The disturbing reason Republicans deny science and embrace measles epidemic

All around the country, Democratic lawmakers are trying to stem the resurgence of measles by tightening immunization laws, efforts that are being rejected by Republicans, Politico reports.

In Washington state, where the current epidemic kicked off and which has one of most severe outbreaks, not a single Republican in the state Senate health committee voted yes on a bill to rein in vaccine exemptions. The bill passed through the committee with just Democratic votes. That scenario was repeated in Colorado and Maine. In those three states, along with three others—Arizona, New Jersey, and New York—efforts to pass legislation making it harder for parents to avoid vaccinating their kids have faced Republican opposition. Republicans are so much on the side of owning the libs by allowing preventable diseases to kill again that they’re trying to weaken strict vaccination laws in West Virginia and Mississippi.

The “reasoning” is depressingly familiar. Here’s Andrew Raia, ranking Republican on the New York Assembly’s health committee: “I’m not a religious leader, and I’m not a scientist either, so it’s my job to weigh both sides.” Not a scientist, so how is he supposed to know whether a century of progress in eradicating dread childhood diseases is a real thing? Next stop, polio.

View the complete April 17 article by Joan McCarter of the Daily Kos on the AlterNet website here.