Is the Right Splintering on Anti-Vax?
The Biden administration has a rare opportunity to push a necessary message to a hostile audience as the right splits on vaccination.
Nothing is more characteristic of the United States in the 21st century than a scientific triumph being undermined by partisan polarization and cultural war foolishness. The Covid vaccines have been a scientific marvel. Initially the United States was (along with Israel) at the forefront of getting its population . But now the vaccination rate is stalling.
The reasons for this are complex but one major source of vaccine hesitancy is partisan polarization. As Vox reported earlier this month, "According to Civiqs’s polling, 95 percent of Democrats are already vaccinated or want to get vaccinated, while just 50 percent of Republicans report the same. The share of Republicans who reject the vaccine hasn’t significantly budged all year, remaining in the range of 41 to 46 percent.”
These numbers are dismaying but they also suggest that the Republican Party is not so much unified against vaccines as divided on the issued. Plenty of Republicans, especially seniors, have gotten vaccinated. A few Republican politicians, most prominently Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have spoken out in favor of vaccines. So have some right-wing pundits like Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Alas, McConnell and Hannity have been drowned out by the anti-vax din, especially from Hannity’s colleagues at Fox. Tucker Carlson, in particular, has worked assiduously to elevate anti-vaxxing voices, using a “just asking questions” pose while doing so in order to create plausible deniability.
In a July 16 report, Media Matters noted:
Fox News has relentlessly undermined the effort to get Americans vaccinated against the COVID-19 disease. From June 28 through July 11, 57% of segments about coronavirus vaccines on the network included claims that undermined vaccination efforts.
Amid a push from the Biden administration and medical officials to increase vaccination rates, Fox News has repeatedly fearmongered about and downplayed the need for continued vaccination campaigns.
Fox, under pressure from critics like Media Matters and even some former employees, is changing its tune. So are some others on the right. The fact that the Delta variant is surging and the stock market is jittery has no doubt encouraged this shift.
In Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall collected some examples of new found courage among pro-vaccination Republicans:
Fox News hosts go full vaccine.
Hannity Monday night: “I can’t say it enough. Enough people have died. It absolutely makes sense for many Americans to get vaccinated. I believe in science, I believe in vaccine science.”
Chris Ruddy, owner of Newsmax, announces Biden is doing a totally awesome job with the vaccines which are great.
After months of stalling Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R) gets vaccinated, calls it “safe and effective.”
To be sure, this shift isn’t across the board. Tucker Carlson remains the same old swine, playing a dishonest game of slyly entertaining anti-vax ideas without quite affirming them.
The deepening split on the right is an opportunity for the Biden administration to take its message to an unfriendly audience. When your enemy is engaged in an internal conflict, it’s wise to try and bolster the side you want to win.
Politico reports the White House is actually uncertain what to do with Fox:
As President Joe Biden scrambles to convince hesitant Americans to get the Covid-19 vaccine, his White House has largely steered clear of Fox News, the major cable news outlet whose opinion hosts and guests have been spreading unsubstantiated fears about vaccinations.
Some allies of the White House have encouraged it to be more energetic in engaging with Fox. I agree but it needs to be done selectively and carefully.
Normally, I would say it is a fool’s errand for Democrats to engage with Fox or believe the right can be shamed into decency. But in this case, the key thing to keep in mind is neither Fox nor the right is monolithic.
There are people inside Fox who believe that being seen as anti-vax is a liability. But there really is no reason to go on Carlson’s show. He’s a purveyor of fraud and the source of the problem. But it makes perfect sense to have more Democrats and non-partisan experts go on Fox daytime shows and on Hannity. The goal here is not just to reach Fox viewers amenable to a pro-vaccination message but also to highlight the divide within the network and isolate the anti-vax voices.
The same principle applies to politics. Engage with and elevate pro-vaccination voices like Mitch McConnell. As for anti-vax Republicans like Senator Rand Paul and Senator Ron Johnson? There will be plenty of time to remind voters about them in the mid-terms.
Divide and conquer is good politics. It could also be good public health policy.
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