Who's Fault Is It Anyway? Does It Really Matter?

In typical form, Congressman Joe Wilson is pointing the finger directly at Barack Obama for the lack of adequate Swine Flu vaccination.

Wilson responded that not only should Obama halt any plans to donate portions of America’s vaccine supply, he should also be held accountable for the government’s lack of preparedness.

“Our first duty is to the United States,” Wilson said. “It’s my concern that actually the H1N1 [virus] was determined to be a threat to the United States – because of what occurred in Mexico – in March.”

As for the vaccine shortage, “This is during the term of the President [Obama], and I believe the president should be held responsible that the government was not prepared, and we have millions of Americans who are at risk today,” said Wilson.

However, the reality of the problem lies in two specific areas. First, the lack of enough reagents at vaccine manufacturers. These chemicals can be used to determine how high or low of a yield you have for your final product. Secondly, there were machine glitches that caused a bottle-neck effect during the packaging process. The CDC and manufacturers have been working on these issues since mid-October.

The speed with which this particular strain of flu virus speed was handled as best as it could have been, aside from a mass quarantine all around the country. Basic preparedness was implemented and the CDC got to work on the vaccines. It was the manufacturers NOT the administration that caused the shortage.

Wilson's rationale is poorly conceived and easily debunked.

And though he speaks of this instance happening during Obama's term, it should be noted that Bush didn't exactly have a sterling reputation when it came to Avian Flu and the preparedness that Congressman Wilson is speaking of. And budget cuts within the public-health sector, as well job loses, have certainly played their part in this as well.

Hey Congressman Wilson, then these cuts and layoff started happening, it was 2008. Who was it that was President back then?

The Lineage Of Conservative Blame

There is a consistant and discernable pattern that any and all conservatives, primarily the fringe players, will use when attempting to cast blame when they have little to no information to go on.

First, they'll blame the Democratic party, liberals, progressives, George Soros, or MSNBC. Maybe the New York Times, General Electric, or even bloggers. It's a mass-blame-game that is designed to distract from their own willful ignorance. They choose not to find the root cause of the issue so they play to their base instincts, as well as the ignorance of their intended demographic, and will use the widest brush to hamfistedly paint a layer of blame on any and everyone with whom they disagree.

Then, there's the hot-button-issue style of blame. It's all the "gays" fault. It's rap music, television, movies, or - in this case - illegal immigrants



More from Media Matters

Of course, those that are insisting that illegal immigration is to blame, or that this is a plot by immigrants, might ought to listen to actual reporting on the swine-flu.

The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States stands at 42. The outbreak also has sickened people in New York, Kansas, California and Texas. Health officials in Michigan said they have one suspected case and five are suspected in New Jersey.

Many of them had recently visited Mexico, including several students at St. Francis who had recently come back from a spring break trip to Cancun.

Then again, they would simply claim "liberal media bias" and bit their thumb at everyone and continue prattling on simply to hear themselfs speak.

Don't Touch Me, I Need You

Oh, the delicous hypocrisy of the Republican party. Texas Gov. Rick Perry seems to have changed his mind about secession.

As a precautionary measure, I have requested that medication be on hand in Texas to help curb the spread of swine flu by helping those with both confirmed and suspected cases of this swine flu virus, as well as healthcare providers who may have come in contact with these patients,” said Gov. Rick Perry. “We will continue to work with our local, state and federal health officials to ensure public safety is protected

More from The San Marcos Daily Record.

I can almost picture Gov. Perry now making a list of things that his state would have lost should they have left the union.