Like unvaccinated carriers of an infectious disease, the anti-vaxxers in the Republican/New Confederate/Stupid Party are exhibiting symptoms of anti-medical science stupidity. We noted yesterday that New Jersey Gov. and poster boy for anger management Chris "Krispykreme" Christie and Kentucky Sen. and self-certified ophthalmologist "Ayn" Rand Paul think it should be up to the parents whether or not to vaccinate their children. That "thinking" back in the 1950s would have led to an epidemic of polio, even with the Salk vaccine available. Smallpox has largely been eradicated as a result of worldwide immunization efforts. Medical experts are appalled at the dangerous ignorance on display by Rethuglican politicians, especially with the outbreak of measles in dozens of states.
The latest hack to spread the anti-vaxx disease is Wisconsin Rep. Sean "Dr. No" Duffy, who thinks an "oppressive state" shouldn't tell parents to immunize their children. Savor that bat-sh*t wingnuttery for a moment: what he's saying is that public health officials -- even personal physicians -- represent an "oppressive state." This clown has seven children, by the way, and each of them one day could be carriers of an illness, simply because their dad is a right-wing kook. For those who remember the far-right crusade against fluoridation that was boosted by the likes of the ultra-rightwing John Birch Society, this is a reboot of the same science-denying, paranoid, anti-public mindset that threatens us all.
BONUS: We'd like to quote, at length, Charles Pierce's take on the matter:
Coming after Chris Christie's similar comments over the weekend, it is now incumbent upon us to ask whether the anti-vaccination theories are on their way to becoming one of those conservative conjuring words, like "Keystone XL pipeline" or "school choice." This is especially true since both Christie and Paul have framed their remarks with boilerplate conservative defenses of parental rights and personal freedoms. So is the measles virus the new handgun? Will dozens of sick kids in California join dozens of dead kids in Connecticut as the price we have to pay for our freedoms? Are we going to Teach The Controversy on this one, too. Is this, like The Bell Curve was for Andrew Sullivan and The New Republic, Open For Debate? It's one thing to dance away from science on global warming. It's quite another to have one of our only two political parties line itself up against medical science. If the voices in your head and the clamor of your own ambition can drown out the simple fact that we had measles defeated in this country in 2000, and now, after a long stretch of know-nothing propaganda, measles are back with a vengeance, then you can quite simply use politics to defeat public health in the lives of us all. For a physician like Rand Paul, the son of Crazy Uncle Liberty (!), who also is a doctor, lending your credibility to the quack healers of the Internet bespeaks a certain contempt for learning that has become all too common.
