On Tuesday Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress he was concerned over rising infection rates in certain states. On Wednesday, with Laura Ingraham on her Fox News show, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick took issue with his analysis.

“Fauci said today that he’s concerned about states like Texas that skipped over certain things. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. We haven’t skipped over anything. The only thing I’m skipping over is listening to him. He has been wrong every time on every issue. I don’t need his advice anymore.”

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Patrick’s comments mirror what has been an evolution on attitudes toward Dr. Fauci in recent months. At first he and Dr. Deborah Birx were lauded as professionals saving the country from a deadly infection. But as states opened up and the duo lost power and influence, Fauci has begun to lash out politically at states, mostly GOP voting states, that have noticed his swerve toward authoritarian edicts and thus ignored him. Fauci has recently doubled down on his partisanship by specifically telling people not to attend Trump rallies and events.

Dr. Fauci said little to nothing during riots and memorial services where rioters and attendees refused to social distance. Those events did not meet with his public disapproval. But the president’s upcoming 4th of July Mount Rushmore celebration does. The double standard against the president is glaring.

Fauci is also cautioning on public events in Florida, Arizona, and Texas. Perhaps not coincidentally, all those states are GOP states or GOP-leaning battleground states. This further erodes public confidence in the physician’s credibility.

Taking Fauci’s counsel, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has jumped two steps back in the reopening process: “At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars. The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health,” he said as he signed an order restricting alcohol sales at bars. This is a move no doubt applauded by Fauci.

“We are now having 40-plus-thousand new cases a day, I wouldn’t be surprised if we go up to 100,000 [cases] a day if this does not turn around,” Fauci said Tuesday at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing. “I am very concerned.”

Fauci redundantly told lawmakers he was “quite concerned” about the rise of infections in states like Texas, Florida, California and Arizona, which have now become hot spots for virus infections because of increased testing. He said the states have seen more than 50 percent of new infections in the U.S and suggested some have been “skipping over” reopening guidelines. But some lawmakers question his wisdom.

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In detailed analysis, the numbers put out by the doctors have been seen to be highly selective. If five states, the west coast and New York and New Jersey are factored out and people over 65 and with preexisting conditions are also taken out of the infection rates, the infection and mortality numbers fall by much greater than 50 percent. Thus, the vast majority of Americans have never been at risk from this virus.