Fauci!

Fauci!

16 Comments

by: Colorado Pols

Dr. Anthony Fauci.

We interrupt our local political scuttlebutt to bring you this exchange today courtesy CNBC between GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and White House COVID-19 medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, in which Fauci finally unloads on Sen. Paul after many such confrontations in what should go down in history as legendary fashion:

Paul grilled Fauci about an NIH funded study that he says qualifies as gain-of-function research, the process of altering a pathogen to make it more transmissible in order to better predict emerging diseases. Fauci previously denied in previous Senate testimony that the NIH has directly funded the research at a lab in Wuhan, China that has come under intense scrutiny as a possible source of the virus.

Paul, R-Ky., asked Fauci if he would like to retract that statement from the May 11 testimony, “Fauci, as you are aware it is a crime to lie to Congress.”

Sen. Rand Paul, as readers should know, is an ophthalmologist, and on the strength of his degree in eye doctoring has become one of the leading quacks in the ill-informed second-guessing campaign against Dr. Fauci and other qualified epidemiologists who have tried desperately to reduce the death toll from COVID-19 in the United States over the past 16 months. If we were in the position of Dr. Fauci, with a lifetime of experience fighting the world’s deadliest diseases, we would have…much less patience for persons like Sen. Rand Paul than Dr. Fauci has been obligated to show in these hearings.

But not today, folks! With Rand Paul disparaging not just Dr. Fauci’s professional judgment but his personal integrity, the gloves finally came off:

Fauci, who oversees several NIH research programs as director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he wouldn’t retract his previous statement. “I have not lied before Congress. I have never lied. Certainly not before Congress. Case closed,” Fauci said.

He said the study Paul was referring to does not constitute gain-of-function research. “Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly, and I would like to say that officially. You do not know what you are talking about,” Fauci said. [Pols emphasis]

Pushed a little further. Dr. Fauci added for good measure:

“You are implying that what we did resulted in the deaths of individuals,” Fauci responded as he pointed his finger at Paul. “I totally resent that, and if anyone is lying here, senator, it is you.”

It’s a relief to see Fauci has finally had enough of Rand Paul’s inane badgering after 620,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. A more aggressive response to misinformation early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, which to be fair was harder for Dr. Fauci under the previous administration, might have saved lives. Pivoting to the origin of the virus after spending the last year downplaying its severity just underscores Rand Paul’s bad faith.

Belated though it may be, more like this please.

16 thoughts on “Fauci!”

bullshit! says:

July 20, 2021 at 10:46 am

Rand Paul was making an apples to oranges comparison about research he doesn't know shit about. Fauci shot his ass down.

And again: there is no more reason to believe that the virus was made in a lab than there was a year ago. All speculation. If it was, it probably wasn't on purpose because there were no winners from this pandemic.

99.9% of Republicans are too stupid to have serious discussions about any of this.

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1. MichaelBowman says:
  
  July 20, 2021 at 3:08 pm
  
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MichaelBowman says:

July 20, 2021 at 10:49 am

Imagine being a regular-ass person and thinking you know more than a scientist about what the scientist studies?

I have an increasing empathy for Rand’s neighbor. Eventually you arrive at that moment when the pile of twigs becomes too much.

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1. spaceman2021 says:
  
  July 20, 2021 at 11:35 am
  
  Rand Paul is the snarky know-it-all kid who comes late to class, sits in the back, and tries to school the professor, epically fails, and goes home to get hit in the face with rake, deservedly
  
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  1. ParkHill says:
    
    July 20, 2021 at 4:39 pm
    
    AKA a Libertarian.
    
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    1. Duke Cox says:
      
      July 20, 2021 at 8:30 pm
      
      Yup.
      
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notaskinnycook says:

July 20, 2021 at 11:04 am

You just know Fauci had the urge to imitate Paul's neighbor.

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Early Worm says:

July 20, 2021 at 11:59 am

Sen. Paul: Dr. Fauci, it is a crime, punishable up to 5 years in jail, for lying to Congress.

Dr. Fauci: Let me say this, Sen. Paul, you are a liar.

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1. harrydoby says:
  
  July 20, 2021 at 12:39 pm
  
  And Dr. Fauci should have added that Sen. Paul’s words and deeds have added immeasurably to the resulting death toll in the past 16 months.
  
  I don’t think Sen. Paul’s medical/ophthalmology license is still active, otherwise, he could possibly be brought up to the medical review board for at the very least, an ethics violation.
  
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  1. RepealAndReplace says:
    
    July 20, 2021 at 4:26 pm
    
    And lying Republicans with professional licenses have been having a rough time recently…..
    
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unnamed says:

July 20, 2021 at 12:43 pm

“Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly, and I would like to say that officially. You do not know what you are talking about,” Fauci said.

Now THAT is a Fauci Ouchi!

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Diogenesdemar says:

July 20, 2021 at 5:11 pm

The final sign that the apocalypse is upon us?? . . .

'I Believe In The Science Of Vaccination': Fox Hosts Like Sean Hannity Change Tune

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/20/1018501257/i-believe-in-the-science-of-vaccination-fox-hosts-like-sean-hannity-change-tune

. . . or likely just more Hannity poo flung from his monkey cage into the FOX broadcasting fan??

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1. MichaelBowman says:
  
  July 20, 2021 at 5:22 pm
  
  I'm guessing internal polling is brutal on these neanderthals. The vast majority of Americans know exactly where the problem lies:
  
  MAN, as someone said earlier today, the Bat Signal on the right has gone up. People are tripping over their own shells to get the word out. https://t.co/jdxwIjj4yV
  
  — Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) July 20, 2021
  
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  1. Diogenesdemar says:
    
    July 20, 2021 at 6:05 pm
    
    Or, maybe it’s simply amazing how fast these FOXers and Friends can move when it’s their stock portfolios, and their corporate owner’s stock values, that are starting to contract a virus???
    
    Tonight, however, emergency rooms all over red state’s Umerika have got to be filled to the brim with uninsured FOX-induced-whiplash victims and those on Medicare?
    
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2. kwtree says:
  
  July 20, 2021 at 10:58 pm
  
  Maybe they finally figured out that it’s a bad idea to kill off your own viewers and voters by misinforming them.
  
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  1. gertie97 says:
    
    July 21, 2021 at 11:10 am
    
    A kick in the share price will do that to a propaganda network, which doesn't give a shit about the health of its viewers.
    
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