Rep Andy Biggs (R-AZ), a $10 million winner in Publisher’s Clearinghouse sweepstakes in 1993, (video of Biggs receiving congratulations from Dick Clark and Ed McMahon), wants to gamble with your health and safety now.
Steve Benen reports, An Arizona rep wants the WH Coronavirus Taskforce ‘disbanded’?
In recent weeks, few states have struggled more with the coronavirus crisis than Arizona, where infection rates are soaring to tragic heights. Maricopa County has had it especially rough, with far more cases than any other county in the state, and roughly half of Arizona’s COVID-19 fatalities.
On Capitol Hill, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) — chair of the right-wing House Freedom (sic) Caucus — not only resides in Maricopa County, he also represents part of it in Congress. Given the public-health crisis in his community, common sense suggests the GOP lawmaker would focused almost entirely on addressing the pandemic.
It’s against this backdrop that the Arizona Republican issued a curious statement this morning.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) on Thursday called for the White House to dissolve its coronavirus task force so that health officials like Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx are prevented from contradicting many of President Trump’s “stated goals and actions” when it comes to the economy.
The written statement, published online as a press release, is largely about the latest monthly job totals — which appear encouraging at first glance, but which come with all kinds of discouraging caveats:
As the New York Times reported this morning, ahead of the BLS release, the latest figures were “compiled in mid-June, before coronavirus cases began to surge in Arizona, Florida and several other states…. Economists fear that layoffs could accelerate now that California, Texas and other states have begun ordering some businesses to close again.”
Among the caveats to keep in mind: there are misclassification errors, the numbers on permanent job losses are awful, and the data on public-sector job losses in state and local governments is a serious problem.
Paul Krugman added, “Basically, job gains in May and early June were a false dawn, driven by a reopening that wasn’t sustainable [because] we hadn’t controlled the pandemic. Today’s report will be a monument to delusion, not an indicator of success.”
Nevertheless, Biggs’ statement added that it is “imperative” that the president not be “undermined in his mission to return our economy to greatness.” The far-right congressman complained that Fauci and Birx “continue to contradict many of President Trump’s stated goals and actions for returning to normalcy,” which in turn causes “panic that compromises our economic recovery.”
The Republican concluded, “It’s time for the COVID-19 task force to be disbanded so that President Trump’s message is not mitigated or distorted.”
So to recap, a congressman from Arizona, representing an area that’s being brutally slammed by a deadly pandemic, wants to see the White House Coronavirus Taskforce eliminated — not because the fight’s over, but because the public-officials who help lead it are interfering with Donald Trump’s misguided happy talk.
Mr. President, drinking bleach and injecting Lysol won't make it disappear. https://t.co/ZMchGWGX9W
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) July 1, 2020
Andy Biggs’ position would be tough to defend under normal circumstances, but given the conditions in his district, his position seems absolutely bonkers.
Steve, Steve, Steve … Arizonans have known that Andy Biggs is “absolutely bonkers” for years. He is a rank embarrassment to this state and should have been sent packing long ago.
Biggs is clearly spending way too much of his time watching Trump state media propagandist Laura Ingraham who Calls Anthony Fauci ‘Medical Deep State’, and Attacks Dr. Fauci for Warning Congress About Ongoing Pandemic Resurgence: He’s ‘Working for the Biden Campaign’. That Aryan fascist chick is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs insane.
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We can add nutjob Paul Gosar to this ridiculousness. I hope the people in their districts wake up and vote them out. If they value their lives, they will!
I saw a clip of him on Neil Cavuto, Try as he might Cavuto could not penetrate that thick skull. And Biggs seemed to think it’s all a joke.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/andy-biggs-clash-fox-news-cavuto-white-house-coronavirus-task-force-disbandment
Before becoming a Publisher Clearing House multi-millionaire what was his claim to fame? Few things in this world are worse than a suddenly wealthy lowlife.
Step down, Mr. Biggs. You are incapable of doing your job representing the people of your district. You are an embarrassing failure.A dangerous, embarrassing failure.
The nation’s unemployment rate will remain stubbornly higher for the next decade than it was before the pandemic, while economic output will be depressed for years under current tax and spending policy, the Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday. “Employment won’t recover for a decade, CBO says” https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/02/employment-recover-decade-cbo-348240
The economic outlook for the next 10 years has “deteriorated significantly” since the independent budget agency issued its last complete set of projections in January, CBO noted. That illustrates the devastating effects of the pandemic and underscores the reality of a slower economic recovery than the “rocket ship” rebound predicted by President Donald Trump.
CBO assumes that if federal taxes and spending remain in place, the economy will grow rapidly in the third quarter of this year. But compared to earlier estimates, real GDP will be 3.4 percent lower, on average, for the next decade. The annual unemployment rate, which was projected to average 4.2 percent, is now projected to average 6.1 percent during the same period.
Andy Biggs grew up here in Tucson, Arizona. I am totally ashamed of him… God will judge you, Andy Biggs..