Democracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion Republicans refusing to get vaccinated are owning no one but themselves

Columnist|
July 12, 2021 at 3:11 p.m. EDT
President Biden speaks about the covid-19 vaccination program on July 6 in D.C. (Al Drago/For The Washington Post)

What used to be the conservative movement in this country is becoming a death cult. The measure of its power is less in ballots cast than in how many people die needlessly in service of this twisted worldview.

This reality was on view over the weekend in Dallas at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where attendees cheered when Alex Berenson, who has made himself a Fox News folk hero for spreading misinformation about covid-19 vaccines, crowed about the fact that fewer Americans were getting their shots than public health officials had hoped.