67-year-old Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX) died from COVID-19 on Sunday night, according to Fox News and the Dallas Morning News. He is the first sitting congressman to pass away from the virus.
May he Rest In Peace. I hope, but do not expect, that his death will be a sobering example to his colleagues on the Republican side of the house.
I’m struck by the fact that this is the first I’ve heard of his illness. I wonder how many other Republican congresspeople or staffers have been ill. Dem reps announce right way- although I’m not confident we’re getting a full tally on staffers- while GQP’s policy of covid denial means they avoid making any announcement unless the have to.
So…any fantastically ironical public statements from this guy? I mean, he’s a Texas Repug who died from the Chinese Virus. They have to be out there.
I don’t know what this rep’s stance or statements on Covid were, but I have a hard time mustering compassion for any Republican who dies from this virus, after all that party’s done to exacerbate the mass death and debilitation we’ve experienced.
I am sincerely torn here. While this is just awful and I am sorry for him and for his family, there is still a piece of me that says, well, you play with fire you are asking to get burned.
(Of course, I am assuming that he followed the GQP maskless crowd. Because, well, freedum…)
I don’t know this man and I am not going to assume he took unnecessary risks. COVID is a viral lottery. I know a friend of my wife’s who did not leave her home for 9 months until she finally ventured out once to do some shopping and was hospitalized with COVID a week later. Two more nurse acquaintances of ours (one of whom my wife had worked with for 10+ years) died from COVID last week. This is just an ongoing tragedy, and we are still stuck in neutral thanks to the complete disregard and lack of planning of the Trump organization. We are one week away from the GOP saying this is Biden’s pandemic now with daily reports on each and every death by FOX and “experts” saying Biden is fumbling the response.
Every once in a while I just want to scream without blame.