A Tactless Question

 

There’s no doubt in my mind that in our country partisanship has slipped fully into madness. A lethal disease, 800,000 dead Americans and rising, with new and what appears to be highly transmissible variants, is sweeping the globe and the nation, and while safe, effective vaccines are plentiful and free, the base of the country’s right-wing politics refuse to be immunized against this plague.

The data is clear, the more a district or county supports the GOP the lower is vaccination rate and correspondingly the higher its fatality rate from COVID-19. This is not conjecture it is observed fact. It is a reasonable extrapolation that throughout the nation the excess death due to COVID-19 are falling disproportionately on those most dedicated supporters of the GOP.

In the United States between Gerrymandering and self-sorting the majority of congressional are non-competitive with Urban districts solidly Democratic and rural ones solidly Republican, leaving suburban and exurban districts the battleground upon which control of the nation is determined. Small swings of voters in turn out or intention can switch control of the district between the two parties.

Question: Is the disproportionate death among the right-wing base enough to meaningfully impact electoral results among suburban and exurban districts?

I do not know the answer to that. I have neither the data not the statistical skills to derive an answer but it do not think, however tactless, that the question is frivolous.

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