Who knew that the coronavirus could catalyze an intensified form of partisan politics? Yet here we are…

It’s been a little over a month since the first two Floridians tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, and every day brings new cases and more deaths across the state.

The 24-hour cycle also brings the formation of “pandemic politics,” the genesis of an atmosphere that breeds ignorance, finger-pointing, and the proclivity to capitalize on the coronavirus.

Democrats like Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried continue to blame Governor Ron DeSantis to score political points with her base, but is the criticism warranted? Is DeSantis to blame for the growing cases? What about the rising death toll?

Absolutely not. Here’s why.

The Wet Markets Bred COVID-19

The origins of COVID-19 are as clear as day. December’s inception of the disease was found in all patients who had connections to a wet market, the Huanan Seafood Market, in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

“Wet markets,” as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, are places “for the sale of fresh meat, fish, and produce.” These unsanitary markets also sell exotic animals, such as bats, crocodiles, and other “wildlife” that are killed on site. The term “wet” comes from the water that splashes out of the tubs on the floor and mixes with the fresh blood that runs from the stalls.

These loosely regulated, adjacent markets are stationed outdoors, crowded along city streets offering a variety of perishable meat for consumers. These complexes are squeezed together, with illegal wildlife being stacked on top of each other as they are slaughtered on demand.

But this isn’t the first time that wet markets led to a deadly virus.

Like the coronavirus, the SARS outbreak in 2003 also originated from wet markets. Though the pandemic killed far fewer people, SARS resulted in 8,098 cases across 29 countries. And while the coronavirus has resulted in more deaths and more economic repercussions, it won’t be the last destructive virus if wet markets are allowed to continue.

As the Wildlife Conservation Society put it, this “pattern will keep repeating itself until we ban, not only in China but in other countries, the sale of wildlife, specifically for food and in food markets.”

“Poorly regulated, live animal markets mixed with illegal wildlife trade offer a unique opportunity for viruses to spillover from wildlife hosts into the human population and for viruses to exchange viral components amongst the multiple species being traded creating new viruses with new host spectrums.”

Wet markets birthed this terrible disease that has led to 336,851 cases and nearly 10,000 deaths. But a communist government weaponized it.

The Chinese Communist Party Covered It Up

As the pandemic sweeps across the Florida ending lives and livelihoods, one fact continues to get overlooked by mainstream media outlets in the state: Communist China has blood on their hands.

From the start of the global outbreak, China has sought to manipulate numbers and silence whistleblowers to coverup how this worldwide plague came to be.

In the age of globalization and mass communication, China could have prevented the spread of the virus the moment they found about the cases. China’s rulers made that impossible. Starting in December, communist authorities cracked down on anyone talking about the coronavirus.

According to an article published by USA Today, a doctor, Li Wenliang, 34, attempted to warn his colleagues about the virus but was quickly detained and admonished by police for “making false comments on the internet”.

“When a brave doctor warned his peers online, he was summoned by police in the middle of the night and forced to write a “self-criticism” — a classic communist method of silencing dissenters that forces them to confess supposed crimes.”

Shortly after, Li, a Chinese ophthalmologist who worked as a physician at Wuhan Central Hospital, returned to work and contracted the virus from an infected patient. He would later succumb to the disease, triggering a national backlash over freedom of speech and censorship that continues to be suppressed in the communist country.

But Li wasn’t the only one. Others in China also tried to speak out.

Xu Zhangrun, a Chinese law professor, rebuked the Communist Party and President Xi Jinping for how they handled the initial outbreak.

“They all blithely stood by as the crucial window of opportunity to deal with the outbreak of the infection snapped shut in their faces,” he wrote, citing that China’s need to control information prevented the country from limiting the spread of the coronavirus.

The essay, published online February 10, was immediately taken down. Xu was placed under house arrest, cut off from the internet, and scrubbed from all social media sites, The Guardian reported.

In addition, three journalists also attempted to shed light on the coverup. They shared the information on social media before disappearing shortly after.

Since their disappearance, China has attempted to put a positive spin on the virus, using propaganda and media coverage to convince citizens that the virus is under control.

All five attempted to inform the public but were halted by the authoritarian country, proving that communism is as deadly as the virus.

The Mob Swept It Under The Rug

Unless you’ve been practicing social distancing on the internet, chances are you’ve witnessed the onslaught of left-wing media outlets trying to pin the coronavirus, and the subsequent deaths, on DeSantis, President Donald Trump, and other Republicans.

The mob started their attack weeks ago when Fried, the only Democratic cabinet member, started this snowball effect, calling on DeSantis to implement a mandatory stay-out-home order last Friday.

I want to recognize the difficult choices @GovRonDeSantis has made during this #coronavirus crisis.

