For the first time in a long while, politicians are now working together from both parties to protect the public. However, it seems like even a global pandemic will not be enough to stop North Carolina politicians from embarrassing our state. A certain senator committed an act of financial scumbaggery and would very much like it to be covered up by the panic and confusion of the coronavirus.
Sen. Richard Burr is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and being part of that committee allows Burr to know the real dangers the American people may face. He assured the public in an op-ed on Feb. 7 that with the tools the government had to protect us from COVID-19, America was better prepared than any other country (a statement that aged like fine milk). So why would any person who assured the public that we would all be safe be telling a different story to all his wealthy friends?
On Feb. 27, he told members of the Tar Heel Circle, a group of businesses and organizations with a $500 – $10,000 membership fee, to prepare for the worst. Burr warned that COVID-19 “is probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic” and to “be cognizant of the fact that you may have to alter your travel. You may have to look at your employees and judge whether the trip they’re making to Europe is essential or whether it can be done on video conference.” He warned of potentially having to call in the military and close schools to deal with the crisis, something that we would learn three weeks later.
But it gets much worse than lying to the public. Burr also took the time to profit from the pandemic. On Feb. 13, Burr sold between $628,000 and $1.72 million of his holdings in 33 separate transactions. Almost all of the stocks were companies that have been heavily affected by the pandemic. Those stocks are now worth half of what they were when he sold them. You could maybe, somehow make an argument that lying to the public was the best scenario to prevent anarchy and panic in the public. But what possible kind of argument can you make for financially profiting from a pandemic?
Burr has gone on Twitter to mount a defense. He calls the NPR piece that initially reported the secret a “tabloid-style hit.” His defense of insider trading when asked by NPR was eloquently crafted by his spokesperson, Caitlin Carroll, as“lol.” What a perfect argument; it really shows how much he cares about the public. Twitter seems to agree, as his feeds are now filled with remarks such as “resign” and “got any stock tips?”
He knew the dangers that we were going to face. He knew how dangerous and ill-prepared we were for the coronavirus. Yet he stayed silent. Instead of warning us weeks ago to be prepared, potentially saving millions of people from being infected, he told some wealthy donors and dumped hotel stocks. There is only one thing he should do now: face the music and resign. If he has any shred of pride or any respect and love for us constituents, he should resign immediately and turn himself in for prosecution.
We should be ashamed and furious that a financial parasite would stay silent and use this time of panic to better himself rather than protecting the people. This is not a Democrat problem; this is not a Republican problem; this is not a Libertarian problem; this is not any party problem. This is a problem with our politics that needs to be shamed and thrown away for good. We should not be letting him get away with this in all the chaos that COVID-19 is causing. If Burr continues to refuse to resign himself, then we need to force it. A man like that can not be allowed to continue staying in his office and not face prosecution for the crimes he has committed. Richard Burr needs to resign.
