congress seems to be falling in line with the White House. Republicans have been desiring this type of legislation since last year. Regardless of who promotedthese ideasinitially, it is nice to see Democrats and Republicans acting like Americans first and putting partisan politics aside. Our country is still one people, for now.
TAKE ACTION!
Urge Congress to fire Dr. Fauci for covering up potential Wuhan lab origin of Covid!
David Potter is Communications Coordinator at Americans for Limited Government.
