Pandemic party? California Republicans must respect coronavirus threat, cancel soirée

Update: The California Republican Assembly, in a tweet late Saturday, canceled the conference.

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death,” a group of nobles gathers for a fancy ball during a plague. Thinking themselves immune to infection, these elites arrogantly throw a party. Unfortunately, they soon discover, they have trapped themselves in close quarters with the deadly disease.

The California Republican Assembly (CRA) would do well to review Poe’s chilling tale. Despite emergency declarations due to the coronavirus pandemic, the political organization plans to move forward with a large gathering of over 200 people in Tulare County next weekend.

To make matters worse, the group’s leader is publicly deriding coronavirus concerns as “an overreaction,” according to a story by Politico’s Carla Marinucci. CRA Executive Director Carl Brickey told Marinucci that, despite the public health emergency, CRA won’t cancel because “it’s not warranted at this time.” He says the group has advised elderly and ill attendees to use their “best judgment.”

“What’s going to happen when we truly have a public health crisis?” Brickey asked, rebuffing coronavirus concerns. “People will just go, ‘Oh jeez,’ and they won’t take it seriously.”

The Visalia conference will feature speeches from conservative figures like former Trump advisors Steve Bannon and George Papadopolous. Brickey, dismissing the advice of doctors and scientists, said CRA members have a “historical perspective” because they lived through past outbreaks of SARS and swine flu.

But the 2003 SARS outbreak infected less than 30 Americans. So, there’s no comparison to the coronavirus, which has already infected at least 2,600 Americans and killed 56, including two elderly people in the Sacramento area.

The 2009 swine flu outbreak infected 61 million Americans and caused 12,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Scientists fear the new coronavirus could kill up to 1.7 million Americans in the worst-case scenario.

One preventable death is one too many. That’s why Americans are uniting in a national effort to slow the spread of the virus through “social distancing.” By taking steps to limit close contact and reduce the COVID-19’s communicability, we can “flatten the curve” and make sure hospitals don’t get overwhelmed.

Other countries, like China and Italy, witnessed waves of death after failing to act in time. That’s why our leaders have sounded the alarm. Thankfully, Americans of all political stripes – from the blue coasts of California to the bluegrass of Kentucky – have responded.

Handwashing has replaced baseball as the national pastime. Universities and schools have canceled classes. Gyms and yoga studios have moved to online classes. Small businesses and conference planners are suffering big financial hits but still doing their part to slow the spread.

By slowing the spread of the infection, scientists say we can help make sure hospitals don’t get overwhelmed with seriously ill patients.

“SOCIAL DISTANCING!” tweeted President Donald Trump, who emphatically embraced urgent action this week after previously dismissing the coronavirus as a “hoax.” The rising death toll, along with a plunging stock market and COVID-19’s arrival at his Mar-a-Lago retreat, changed his mind.

The CRA apparently missed the memo. Brickey’s decision to scoff at patriotic efforts to lower the death toll is reprehensible, and his insistence on pressing ahead with his conference is grossly irresponsible.

Only fools mock caution during a pandemic. Just ask Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who jokingly donned a gas mask in the U.S. Capitol then had to quarantine after coming into contact with infected people. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel downplayed coronavirus worries last week. Now she’s being tested for the virus after developing flu-like symptoms.

Several attendees at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) had to self-quarantine after coming into contact with an infected person. Why risk a repeat here?

The gathering can wait. California Republicans will not revive their image by creating potential coronavirus vectors during a deadly pandemic. For the sake of public health, CRA must stop the denial, respect public health and postpone the soirée.

Editor’s note: This editorial has been updated with information about CPAC’s experience with potential coronavirus exposure, as well as CRA’s decision to cancel the conference.

This story was originally published March 15, 2020 at 11:21 AM.