America’s vaccination nightmare: What Christie & Paul’s nonsense is really about

[DonViejo]

Top-tier Republicans both whiffed on the vaccine question. But the reason why stretches well beyond their party

ELIAS ISQUITH

Something happened on Monday, something I expect we’ll see many more times before the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential primary is said and done: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul inadvertently affirmed their critics’ worst assumptions, and earned widespread ridicule from the media in the process. But something else happened that day, something I also expect we’ll see repeated in the years to come: All of the attention devoted to these two politicians’ missteps distracted us from what still remains one of the most important political development of our time — the pervasiveness of a crude, anti-social understanding of American individualism.

Before we get to the bigger issue, though, let’s start with Christie and Paul’s screw-ups (which were superficially alike but meaningful for different reasons). Christie’s flub came first. In response to a New York Times question on child vaccinations, which have been a source of controversy for years, Christie went against the vast majority of medical professionals by delivering an answer that could be described as either uncharacteristically nuanced — or a blatant act of pandering. “It’s more important what you think as a parent than what you think as a public official,” said Christie, who claims his own children were vaccinated. “I also understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well,” he added. “So that’s the balance that the government has to decide.”

If you keep in mind that a recent, highly publicized measles outbreak has been attributed to parents who believe there’s a link between autism and vaccinations (there is not), and consequently refuse to inoculate their kids, you should not be surprised to hear that Christie’s comments were not well-received. The Democratic Party slammed him, of course. But he earned finger-wagging and derision from ostensibly nonpartisan media figures and GOP operatives, too. In fact, the criticism became so vociferous and widespread that the National Review was moved to publish not one but two posts that halfheartedly defended Christie and lamented that damned liberal media. By the end of the day, Christie’s office had “clarified” his remarks, saying that the governor “believes vaccines are an important public health protection.”

more
http://www.salon.com/2015/02/04/americas_vaccination_nightmare_what_christie_pauls_nonsense_is_really_about/

[ChosenUnWisely]

1. Anyone who got sick from a anti vaxxer should sue them for damages

People need to start suing them, take em to civil court and make em all poor.