#Antivaxxers? Not the new left, but often the good old GOP

Rand Paul, aka Squirrel Hair. No word if
vaccinations cause hair like that.

No, anti-vaxxers are NOT left-wing frou-frouers, for those who like to claim this is some moral/antiscientific equivalent to climate change denialists. Both groups of resistance actually are the same, politically — vaccine resistance is growing the most among Repugs:

Pew Research Center polls show that in 2009, 71 percent of both Republicans and Democrats favored requiring the vaccination of children. Five years later, Democratic support had grown to 76 percent, but Republican support had fallen to 65 percent.

Oh, sure, way out on the left, among some Green types, antivaxxerism may ride high, too, but, between members of the two main parties, we see the trends.

That said, this shows the continued rightward move of American politics.

And, as part of that, two putative 2016 GOP presidential candidates, Chris Christie and Rand Paul, actively support opting out of vaccination.

And, in this case, one of them can't even play the favorite global warming denialism card of "I'm not a scientist."

Rand Paul is an ophthalmologist, which entails having a medical degree. Just like his daddy, Ron, who's also got a medical degree and is also an antivaxxer.

It's clear that the acorn here hasn't fallen far from the libertarian tree, and Squirrel Hair is pandering for libertarian voters. Surprised he hasn't worked Agenda 21 in there.

Christie? He's just an idiot, along with attempting his own version of pandering.

Ted Cruz sounds better, right? But, that religious exemption? Depending on how it's defined, it might be stretched all over the place.

Besides, as Cruz and other Islamophobe types know, the law overrides religious exemption claims elsewhere. For example, we don't let fundamentalist Muslim women wear niqabs, let alone burkas (or Paul Burkas) for their driver's license photos.

Besides, to go all Antonin Scalia, show me where any ancient religious book mentions the word "vaccine."

They and their likes remind me of Democrats getting skewered decades ago for saying, "I'm personally prolife, but..."

And, in places like greater Los Angeles and the Disneyland measles outbreak? That means instead of looking at Hollywood-type moms in Beverly Hills, we should be looking at far-righters in the OC for who's not getting vaccinated.

That's even as antivaxxers in that area have turned the denialism volume to 11.

That said, let's not let Democrats off the hook; that increase in Democratic-related support means that support was softer in 2009. Or in 2008, from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

It is the Daily Caller, yes, but, I think it's right in that Clinton and Obama were both hedging themselves for 2008 primary voters — and even more for 2008 Hollywood donors. Because, while the stereotype about Hollywood antivaxxers isn't totally right, it's probably not totally wrong, either.

Halfway related? The Dallas Observer's gonzo Jim Schutze, with whom I have a sort of bromance as a journalist (ONLY that), may not be an antivaxxer, but his strawmen, written twice, on fluoridation make me wonder if he is an antivaxxer as well, especially since he can rail against science except when it seems to support him.

He also undercuts himself as an investigative journalist, when wrong-footed, with various versions of the old "they're saying."

And, he's apparently a JFK conspiracy theorist, too, or at least an "enabler," enabler enough to thank Alex Jones:

Here is what I think is a simple proposition philosophically: If all truth is hidden behind a banner of lies, then all conspiracy theories are true. We should all be damned glad Alex Jones and the soldiers of InfoWars believe in conspiracy, preach conspiracy and are willing to march on the barricades of conspiracy. Who is crazy, Alex Jones on the street behind the banner shouting "no more lies" or the people in the stands staring at the banner believing it is the edge of the world and afraid of falling off?

Of course, old Jim sometimes seems to have his own paranoia complex toward the Dallas Morning News.