So, I'm sure by now you have probably caught the interview Senator Rand Paul gave on CNBC when he hushed the woman reporter (who's name escapes me) while giving the following opinion on vaccinating our children (I'm paraphrasing):
"I believe that vaccines are good, but you have to respect the opinions of others. After all, the government doesn't own our children, their parents do)."
Does this type of response look familiar? It should, it is a typical strategy Republicans love to use - dangling a carrot in front of lunatics, because they are most likely to vote, most likely to volunteer and most likely to write checks. Some thoughts about this:
1. Just to make clear, we just saw this same strategy at work with elected Republicans courting the birther-racist-psychotics. Think about it. Senator McConnell says, "Well, I believe that the President was born in the US, other people are entitled to their opinions." What is this? It's big-tent politics gone all wrong. Big tent is based on values - and I'm sorry, but being crazy is not a value, it's just being crazy.
2. Another even more recent example: Reince-your-mouth-out-with-soap Preibus and a bunch of other GOP leadership take a publicized trip to Israel with a bunch of clearly self-described Christian zealots, many of whom are on public record, over and over again, of believing that the US should be an officially Christian nation, and (even worse) that all sorts of other religions from Judaism to Mormonism are all not legitimate in the eyes of God. One assumes the zealots paid for the trip, and are writing all sorts of other big checks. Hey Reince, guess what: Giving the US government an official religion is unconstitutional. Against. The. Law. But then, what do you expect from the party that makes it a policy to stop entire groups of people from voting because that helps them win elections?
3. And so, on to the vaccine issue. And, again, Rand, Crisco Christie, et. al., grasping at a right wing talking point (in Christie's case he doesn't have a lot of them) so as to get those votes and that money. Never mind science: That doesn't matter, this is politics we're talking about. But then, this is the party that has a decades long history of fighting science: Flouride in the water was a communist plot in the 1950's, and evolution was socialism in the 1920's.
And never mind law - that apparently does not matter either.
So, I'd like to take my conservative (and supposedly constitutionalist) friends to task here. The Constitution says rights are not absolute. I am not a lawyer, but I do recall that very early on in our history, the Supreme Court created a precedent for when rights are not absolute called "clear and present danger." Here's an obvious and overstated example: You have the right to free speech, but you don't have the right to stand up and create a panic in a crowded place (like shouting "Fire" in a movie theatre).
So Rand, here's the deal. Yes, the government does not own our children. But, disease can kill thousands of children - and those with vaccines have, historically, killed thousands every year. Children congregate in school, camp, on the playground, etc. So, if your child is susceptible to one of these horrible, dangerous diseases because they did not get vaccinated, then that is clearly creating a "clear and present danger" to the rest of the children in their communities. Your child has to have a physical before starting school every year for the same reason. This is not to relive the momentary controversy over vaccinations. That ship has sailed, and unless this is the most badass conspiracy ever, the science is abundantly clear that vaccinations are overwhelmingly safe. In fact, the message here is that government intervention is badly needed to enhance and enforce vaccination laws.
These people are crazy, paranoid, and the law needs to stop them. Do we need an outbreak of polio and hundreds of kids in iron lungs again to get this point across? Science is clear, but people are notoriously paranoid. The lives of my children, my neighbors children, and any child are far more important than your political agenda. When it comes to science versus politics - science wins.
Am I making my self clear, Rand? And you're a doctor? So, you, Christie, and the rest of the mighty-mite GOP candidate brigade should be out there making the conservative version of the case for vaccinations, as this really has no business in politics at all. But you've decided that the business of politics matters more. Until you figure out how dangerous and stupid that is, do us all a favor and shhhh, as in "shut up."