#Use Trump to pitch jabs and other commentary

Pandemic journal: Use Trump To Pitch Jabs

“To convince the vaccine-hesitant to get immunized,” President Biden need only “Give Donald Trump the credit he deserves for the vaccines,” argues Marc Thiessen at The Washington Post. Yet Trump’s the only ex-prez not invited to do public-service pitches for the jabs when his “voice could have made the biggest difference” since pro-Trump states have the lowest vax rates even though Operation Warp Speed was “the greatest achievement of the Trump presidency.” But “Biden has tried to play down Trump’s role,” seeking to take credit himself, which “is childish.” Fact is, “an appeal from Trump may very well be the only thing that would convince some of his supporters to get their shots.”

Conservative: Journos’ Dubious Data-Theft Role

At The Wall Street Journal, Holman Jenkins blasts ProPublica’s claim that the “confidential tax records” it recently published show how the ultrarich “sidestep” our income-tax system: By “sidestepping,” ProPublica actually means “legally complying with the code.” If the outlet wanted to propose a wealth tax, it could have; instead, its real “intent” seems to be “fashioning a claim to justify” its possession of stolen records. “Journalism is not a blanket exemption to violate the law,” yet clearly someone stole the data, and “ProPublica decided it would benefit more from participating in the crime than reporting it.” As for the IRS, why hasn’t it issued warnings to taxpayers that their confidential info was released? “Or should we consider the IRS now also an accessory after the fact?”

From the left: A Ranked-Choice-Voting Lesson

Proponents of ranked-choice voting say it encourages candidates to form alliances and campaign civilly, Bill Scher notes at Washington Monthly, but New York City didn’t see that: “The awkward quasi-alliance between [Kathryn] Garcia and Andrew Yang” basically “fizzled in practice,” as Eric Adams won nearly as many votes as Garcia when Yang was eliminated. Meanwhile, Adams “attacked all his rivals without hesitation. He didn’t navigate Ranked Choice Voting with clever machinations. He steamrolled over it with pugnacious bravado. He understood Rule #1 of Ranked Choice Voting: The person with the most first-choice votes wins 96 percent of the time.” Bottom line: “Even in a Ranked Choice Voting system, nothing beats being your authentic self.”

Libertarian: The Push To Limit Free Speech

Facebook’s warnings to users about “extremist” ideas are part of an international push to discourage “communications considered radical” that “looks increasingly like a scheme to narrow the boundaries of acceptable discussion and muzzle speech that makes the powers-that-be uncomfortable,” J.D. Tuccille charges at Reason. In May, the Biden State Department joined the Christchurch Call to Action, which encourages governments to “address the issue of terrorist and violent extremist content online.” Yet that raises “concerns about threats to free speech” that narrow the parameters of discussion beyond what “the Constitution might allow.” Even for those battling violence and extremism, “too many campaigners” seem “eager to turn their efforts into restrictions not just on what people do with their ideas, but also on the range of ideas they are allowed to voice.”

Woke watch: The Military’s Misguided Mission

“American soldiers sit through ‘implicit bias’ and ‘systemic racism’ workshops and are told” the “country they swore to defend is inherently unjust,” while “Chinese soldiers prepare for war,” laments Seth Cropsey at The Hill. The “contortions the military and defense establishment have worked themselves into defending ‘woke’ measures within the armed services” are “astonishing.” But the “Biden administration’s directives have placed them squarely in the midst of an increasingly noxious, nihilistic culture war.” Accepting critical-race-theorists’ claims, for example, that the Constitution is “institutionally racist” leads to “absurdity”: All military members “must be racists for swearing to support and defend an article of white supremacy.” Beware: “Frivolity and sensitivity offer no protection against steel and lead. The former invite the latter.”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board