Conservative mouthpieces and lawmakers have been frantically shouting about the lack of centralized control needed to lead fight the Ebola outbreak. Right-wingers seem to forget that Republican lawmakers blocked an Obama-selected Surgeon General nominee, reported ThinkProgress. GOP obstruction is now killing people.
President Obama nominated Dr. Vivek Murthy for U.S. Surgeon General last November. However, because Murthy was outspoken about how he intelligently considered the American gun problem to be a health issue, the conservatives blocked his nomination, locking in the incumbent, Boris D. Lushniak.
Although Murthy told a Senate committee that he wouldn’t use his position as Surgeon General to bolster his personal political views, the Republicans, controlled by the NRA, blocked the nomination. Since the Ebola outbreak, a petition has been circulating intended to convince lawmakers to confirm Murthy.
“The federal official that should be leading the charge to educate the American people and medical establishment to keep us all safe is NRA-blocked surgeon general nominee Dr. Vivek Murthy,” read the petition. “It is more important than ever that we have a level-headed surgeon general in place who can calmly communicate with the American people.”
GOP obstruction has been the largest, if not only, reason for Congress’s lack of progress. Their illogical stubbornness has prevented several good laws from getting passed, creating the perpetual deadlock in Capitol Hill. This time, however, their stubbornness and self-interest is actually costing lives.
Obviously, the Republicans care more about their guns, NRA-donated campaign money, and their political standing than they do about protecting and saving American lives. Naturally, however, they will find some asinine way to make this situation someone else’s fault.
