Don’t fire Fauci; just keep him in his lane

Rather than limit their interviews to the subject he is actually an expert in – namely infectious diseases — the media treat Fauci like he’s the Official Expert on Everything.

Patriot Retort

There is a social media brushfire calling for President Trump to fire Fauci.

Naturally there’s even a #FireFauci hashtag. Because there’s always a hashtag.

Yesterday, President Trump retweeted someone who posted a video clip of the latest episode of the Dr. Fauci show from CNN.  Included at the end of this person’s tweet was the #FireFauci hashtag.

And the blue checkmark nitwits from the corporate news media went wild.

They landed on that retweet as if it was proof — PROOF I tell you! – that President Trump was planning to fire Fauci.

They’re still sputtering and panicking over it. Ten bucks says #FireFauci will be the first question asked at today’s briefing. Because reporters are idiots who are so invested in palace intrigue, nothing else matters.

Now, it’s true quite a number of people want Trump to fire Fauci. Some of them are Q-level hysterics who are finding deep state conspiracies behind every word Fauci says.

Others have more valid concerns.

For instance, early on Fauci made some statements that later proved to be wrong – like telling Americans that our risk of the Wuhan virus was low or assuring us that it was no more serious than the flu.

But Fauci, and Dr. Birx for that matter, could only work with the information they were given.  And China wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the truth.

Another valid criticism was over the faulty models. There’s no doubt the investment in the early “models” was an egregious error, and one we’re paying dearly for today.

For me, I have my doubts about the claims that he’s some deep state coup-plotter looking to bring down the President.

I do, however, object to the outsized platform Fauci has been given by the news media.

They are the ones who are promoting Fauci beyond his area of expertise.

Rather than limit their interviews to the subject he is actually an expert in – namely infectious diseases — the media treat Fauci like he’s the Official Expert on Everything.

The partisans in the news media are desperate to use the Wuhan Panic as a way to destroy President Trump. And it’s clear to me they believe Dr. Fauci will be the perfect guy to bring that about.

They’ve spent weeks trying to drive a wedge between him and the President. They ask loaded questions in hopes Dr. Fauci’s answer can be used as a bludgeon against Trump. And they’re not exactly subtle about it.

It is the media who insists on asking Fauci questions on subjects he really isn’t qualified to answer.

This is the problem with much of the news media coverage about, well, everything.

These are the same guys who brought on people like Anthony Scaramucci or that gelatinous oaf George Conway to offer “expert” opinion on Trump’s impeachment trial.

They’re the ones who invited on actor Sean Penn to discuss the government’s response to the Wuhan pandemic.

It’s what the media does.  They elevate people to the realm of “Expert” who aren’t experts at all.

So is it any wonder that the media decided to turn an immunologist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases into the go-to guy on how we as a nation get back to normal after the overblown panic that very guy had a hand in creating?

As I pointed out in my post “Herr Doktor Fauci says ‘Show us your papers,” Fauci admitted that the economic and societal impact of shuttering the country to stop the spread didn’t factor into his pandemic response plan.  Yet the media still expect him to give solutions to the disastrous fallout his plan unleashed on us.

I think it’s safe to say Dr. Fauci hasn’t got a clue how to do that. But the media insist on asking him anyway.

Now, Fauci could just say to them, “Listen, I’m a virus guy.  I’m not an economist or an expert in public policy. And I’m certainly no Constitutional scholar.  It would be inappropriate for me to weigh in on this.” But he doesn’t. Instead, Fauci veers out of his lane and fields every stupid question these cable news personalities toss his way.

But he’s human.  It’s human nature to get caught up in that kind of attention. It’s a big boost to one’s ego to suddenly be in the spotlight — having reporters hang on your every word. Plus, he’s a doctor and we all know how egotistical doctors can be. So it doesn’t surprise me that Fauci decides to opine on every topic tossed his way.

And that’s the problem I have with Dr. Fauci.  He’s being forced out of his lane by an eager, hungry media. And for some reason, he just goes along with it.

Of course it’s starting to make folks angry.

Here’s a guy who is used to dealing with formulas, tests in a lab, hypotheticals and models. But Fauci’s experimental world is plowing headlong into the real world — with terrible results.

As Jesse Kelly put it this morning:

That’s pretty much the nub of it.

Millions are losing their jobs; businesses are going bankrupt.  We’ve been cooped up in our homes for nearly a month – all on the advice of a man who is not an expert in everything, but is treated as if he is.

As I said on Saturday, on the words of Dr. Fauci, governors and mayors are putting citizens under house arrest, banning church services, and arresting people for the crime of venturing out for a breath of fresh air.

And when the models Fauci relied on turned out to be wildly overblown, rather than shift gears and adjust their so-called “solutions,” elected officials just keep going full steam ahead with the overreaction.

But that’s what happens when a virus guy is expected to be the Official Expert on Everything.

I don’t think President Trump needs to fire Fauci.

I just think Fauci needs to get back in his lane.

Trust me.  He’s got plenty to keep him busy – like overseeing the development of antibody testing and an inevitable vaccine.  That’s his wheelhouse.  I’m sure he’ll do a great job at, you know, his actual job.

But the Wuhan Task Force should be focused on balancing public health with the health and well-being of a twenty trillion dollar economy.

And in that regard, Dr. Fauci was never qualified to be the tip of that spear.

Yet that is exactly where the news media, not to mention too many Governors and Mayors, have placed him.

When Trump talks about working toward reopening the country, the media’s response is to rush to Dr. Fauci for his opinion.  What the hell would he know about it?

Earth to the news media, blindly following Dr. Fauci’s suggestions are exactly why our economy and society are in an absolute turmoil.

But see, for the media and the Democrat Party, turmoil is just what the doctor ordered.

Because their goal is not getting a pandemic under control while seeing to the larger, long-term health and well-being of the nation.  Their goal is to A) defeat Donald Trump and B) exploit the turmoil for their own political agenda.

And in that game, the corporate news media are using Dr. Fauci, not an expert, but as a useful idiot.

Dr. Fauci’s role needs to be clearly defined for him.  And it is President Trump’s job to do that.

That doesn’t mean Trump has to fire Fauci.  He just needs to tell him to stay in his own very narrow lane.

No matter how much the partisan hacks in the media want to drive him off course.