Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is having a banner morning. As I wrote earlier, he released a scathing attack on right-wing opponents of the infrastructure deal last night that presented itself in sharp contrast to his inability to muster any criticism of Joe Biden’s recent actions. Remember, this guy is supposed to be a Republican.

He wasn’t done, though. Cassidy then decided it’d be a great idea to go on CNN with Martha Raddatz (who cried on-air the night Donald Trump was elected). He then proceeded to play to the left by attacking governors who have blocked mask mandates, specifically Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Try not to pull your hair out while watching this.

When asked about GOP governors blocking mask mandates, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana says, "Whenever politicians mess with public health, usually it doesn't work out well for public health and ultimately it doesn't work out for the politician" #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/tvAaDc99Wo

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 8, 2021

“I don’t know if he’s playing politics. I try not to guess other people’s motives. I will say, politicians should not kind of, carte blanche, accept what the public health doctor says, but they shouldn’t by — they shouldn’t just gratuitously ignore it either. There has to be a balance here.

And whenever politicians mess with public health, usually, it doesn’t work out well for public health, and, ultimately, it doesn’t work out for the politician, because public health suffers. And the American people want public health.”

I’m no expert on Cassidy’s past, but a commenter noted that he was a Democrat until 2006, having supported Mary Landrieu. That goes a long way in explaining why he’s doing what he’s doing here. Sometimes a politician can switch parties and have it work out well for voters, but it’s very, very rare. Even then, any good always seems to fade as a politician becomes more comfortable within the beltway.

Regardless, it’s obscene to see a Republican go on a network like CNN with a host like Raddatz to take shots at a highly successful governor like DeSantis. The latter is actually putting his reputation on the line by standing up and being a leader, and in doing so, he’s protecting individual rights. What’s Cassidy doing — except making bad deals with Joe Biden and ignoring the destruction of property rights? And to go on CNN to get these kinds of backslaps? It’s absurd.

Cassidy also used his supposed authority as a doctor in the interview to claim that mask mandates are necessary. His home state of Louisiana recently reimplemented one. Of course, being a doctor does not give a person any special insight into the efficacy of masks, which have proven over and over to be an ineffective means of mitigation. Putting aside the legality of mask mandates or whether they violate people’s rights, they simply don’t work, and the data shows that.

Given that, why obsess over masks? Why go on a hostile network that exists to destroy Republicans and play right into the hands of an extremely biased host?

Something has to happen within the GOP. I’m fine with dissent within the party, but under no circumstances should any Republican be going on CNN to voice that dissent. These were cheap shots by Cassidy. It’s embarrassing, and if he can’t do better than this, he shouldn’t be in the Senate.