Democrats seriously drive me crazy when they think they have some kind of purview over science.

These are the same people who push all kinds of anti-scientific ideas when it fits the political narrative they are trying to push.

So when I saw what the Democrats were pushing in regard to the Vice Presidential debate, it just made me laugh my head off.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), the Democratic candidate for Vice President, was insisting that the social distancing be increased from a close-to-normal seven feet to 13 feet apart from Vice President Mike Pence and that’s fine, albeit excessive.

But then on top of that Harris was also insisting upon plexiglass barriers in between the two candidates.

According to Politico, Pence’s people mocked that. “If Sen. Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it,” Pence’s spokeswoman, Katie Miller said.

But now they’ve put up the plexiglass barriers that the Harris people wanted and it’s really hilarious.

Good morning from inside the site of tonight’s Pence-Harris vice presidential debate. pic.twitter.com/MIKbhO4u8w

— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) October 7, 2020

Oh my gosh, seriously? You think that’s a barrier? That a virus is going to be prevented by that? Maybe if someone spit right in front of the plexiglass, it might stop it, but short of that, a virus isn’t prevented by that, it’s airborne and it doesn’t move in only a linear path.

This makes Harris look not only ridiculous but really silly if she thinks these provide any real protection. It’s especially funny, given the Democrats’ hatred of walls, as well as the claim that walls are “racist” and don’t work.

From CBS:

Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., a co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, told the Washington Post in an interview that Pence’s campaign said “if Senator Harris feels safer to have two plexiglass dividers up, we have no objections.” [….]

The senior official added that CDC guidance recommends plexiglass whenever 6 feet of distance isn’t possible, but tables at the debate are more than 12 feet apart.

So the virus is supposed to hit that little plexiglass and give up lmao https://t.co/GRmAHLB6Zj

— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) October 7, 2020

RIGHT NOW on our NYT live election briefing:

“Those plexiglass barriers are really only going to be effective if the vice president or Kamala Harris are spitting at each other,” said Ellie Murray, an epidemiologist at Boston University.

“Those are really just splatter shields.”

— Lauren Wolfe (@Wolfe321) October 7, 2020

So in other words the plexiglass is unnecessary and dumb when they’re that far apart according to the CDC, but wouldn’t protect much anyway given how it’s set up.

But again, this seems more like an attempt to make a political statement, to stigmatize Pence although he’s tested negative. Assuming they have no other interaction, they’re 13 feet apart, so the likelihood of getting anything seems pretty small. Safety theater.

HT: Twitchy