I Never Thought “Explosive Diarrhea” Would Become a Reason to Vote Blue, but Here We Are

2 min readIt's getting as though every grocery store is a minefield. And now, it looks as though that's going to be an issue in the upcoming midterm elections. From CBS News:The summer was marred by a massive foodborne outbreak that sickened scores of people and the recall of tens of thousands of pounds of imported meat, turning the safety of the U.S. food supply into a topic of national conversation and a political cause. Late-night talk show hosts joked about symptoms that included explosive diarrhea. As a precaution, chain restaurants such as Chipotle and Taco Bell yanked lettuce, jalapeños, and other suspected products from menus. Some food safety scientists blamed the outbreaks on federal cuts to public health. These dynamics collectively have raised questions about whether it's safe to order a salad or burger. Democrats have come out on the offensive, saying voters worried about the safety of the U.S. food supply should oust Republicans in the midterm elections. The Trump administration has countered by accusing Democrats of scaremongering over food safety to score political points."One of the reasons food safety is in the news this year, and people have been rightfully concerned, is the combination of high-profile restaurant names and the absolute colossal number of illnesses," said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, or PIRG, an advocacy group, referring to a recent cyclosporiasis outbreak. "It's thousands of people. It makes it more real."To be honest, the political salience of the recalls is the least important aspect of the situation. The collapse of the government's regulatory capacity—or "the administrative state," as Steve Bannon likes to intone—is the story. The Supreme Court has done its part, as has been the case of many of this administration's depredations, in its decision in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises vs. Raimondo,which threw out the 40-year old "Chevron" doctrine and, with it, the independence of regulatory agencies. But deregulation—and its idiot stepbrother, "self-regulation"—has been a Republican fantasy ever since the New Deal. All the current president has contributed to deregulation is to put incompetents in charge of it. Hence, the country starts hearing ominous music every time we walk into the produce section.