Washington Post torched on Twitter after complaining health officials have limited powers: 'Medical fascism’

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A new Washington Post report slammed "conservatives and libertarians" on Wednesday for working to legally block future pandemic lockdowns and other epidemic related mandates after seeing their effects during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The paper accused them of engaging in a "populist rejection" of pandemic measures that have left American’s public health institutions "defanged" and unprepared for a subsequent pandemic.

Critics of the Post and severe COVID-19 protocols brutalized the piece on Twitter, claiming the public health institutions promoted "medical fascism," which prompted the conservative pushback.

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The Washington Post was blasted for accusing conservatives of rendering America unready for the next pandemic. (Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The article, titled, "Conservative covid backlash handcuffs public health, pandemic response," began by expressing a frustration that state lawmakers won’t be able to institute lockdowns and quarantines at will during a pandemic thanks to lawsuits from conservatives. 

It stated, "When the next pandemic sweeps the United States, health officials in Ohio won’t be able to shutter businesses or schools, even if they become epicenters of outbreaks. Nor will they be empowered to force Ohioans who have been exposed to go into quarantine. State officials in North Dakota are barred from directing people to wear masks to slow the spread."

The article, by Lauren Weber and Joel Achenbach, made the complaint, "Not even the president can force federal agencies to issue vaccine or testing mandates to thwart its march."

It then blamed right-wingers, saying, "Conservative and libertarian forces have defanged much of the nation’s public health system through legislation and litigation as the world staggers into the fourth year of covid. At least 30 states, nearly all led by Republican legislatures, have passed laws since 2020 that limit public health authority."

The story hammered the point that "health officials and governors in more than half the country are now restricted from issuing mask mandates, school closures, and other protective measures or must seek permission from their state legislatures before renewing emergency orders," thanks to conservatives.

The outlet claimed their movement "successfully tapped into a populist rejection of pandemic measures following widespread anger and confusion over the government response to covid," and insisted that because of it, the public health system in America is "a battered patchwork system that makes it harder for leaders to protect the country from infectious diseases that do not care about red and blue state borders."

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Seattle Mariners fans walk past signs for the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, Tuesday, May 4, 2021, during a clinic held at T-Mobile Park before a baseball game between the Mariners and the Baltimore Orioles in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Conservative critics responded on Twitter, hitting back at the Post. 

RedState writer Bonchie tweeted, "Bro, the Post is complaining that health officials won't have the power to forcibly quartine people and close schools in some states. Imagine being that addicted to medical fascism."

Conservative commentator Jarrett Stepman wrote, "So the assumption here is that we should be in a permanent state of emergency, where the ‘public health system’ keeps us in masks and lockdowns forever."

Reason associate editor Christian Britschgi mocked the paper, saying, "Sorry your permanent state of emergency didn’t happen."

Conservative outlet The Daily Signal flamed Washington Post’s tweet accompanying the story, writing, "The magical part of this tweet is it gets worse each time you read it."

Columnist Jesse Ramos wrote, "Imagine having ‘Democracy Dies in Darkness’ as your slogan, and then openly resenting power being taken away from unelected bureaucrats and then calling the elected officials who did it, the fascists. how can anyone take these people seriously?"

Substack journalist Jim Treacher remarked, "This is amazing. You guys are on another planet."

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Conservative radio host Jesse Kelly pointed out, "One might read a headline like this and ask why a ‘public health system’ ever had fangs to begin with. If one wasn’t a communist."

COVID-19 Coronavirus molecule, March 24, 2020. (Photo by CDC/API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)