Picking on a Wisconsin boy

William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection is picking on Wisconsin boy John Nichols (sorry about that), whose only crime is to be a tinfoil hat “progressive” who yesterday accused Republicans of cutting pandemic preparation funds from the “stimulus” bill:

…key congressional Republicans — led by Maine Senator Susan Collins — aggressively attacked the notion that there was a connection between pandemic preparation and economic recovery.

Now, as the World Health Organization says a deadly swine flu outbreak that apparently began in Mexico but has spread to the United States has the potential to develop into a pandemic, Obey’s attempt to secure the money seems eerily prescient.

And partisan attacks on his efforts seem not just creepy, but dangerously short-sighted.

But not as short-sighted as Nichols’ foolish “attack.” After listing a number of other liberal writers who echoed the same accusation, Jacobson writes:

As I pointed out yesterday, this was all a lie. The Bush administration did extensive planning for a flu pandemic, and spent tons of money. The Collins objection to including non-stimulus spending in a stimulus bill was irrelevant to our pandemic preparedness.

And not just a lie, but a lie even the New York Times and DailyKos are rebutting.

To all this I say: stop arguing with them. If, as I expect, the swine flu will turn out to be a whole lotta nothin’, then Republicans end up looking right, and anyone attacking them ends up looking like an idiot partisan hack.

Remember Congressman Sensenbrenner (another Wisconsin boy), who voted against Katrina relief money because there was no accountability, got vilified for that vote, and then was proven right when the stories of fraud reached critical mass.

And if I’m wrong – if swine flu does become a deadly pandemic, leaving the few survivors struggling to survive in a world gone Mad Max – well, then, liberals, go ahead and gloat. I can take it.