A Pence Non Sequitur

When Vice President Mike Pence was asked yesterday how the Trump campaign could responsibly justify holding large rallies in the face of a surging pandemic, Pence offered this non sequitur: "The freedom of speech, the right to peaceably assemble is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States, and we have an election coming up this fall."

No, wait. The question wasn't about constitutional rights. It was about modeling unsafe behavior. It was about putting communities at risk. It was about ignoring the guidance of local leaders that in the same briefing Pence said we should be following. (And rightly so, since there is no meaningful guidance coming from our top national leaders.) It was about leading by example.

How, then, was it  responsible and indeed morally acceptable for Trump to conduct a large rally in Tulsa, and address 3,000 young people in Phoenix, when the leaders in both communities said he shouldn't? Both Oklahoma and Arizona have experienced surges in their coronavirus cases.

"Even in a health crisis, the American people don't forfeit our constitutional rights," Pence said.

No, but wait. It isn't a question of constitutional rights, which nobody disputes. It's a question of doing the right thing. Why wasn't the President of the United States doing the right thing? Why was he doing the wrong thing?

Pence: "I think it's really important that we recognize how important freedom and personal responsibility are to this entire equation."

No no no. It isn't about freedom. Nobody is questioning your freedom to do the wrong thing. It is about personal responsibility, and the president is urging his supporters to be irresponsible. How can that be justified?

Of course, it can't. Which is why all Pence has in response is a lame non sequitur that doesn't answer the question.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is now experiencing daily case counts that far exceed what we saw in the worst period of March and April.  Yesterday there were almost 46,000 new cases—a shocking number. That marks three straight days that far exceed the previous high daily case count on April 25. Daily deaths are running around 800, but since deaths lag cases by a few weeks, deaths can be expected to increase.

Below are daily case count graphs for the U.S., Texas, Arizona, and Florida. The virus is spreading uncontrolled in these and many other states. Houston, with the world's largest medical complex, is running at full ICU capacity. The Republican National Convention is scheduled to be held in Jacksonville, Florida, Aug. 24-27.

Click on the image for a larger view:

Source: Washington Post

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