On the floor of the U.S. Senate Monday, a rather tense scene developed between mask-shaming Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and the presiding officer Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). As Brown began virtue-signaling speaking, he requested that Sullivan wear a mask. Sullivan refused, stating he did not need guidance on coronavirus safety tips from Brown.
It went downhill shortly thereafter as Brown used his opportunity in the spotlight to allege, without evidence, that Republican leaders don’t care about public health:
Brown said the moment was emblematic of a Senate where “there isn’t much interest … in public health.”
“We have a majority leader who calls us back here to vote on an unqualified nominee and, at the same time, to vote for judge after judge after judge, exposing all the people who can’t say anything … and expose all the staff here,” said Brown, referring to potentially spreading the coronavirus to staffers. “The majority leader just doesn’t seem to care.”
Watch:
.@SenSherrodBrown: "I'd start by asking the presiding officer to please wear a mask as he speaks…"@SenDanSullivan: "I don't wear a mask when I'm speaking, like most Senators…I don't need your instruction." pic.twitter.com/WQH04hCD53
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 17, 2020
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) got wind of the exchange and took to the Twitter machine to express his unvarnished opinion on Brown’s “idiotic” conduct, calling him a “complete a**” who was making a show of himself by wearing a mask during his speech while no one was anywhere near him:
This is idiotic. @SherrodBrown is being a complete ass. He wears a mask to speak—when nobody is remotely near him—as an ostentatious sign of fake virtue.@DanSullivan_AK was over 50 feet away, presiding. Last I checked 50 feet is more than 6 feet. https://t.co/BoIGrAV7T1
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 17, 2020
Several hours later, CNN White House correspondent and fellow mask shamer John Harwood did his best to rescue Brown and dunk on Cruz in a quote retweet by reporting that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) had announced Tuesday he had been exposed to the coronavirus and was quarantining as a result:
Chuck Grassley, an 87-year-old colleague of Ted Cruz, was on the Senate floor yesterday
Grassley has just announced he was exposed to coronavirus and has gone into quarantine on the advice of doctors https://t.co/8YFhbklJV0
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) November 17, 2020
The only conclusion that could be drawn from Harwood’s tweet is that he was trying to somehow blame Sullivan’s non-mask wearing for Grassley’s situation and Cruz via extension, which is not only incredibly stupid but also ill-informed.
Grassley has been tested for the virus and is currently awaiting results, but assuming he has it the likelihood that he just got it yesterday while in the Senate is slim to none:
If Grassley has just tested positive the likelihood is that he already had it for several days because that's typically the timeframe COVID shows up in testing, but yes, let's blame Cruz and Sullivan anyway. So sick of the deliberate misinformation from media figures. https://t.co/89WShZ91rT
— Sister Toldjah 😁 (@sistertoldjah) November 17, 2020
No indication that he was exposed on the Senate floor or any relation at all to what Cruz was talking about. So once again, revealing your own bias and being a Dem operative.
— Nickarama (@nickaramaOG) November 17, 2020
Beyond that are the countless, and I do mean COUNTLESS instances of Democrats speaking in the House and Senate who either don’t wear a mask at all when giving speeches or who pull their masks down below their chins when doing so. Fascinating how Brown neglected to mention them in his rant decrying a supposed lack of concern for the well-being of others from Republican Senators.
But what made Brown’s diatribe particularly despicable and hypocritical was how – in contrast to slamming Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for allegedly “not seeming to care” about those around him – Brown conveniently overlooked Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s actual double standards on mask-wearing, which were on full display during a “victory” party held on New York City streets in the aftermath of the election:
Democrats want you to follow their rules.
But don’t follow their rules themselves.
Here’s @SenSchumer breaking these rules just last week! pic.twitter.com/b8Xpd6tQsx https://t.co/kleNtbXfC5
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) November 17, 2020
Strangely, Harwood did not see fit to revisit the issue of mask-wearing nor the possibility of how Grassley might have been exposed to the virus, not even when the two-faced Schumer implored Senators to start wearing them on the floor:
Schumer begins his floor remarks imploring senators to wear a mask on the floor, in the aftermath of Grassley being exposed to someone with covid and a back-and-forth between Brown and Sullivan. Social distancing, in particular, has been rare on the floor: https://t.co/uxMYMcYebn
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 17, 2020
And if they have to wear them on the floor, will Schumer call for them to be worn in the hallways, too? Because if not …:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), without a mask, walks through the corridor before today's Facebook/Twitter CEO hearing. pic.twitter.com/lYTVMEa3Dw
— The Recount (@therecount) November 17, 2020
I have a theory on one of the reasons we’re seeing more mask defiance in Democratic states like California. People are simply fed up to HERE with the “do as I say, not as I do” mentality of Democratic politicians and their obedient water carriers in the media, and have decided if the rules don’t apply to “leaders” then the common folk don’t have to abide by them either.
Can you really blame them?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member