Data shows Florida is a week behind California in #COVID19 cases. So, I’m asking the Governor to issue a statewide “stay-at-home” order.

This difficult decision will save lives.

— Commissioner Nikki Fried (@NikkiFriedFL) March 21, 2020

Fried followed this up with another tweet, continuing to virtue signal two days later to show how much she cares — as if DeSantis didn’t.

2 days ago, I asked @GovRonDeSantis for a statewide #StayAtHome order.

In those 2 days, Florida has 294 more #COVID19 cases & 3 more deaths. Meanwhile, more states & cities asked citizens to stay home.

Governor, the sooner we act, the more lives we save. https://t.co/FnRF4gOk18

— Nikki Fried (@nikkifried) March 22, 2020

Of course, this was just the start of a larger effort to tarnish the progress made by DeSantis.

Following Fried’s political posturing, the Miami Herald decided to join the peanut gallery, wrongfully labeling DeSantis in an editorial as a “timid leader” who doesn’t “give a damn” about the lives lost from COVID-19.

Tough @MiamiHerald editorial: “Coronavirus is killing us in Florida, Gov. DeSantis. Act like you give a damn” https://t.co/9OCd3QuHX5

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 22, 2020

Other elected leaders also joined in on the liberal dogpile. Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz used the opportunity to falsely handcuff DeSantis to an early death total, calling the governor a “failure” for not closing down all of Florida’s beaches.

For weeks, Fried and other Florida Democrats called on DeSantis to implement a stay-at-home order for the state. DeSantis initially proceeded with precaution, refusing to issue an order that could bankrupt the economy. At the behest of the White House, however, he signed an executive order last Wednesday requiring all Floridians to “limit movement and personal interactions outside the home.”

Even after issuing a stay-at-home order for Florida, Democratic leaders continued to lambast the governor after initially showing support for his decision, falling back into partisan politics in an attempt to score political points.

But this was just the tip of the iceberg.

At the beginning of the weeks, reporters at several left-leaning websites targeted DeSantis for Florida’s unemployment system that has been bombarded with claims, resulting in thousands of Floridians unable to file for unemployment. Most notably, Peter Schorsch wrote an article blaming Senator Rick Scott for the current state of the unemployment system that has resulted in thousands in the state being unable to file for unemployment.

“Scott was allegedly less interested in helping the unemployed as they searched for new work than he was in painting a (potentially false) image of a booming economy,” Schorsch wrote.

He continued, placing the culpability on Scott — and potentially DeSantis.

Schorsch, of course, is talking about the state’s unemployment website that continues to crash as an influx of new applicants hit the internet. The surplus of those filing for unemployment comes as new data from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) showed jobless claims in the state of Florida more than tripled, with 227,000 Floridians filing for unemployment last week.

But Schorsch, like all the other liberal media pundits, is only searching for a scapegoat — when China is the true culprit.

On the surface, it’s easy to blame administrations — past and present — when every day brings a set of new challenges and no remedy to defeat the invisible enemy exists. Unfortunately, the truth is more complex.

Inflating Scott’s crisis with DeSantis’ is the highest form of incompetence that is as easy as picking the lowest hanging fruit.

This isn’t comparing apples to oranges; it’s comparing apples to Orange County.

The Manual To Defeat It Doesn’t Exist

Contrary to public opinion, no “how to deal with COVID-19” guide exists. There’s no cheat code to make it go away, and every action will require a noticeable trade-off for Floridians.  No country, including the U.S., has ever been dealt such a hand before, and many in the political arena are forgetting this.

While the court of public opinion says DeSantis and others are “doing it wrong,” many onlookers are offering very little when it comes to substantive solutions.

It’s easy to say that issuing a stay-at-home order earlier would’ve saved lives, although ZERO data suggest this. What data we do have, however, is the countless lives — yes, economics equals life — that is being ripped apart from this virus.

While you sit on your soapbox and tweet 280 characters that you think are profound, know that with every stroke someone who committed their life-savings just lost their business.

And here lies the problem.

The left is thinking about this in short-term economics. In reality, nobody can compute the longterm implications of us sheltering in place. Not one person in the world knows what happens when you run this experiment.

The left’s tone, fingerpointing, and grandstanding is a problem, especially given the circumstances and emotional toll that DeSantis has to endure on a daily basis. While Democrats continue to say they care, Desantis is the one fighting in the belly of the beast — wielding a double-edged sword that has lasting consequences for public health and the state economy, depending on the direction and force with which he swings.

DeSantis has a daunting task. Balancing society’s fear with one of the largest economies in the world where small businesses are the lifeblood of Florida — making up over 99 percent of all businesses in the state. Every action handed down from DeSantis could have lasting consequences. A rush to judgment before tangible evidence is disclosed is a sentence that isn’t justifiable.