Meet the next big issue before Election Day:
Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they are concerned about an Ebola outbreak in the United States, and about the same amount say they want flight restrictions from the countries in West Africa where the disease has quickly spread.
A new poll from the Washington Post and ABC News shows 67 percent of people say they would support restricting entry to the United States from countries struggling with Ebola. Another 91 percent would like to see stricter screening procedures at U.S. airports in response to the disease’s spread.
“Those horrible anti-African racists!” Er, 60 percent of Democrats want these restrictions, 76 percent of Republicans, 68 percent of independents.
Some Republican candidates were already making this point:
Mr. Cotton is among a number of Republican Senate candidates calling for a ban on flights from West African countries grappling with Ebola. On Monday, Rep. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican running for the Senate, said he had signed a letter to Mr. Obama calling for travel restrictions. His office also said he had called earlier this year for full funding of the NIH for work on “infectious diseases such as Ebola.” Obama administration officials have said a travel ban would impede aid to the region.
In all likelihood, this will become the next issue where red and purple state Democrats insist they disagree with the administration, but with no real consequence to this decision. Last night Senator Mark Warner said the screening process at airports has been insufficient.
This may suddenly be a very big issue in Virginia:
A woman who dropped by a South Richmond clinic with a low-grade fever Monday found herself being evaluated as the city’s first potential Ebola patient and was transferred to VCU Medical Center last night after being isolated most of the day at the clinic where she had sought treatment.