FILE – In this Dec. 5, 2017 file photo, Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., and South Dakota gubernatorial candidate, speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Noem and state Attorney General Marty Jackley are competing for the Republican nomination for governor in the June 5, 2018, primary. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

It’s almost like these northeastern media bubble dwellers are doing everything they can to deflect from their own failures?

The latest example comes via The Washington Post trying to dunk on South Dakota’s governor for not ordering a statewide lockdown amid the current Wuhan virus pandemic.

Washington Post ‘News’ Article Trashes South Dakota Governor For Not Shutting Down State Over Coronavirus https://t.co/QsoWbr1kg9 pic.twitter.com/oAv911XCL6

— The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) April 14, 2020

A purportedly straight news article from The Washington Post was littered with partisan language attacking South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) for not shutting down her state, which has a smaller population and fewer coronavirus cases than most others.

The article’s headline reads: “South Dakota’s governor resisted ordering people to stay home. Now it has one of the nation’s largest coronavirus hot spots.” The details of the article make it clear South Dakota is no New York or California. South Dakota has 868 cases of the coronavirus and six deaths in a state of just under 900,000 people.

The Post’s resident “fact-checker” chimed in to proclaim South Dakota now has one of the nation’s “hotspots” because they didn’t stop people from going to church.

it was ever thus –> South Dakota’s governor resisted ordering people to stay home. Now it has one of the nation’s largest coronavirus hot spots. https://t.co/VPxEHrlDiW

— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) April 14, 2020

What isn’t included in that tweet is that the hotspot in question happened at a meat processing plant, which would have remained open regardless of any lockdown because it’s an essential industry. About 300 people gave the virus to each other at one plant.

Regardless, South Dakota is still doing much better than almost every other state in the union, even when adjusted for population.

“One of the nation’s largest coronavirus hotspots.” In the entire state, 44 people have been hospitalized. A total of 6 people have died statewide. Apparently both common sense and calculators are in short supply at the Washington Post. https://t.co/RyWhegswHv

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) April 14, 2020

The mainstream media are absolutely desperate to find Republicans to go after during this ordeal. Trying to blame Gov. Noem for infections at a meat processing plant that would have been independent of any lockdown order is just asinine, but it lets them deflect from the fact that New York’s response was absolutely awful.

The fact is, the results say that South Dakota is doing better, or at least no worse, than all the other states with shelter in place orders. What’s that tell you? That perhaps social distancing and more moderate measures are just as effective as the draconian lockdowns currently being propagated. Meanwhile, there will be outbreaks in places like that meat processing plant because you simply can’t stop all infections, especially among industries that have to keep going regardless of the virus so people can not starve to death.

The Post’s hit piece was partisan nonsense, but that’s par for the course these days.