Ex-Bush Strategist Boils GOP Obsession With Anthony Fauci Down To 1 Thing

Matthew Dowd, a former strategist for George W. Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign, on Thursday explained why he thinks Republicans are so obsessed with attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“I think this is fundamentally about the attack on science and data, and if it doesn’t agree ― from many of the GOP’s perspective as science or data or knowledge or information ― doesn’t agree with basically their emotional stand, they want to ignore it,” Dowd, now a political analyst for ABC, told CNN’s Erin Burnett.

Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, is “trying to take a rational approach against people who have an emotional place in this,” Dowd continued.

Dowd said GOP lawmakers such as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who has clashed with Fauci on pandemic restrictions, have taken stances that have “nothing to do with liberty or freedom.”

“But that’s where we are when we have reason and rationality on one side and emotional reactions and ideology on the other,” he added.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.