HAD TO KILL THE HILLBILLIES TO SAVE THEM:

If Kirk's virulent anti-vax rhetoric reflects his own evolution from campus free-speech warrior to Trump lackey, it also reflects the extent to which the base of the conservative movement has narrowed in recent years. According to one poll, less than a fifth of Americans and fewer than a third of Republicans say they will never get the vaccine. No matter--the principal task for pundit-operatives like Kirk is not so much to create disciples or persuade the undecided as it is to rack up partisan points with a well-placed and intractable minority. The more Kirk plays up problems with the vaccines that Biden is pushing, the worse Biden looks; by the same token, if the Delta variant draws out the pandemic and stalls the economic recovery, the current administration's approval ratings may sink. That Kirk would stake out what amounts to a pro-death position shows how well he has learned the lessons of today's Republican Party: Everything is a campaign, and one need only preach to the already converted.

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