While the rot at Fox News that led to the network shutting down any criticism of George Soros and Neil Cavuto hysterically pronouncing that hydroxychloroquine is going to kill you may seem new, Shepard Smith (along with Chris Wallace) really pioneered what we are seeing.

The liberal ‘anchor’ spent the better part of the last five years on repeating left-wing talking points and expressing his disdain for anything related to Donald Trump. He also had a penchant for calling out his own colleagues who didn’t show what he considered to be a sufficient amount of political virtue. With his ratings crashing, the situation became untenable and Smith left, eventually signing on at the more obscure CNBC.

Now, Smith is at his new job and demanding to know why we can’t just lock down for another 111 days.

CNBC’s Shep Smith to Dr. Fauci: “Why can’t we” impose "an 111-day lockdown" like Melbourne? pic.twitter.com/OA9nvOBDc9

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 28, 2020

Smith, in typical fashion, describes the number of coronavirus cases and tries to parlay that into a reason why we need to have another extended lock down again. The question is presented in a demeaning way, as if the United States is inferior to other countries because we won’t seal people in their homes over a virus that can not ultimately be contained. Never mind that it’s largely not dangerous to those under 50, so why are we at least not talking about targeted mitigation instead of these draconian measures?

You’ll be less than shocked to find that Fauci is a huge fan of the idea of another long lock downs, as he praises Australia and says their lock down was “extremely successful.” Of course, those kinds of pronouncements ignore what we’ve seen in Europe, which is that these kinds of temporary delays of the virus are always temporary. Fauci knows this but he’s staked his entire career on lock downs so he’s going to fluff them until the end.

The answer to Smith’s question is obvious, to the point where him asking it shows exactly why he’s not on Fox News anymore. We have a Constitution in this country which forbids the federal government from ordering everyone to lock down. We also have local governments which get to make those decisions of their own volition, which means a hypothetical President Joe Biden hyperventilating on camera about lock downs and masks is meaningless. That seems to supremely perturb Smith, who’s liberal leanings are now fully out in the open on his new network.

Never mind that lock downs have actually been shown to be mostly useless. As I noted, Europe locked down more heavily than any place on earth outside of China literally welding people into their apartments. Yet, they are seeing the world’s largest spike. The continued ignoring of results and science by our supposed intellectual betters is a testament to how useless the media establishment is.

Past Smith though, that Fauci is still beating this drum is very disappointing. This is a man who doesn’t need to be anywhere near the decision making process at this point. Trump needs to fire this guy whether he wins or loses on Tuesday.

(Please follow me on Twitter! @bonchieredstate)