Conservative opposition to universal healthcare may be proving a real pain for them at this point. An individual infected with the Coronavirus attended the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where they exposed a slew of prominent Republicans to the illness. A couple, including Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Rep. Paul Gosar (Ariz.), have responded to possible exposure by placing themselves under voluntary quarantine. But the list of possibly exposed prominent Republicans goes well on from there, and it even includes internet personalities Diamond & Silk, who’ve enjoyed times in the spotlight like repeated shout-outs from the president himself and a chance to testify before Congress about baselessly supposed censorship of conservative voices.
Here are some of the other people who may have been in the green room on Thursday afternoon at the same time as the CPAC #coronavirus infectee:
– Rep Louie Gohmert;
– Ronna McDaniel
– Michael Knowles
– Kay James
– KellyAnne Conway
– Betsy Devos
– Rep Matt Gaetz
– Diamond/Silk— Raheem Kassam (@RaheemKassam) March 9, 2020
The confirmed exposures of Cruz and Gosar place the attendee in the conference’s green room in the same timeframe as a list of speakers for the event, including Diamond & Silk among many others, like Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and longtime top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway. The irony is that at venues including that very conference, the president and his defenders have been claiming that negative Coronavirus coverage is just a ploy to smear the president’s oh-so-good name, but as should go without saying — it’s not a conspiracy.
Panic has reached the height of a decline in the stock market this Monday morning that was so sharp that trading was temporarily paused altogether. Price and income uncertainties have plagued industries like travel and oil as the virus has spread around the world. In the U.S. alone — despite Trump’s claims of a conspiracy against him — Coronavirus cases have shot up to more than 550, and 21 people and counting have died. The virus has been reported in the majority of states (and even Washington, D.C.).
Federal responses have so far included the recent approval of $8 billion in emergency funding to deal with the situation. That money is going towards projects like the production of masks and other supplies. A vaccine is coming, but it wouldn’t be ready for months — although it may become very relevant if the Coronavirus ends up something that pops up on a semi-regular basis, like the ordinary flu.
