The GOP is now the 'party of death' under 'Alpha male simpleton' Trump: columnist

In a scorching piece for the New York Times, contributing opinion columnist Timothy Egan said that the Republican Party has no standing to call itself the "party of life" based upon their actions and rhetoric during the coronavirus health crisis.

Writing, "The scientific consensus is clear and not that complicated: We need a significant upgrade of testing, contact tracing to track the infected, nuanced and dutiful social isolation, all to buy time until a vaccine is developed," Egan made the point the GOP, by standing by while Donald Trump bumbles the response, has been more of a hindrance than a help.

"The political way out reveals a stark divide, and some true madness. For Republicans, that pro-life slogan of theirs is just another term for nothing left to lose. They are now the party of death," he wrote while noting that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) of Texas spilled the beans on how Republicans view the public when he blurted, "There are “more important things than living,” essentially choosing the economy over human lives.

I’m not talking about the trade-offs that governors are making daily, trying to save businesses and countless jobs, while nursing homes and meatpacking plants remain killing fields," he continued. "But the lies spread by the crackpot media wing of the G.O.P., led by President Trump’s favorite radio host, Rush Limbaugh, can be lethal. Covid-19 has killed more Americans in a month than the flu kills in a year. Yet Limbaugh has compared it to a common cold or seasonal flu. Those who believe him are likely to sneeze freely or crowd together in a grocery store."

"All of this follows Trump’s obsession with money over human life, with markets over medicine. On Wednesday, just as the United States reported its largest daily death toll yet, Trump tweeted: 'States are safely coming back. Our Country is starting to OPEN FOR BUSINESS again.' So much for the departed," he wrote before adding, "Trump’s open-for-business cheerleading will cause many more deaths."

"Given that Trump is an Alpha male simpleton with no filter, it’s never difficult to find the true motive behind his tactics. As he has said, he wants all the authority and none of the responsibility. If we lose a quarter-million Americans, it’s the fault of governors running their respective shows. If the number is far less, it’s because he took charge," Egan wrote. "He’s encouraged life-threatening demonstrations. What’s particularly galling is using children as props in those protests, endangering their health."

"When I think about how many doctors and nurses, how many cops, firefighters and other first responders, how many grocery store clerks and delivery people, how many parents and grandparents would lose their lives to get to that immunity threshold, I realize there’s only one choice," he wrote before concluding, "That is: to err on the side of life. Lucky for us, most Americans already feel that way. Most Americans expect no quick fix. Most Americans are willing to be patient. And if this holds, most Americans will reject the party of death in November."

You can read more here.