WATCH: Rand Paul boils Dr. Fauci’s coronavirus response down to ‘we can’t do this, we can’t do that’
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WATCH: Rand Paul boils Dr. Fauci’s coronavirus response down to ‘we can’t do this, we can’t do that’
Published: June 30, 2020 at 2:53 p.m. ET
By
Nicole Lyn Pesce
Fauci’s response: ‘The only thing I can do is ... give you the facts’
“It is a fatal conceit to believe any one person or small group of people has the knowledge necessary to direct an economy or dictate public health behavior,” the Republican and libertarian from Kentucky said during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing. “We shouldn’t presume that a group of experts somehow knows what’s best for everyone.”
His argument was that health experts and government “planners” are weighing in on subjects and expressing opinions that affect everyday public life before getting all of their facts straight. “It’s important to realize that if society meekly submits to an expert and that expert is wrong, a great deal of harm may occur when we allow one man’s policy or one group of small men and women to be foisted on an entire nation,” he said.
And Paul, who tested positive for the coronavirus in March , when he drew flak for not quarantining while he was awaiting his test results , directed some of his sharpest rebukes toward Anthony Fauci on Tuesday.
“Dr. Fauci, every day, virtually every day, we seem to hear from you things we can’t do,” he said. “But when you’re asked, ‘Can we go back to school?’ I don’t hear much certitude at all. ‘Well, maybe. It depends.’”
“All I hear, Dr. Fauci, is, ‘We can’t do this, we can’t do that. We can’t play baseball.’ Well, even that’s not based on the science.”
— Sen. Rand Paul“We just need more optimism,” Paul said.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, responded by noting he agrees with a lot of what Paul said, particularly with regards to people sharing opinions not backed by scientific data.
He also said that “we need to do whatever we can to get the children back in school.” But, Fauci continued, “Sometimes you have to make extrapolations because you’re in a position where you need to give some sort of recommendation.”
And he noted that his recommendations are often interpreted in ways that he did not intend.
“The only thing that I can do is, to the best of my ability, give you the facts.”
— Dr. Anthony Fauci“I never said we can’t play a certain sport,” he said. (Although it should be noted that he did recently warn that “football may not happen this year” on CNN.) “I agree with you. I am completely unqualified to tell you whether you can play a sport or not,” he continued. “The only thing that I can do is, to the best of my ability, give you the facts and the evidence associated with what I know about this outbreak. Thank you.”
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“It is a fatal conceit to believe any one person or small group of people has the knowledge necessary to direct an economy or dictate public health behavior,” the Republican and libertarian from Kentucky said during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing. “We shouldn’t presume that a group of experts somehow knows what’s best for everyone.”
Heaven forbid we deal with experts on the subject.
“We just need more optimism,” Paul said.
That'll keep the Co-Vid numbers down.
Pfffft.
I know I'll get razzed for making this suggestion, but maybe if Trump didn't rely on deflecting his incompetent and outright negligent dealing with the virus, (setting the unbelievable example of refusing to wear a mask), by putting ALL the blame on China, and doing so in such a way as to create xenophobia that endangers all Asian-Americans, BUT INSTEAD early on eliciting the help and advice of the experienced Chinese doctors and medical professionals who have been doing a credible job in containing the virus, THEN perhaps the astronomical numbers already achieved and growing exponentially by the day might not have happened.
Because of all the shit being flung at China these days, and the Democrats are now competing with Trump to see who can do it better, I wouldn't blame China for telling America to go fuck itself rather than provide any assistance at all.
Think about Paul's statement about the "fatal conceit to believe any one person... has the knowledge necessary to direct an economy or dictate public health behavior" in light of their Dear Leader. "I alone can fix it."
Rand Paul is almost as stupid as Tom Cotton.
Dr. Fauci is in a difficult position. He's an expert on allergies and infectious diseases. He is not an expert on sports, schools, economics, transportation, mental health, or anything else that might be the responsibility of policy makers. That's not a slam on him; it's just the facts. It's something that people seem to need reminding about. So he can talk about the limited (so far) findings on how the disease functions, but that doesn't automatically translate into good policy.
With his decades of experience and his vast amount of knowledge, he can talk about how to combat and prevent spread of the disease, right? That can translate into good policy. Not "automatically", of course.
Who has "Been Right" ...... ANYWHERE... so far ?
Well....ALL have been right on "ONE" thing anyway. There is a sickness going around the Planet.