Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Democrats Play the Race Card

It was only a matter of time.

With huge portions of the American population on “lockdown” thanks to the coronavirus crisis and COVID-19 cases spreading rapidly, Democratic lawmakers have decided that a national emergency isn’t bad enough — it’s time to talk about racism, again.

And if that means federal health officials need to take valuable time counting irrelevancies so Democrats can continue playing identity politics in the face of a life-and-death enemy — get used to it. It’s what Democrats do — and there’s likely to be plenty more of it.

In a letter sent Friday to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, first reported by The Associated Press, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, both Massachusetts Democrats, demanded that health officials compile demographic data to identify COVID-19 cases so the all-important matter of skin color can be addressed.

“Any attempt to contain COVID-19 in the United States will have to address its potential spread in low-income communities of color, first and foremost to protect the lives of people in those communities, but also to slow the spread of the virus in the country as a whole,” the lawmakers wrote. “This lack of information will exacerbate existing health disparities and result in the loss of lives in vulnerable communities.”

The letter was also signed by Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey as well as Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois.

Explosive House report exposes failures it says allowed Epstein’s abuse to continue for years

GOP lawmaker ousts fellow Republican in gerrymandered California district

When the Pharmacies Are Empty and the Clinic Is Closed, Here’s the Kit Americans Keep Ready

Texas’ Democrat governor-elect has vowed to impose ‘emergency’ day-one policy and more top headlines

‘SNL’ writer’s sister vanished — now her boyfriend and rival face charges in deadly love triangle

Trump defends Pentagon chief as Massie targets him: ‘Hegseth should be praised, not impeached’

Reporter’s Notebook: House leadership up for grabs as GOP reckons with devastating losses

Thune forges ahead with leadership elections despite calls for post-midterm reckoning

Somali daycare CEO tied to fraud scandal wins Minnesota House seat

Trump calls on Senate to confirm remaining 25 judges amid Arkansas senator friction

Trump says deportation push hasn’t put ‘same pressure’ on farm workers, hotel staff: ‘Not even close’

Red counties with data center projects swung away from GOP in midterms, analysis finds

Trump DOJ shores up anti-abortion groups’ support amid bid to salvage $1.8 billion Planned Parenthood lawsuit

Official Who Waged War on DEI Out at DOJ

NTSB recovers cockpit voice recorder from Learjet crash site in Florida

On its surface, the idea isn’t radical. In any contagion situation, finding out who is most vulnerable to infection is an important step to managing the health risks.

But accepting that as the motivation behind Pressley and Warren’s letter would require accepting that leftist Democrats were making a good-faith effort to help the country grapple with a crisis of truly unprecedented scope.

And literally nothing Democrats have done in recent years has given rational Americans a reason to grant them the benefit of the doubt in matters of race or anything else.

While lots of liberals weighed in to support the idea — out of naivete or cynicism — there were plenty of social media users who understood what was really going on:

Of course they are. Because they are race baiting, modern day Al Sharptons.

— Pablo Escobar (@pluglife2020) March 31, 2020