Tom McClintock: Stop lying about Covid-19, and wear a mask!

As Covid-19 cases spiral out of control, we’re reminded every day of the very real stakes of this painful, awful virus, and the abject failure of Donald Trump and his apologists in Congress. Among the California congressional delegation, the most irresponsible, anti-science, Trumpian voice has been Rep. Tom McClintock (R-04).

In early June, as Covid-19 cases and deaths were beginning to escalate, McClintock urged people to file complaints with the Department of Justice against city and state public health directives. Then, on the cusp of the spike in cases we’re seeing across the country, McClintock said “(experts) substantially overstated the severity of COVID-19.” To top it off, when told by Rep. Jerry Nadler (NY-10) to wear a mask during a congressional hearing, McClintock replied that “I consider masks much more effective at spreading panic and much less effective at stopping a virus."

The stakes are too high for ideologues like McClintock to continue misleading the public with dangerous misinformation. For those like McClintock who disparage government action to stem the spread, there is an imperative to take personal responsibility, starting by wearing a mask to protect others.

Tell Tom McClintock to stop lying about Covid-19, and wear a mask

As Bob Dylan sings, “to live outside the law, you must be honest.” In the case of Covid-19, being honest means acknowledging the danger of the disease, and the effectiveness of measures to confront it -- like wearing a mask.

While ignoring the severity of the disease and peddling misinformation, McClintock voted twice to deny relief to Americans who have been harmed. The first time was out of supposed concern for people who might “game the system” to get paid emergency leave or food aid for seniors, while saying nothing about Trump family-connected businesses gaming the system to take millions intended for small business relief. McClintock objected to helping people the second time because he said it would add too much to the debt, while staying silent about the mushrooming annual deficits caused by his vote in 2017 to slash corporate tax rates.

Unfortunately, McClintock’s practice of putting ideology before health, science, data, common sense and the common good is his standard operating procedure. In the case of Covid-19, lying about the facts and common-sense protective measures -- like wearing a mask -- means more people dying.

Tell McClintock to be part of the Covid-19 solution and wear a mask.

Thank you for taking action!