There are alarming signs that coercion is going to be the tool of choice for the “public-private partnership” when it comes to meeting Joe Biden’s stated goal of mass vaccinations.
With the administration’s push to get the vaccines into the arms of every American now having stalled, there is a dilemma for the one-party government. To some there is only one answer.
Now there will be increasing pressure placed on those who are “vaccine hesitant” to line up, roll up their sleeves, and get “the jab”. Some are already demanding that it’s time to simply force people to comply, or else.
One of them is CNN host Michael Smerconish, who over the weekend used his show to call for such drastic measures. He made it a point to single out “rural more Republican areas” that had excess vaccine inventories citing a New York Times report.
According to Smerconish, “there are far more doses of the vaccine available than there are people interested in receiving ‘the jab’”. He then proceeded to rattle off a list of areas in predominantly red states where there are few takers, and blamed those Americans who are more than likely Trump supporters for undermining national unity and blocking herd immunity.
His solution?
It’s time to do away with the carrot and break out the stick which will be wielded by the troubling alliance of state and corporate power. A frequently used method of government being able to circumvent the Constitution by outsourcing the dirty work to big business.
“Businesses have particular leverage because they can require employees to get vaccinations and restrict public access to private spaces like airlines, mass transit, most sporting and cultural venues, restaurants and movie theaters.“ He said in throwing his support behind state-sanctioned discrimination.
Smerconish also suggested that Biden isn’t being aggressive enough: “Is the president’s reserved approach sending the right message?”
He faulted Biden for showing up at last week’s sparsely attended speech to Congress wearing his black mask, also criticizing Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris for wearing the face coverings that have come to symbolize the party’s authoritarian leanings.
He quickly moved from gentle criticism of Biden and his fellow Democrats and their mask fetish to overtly suggesting that authoritarianism is the solution: “At this point, those who remain unvaccinated are most at risk but, according to the CNN poll, asked about returning to our routines, the group most comfortable with doing so are those who have not and will not get the vaccine.”
He added, “if we want to convince the unvaccinated to do their part, is the best approach to show them those who have had their shots are still wearing masks? Or would displays of our foregone freedoms in a pre-COVID world be more effective messaging? That’s the carrot, here’s another,” throwing support behind Chicago’s new vaccine passport program. “But, if this sort of encouragement fails, there’s also the stick, which could be wielded by the government and the private sector.”
He continued, “Businesses have particular leverage because they can require employees to get vaccinations and restrict public access to private spaces like airlines, mass transit, most sporting and cultural venues, restaurants and movie theaters.”
Smerconish then referred to a USA Today op-ed written by a “former federal prosecutor” who called for those who do not receive the vaccine to be shunned and stripped of their ability to earn a living.
Michal J. Stern wrote:
As a country, America has become too tolerant of half-witted individual autonomy that ignores the existential needs of the vast majority of its citizens.
The left spent four years accusing President Trump of being a fascist but their masks are now off, and it is brutally obvious that none of this is about public health – it’s ALL about control.
It’s hard to see how such an attack on the rights of tens of millions of Americans is going to do much to change their hearts and minds. It is much more likely that those who are already suspicious of the government’s unprecedented vaccination push will only become more hardened in their resistance.
