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Another Professional Hit Job in Florida
We are watching the latest effort to execute a political hit job on a man who is tremendously qualified to be the next surgeon general in Florida. And the actions against him are an embarrassment to the state, to science, and to the ethics of medicine.
The action I’m referring to is an upcoming hearing, conveniently scheduled on Tuesday, as part of the process to approve Dr. Joseph Ladapo to be surgeon general. (I’m suggesting the timing of this information is not a coincidence.) The story begins when Dr. Ladapo first applied for a professorship at the University of Florida College of Medicine, and received a recommendation from his supervisor at UCLA. In a two-page letter to the university, Dr. Carol Mangione, chief of the division of general internal medicine and health services research at UCLA Department of Medicine, listed his credits:
She noted his ‘outstanding research and clinical teaching accomplishments,’ which led to his promotion to a tenured associate professorship in 2020 for his distinguished contributions to the division.
‘In summary, Dr. Ladapo is an outstanding clinician scientist who is building a reputation as a nationally known researcher conducting important work in the area of evaluation of cardiovascular technologies and related areas of outcomes research for underserved populations,’ Mangione wrote to the UF selection committee.
But three months later, when Gov. DeSantis selected him to be Florida’s next surgeon general, and it became clear that both men were generally in concert regarding COVID policy, Dr. Mangione refused to support him:
‘No. In my opinion, the people of Florida would be better served by a Surgeon General who grounds his policy decisions and recommendations in the best scientific evidence rather than opinions.’
But her real reasons for rejecting him became clearer:
Mangione said Ladapo’s opinions about COVID-19 had upset his research and clinical colleagues and subordinates who believed they were ‘contrary to the best scientific evidence available’ about the pandemic. She said they felt his views ‘violated the Hippocratic oath that physicians do no harm.’
It appears that other powers were at work to cause her withdrawal of support.
There’s no question that Dr. Ladapo refuses to cave in to the pseudo-science that has dominated the COVID scene. He has fought the schools and other mainstream scientists, especially when he joined a group called America’s Frontline Doctors that took contrarian views on treatments and medications.
Dr. Ladapo has responded to his former supervisor’s criticisms fairly and professionally:
Ladapo said in a phone interview that good science requires respect for all perspectives.
‘It’s OK to disagree, and I’ve had no problem with disagreement, but what has been really disappointing is how disagreement has become a ticket or a passport to activate personal attacks,’ Ladapo said Thursday. ‘It’s just sad, it’s not scientific and it’s disheartening.’
In my view, it’s more than sad. It’s unconscionable.
Finally, he made three major points about his plans for public health. This point was especially powerful:
The second thing that I plan to be sure is very clear in our policy making is that we’re going to make it very explicit, we’re going to be very explicit about the differences between the science and our opinions. We all have opinions. We all have a perspective and we are absolutely entitled to those perspectives.
What’s been happening over the past year is that people have been taking the science and they’ve been misrepresenting it. They’ve been using the science and it’s been unclear when the discussion about the science ends and discussion about how you feel about the science and what you want people to do with the science begins. That will never be a problem here. That’s never going to be something that we do here. You’ll know when we’re talking about data and you’ll know when we’re talking about our opinions, our impression, our preferences about the data. That will always be clear here. You can count on that.
Dr. Ladapo will appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections on Tuesday, which would be his last stop before his nomination goes to a full floor vote.
I can’t help wondering if there is a racial component to the Democrats rejecting Dr. Ladapo—an illustrious, educated black man prepared to defy the Left and support a Conservative governor–with their history of attacking black Conservatives.
Published in Politics
I thought that guy was confirmed in Sept 2021. What’s happening next week? The linked article is paywalled.
The yahoo link provides much of the same detail. He was selected by DeSantis last September but is just now coming up through the confirmation process. After next week, it’s not clear when it will go to the full floor.
Dr. Ladapo is Black and Nigerian-born. Irrespective of his credentials (in his case they include an MD from Harvard Medical School, a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard Graduate School, training from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Internal Medicine, and Board Certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine), I believe that his race and origin–alone–render him immune from criticism.
Why is this not the case here?
So you’re suggesting that my point about racism must be misguided. Just want to be clear.
No. Simple racism is certainly a possibility. But perhaps there’s more to it here. Perhaps there’s an anti-immigrant component as well… Just as, in much the same way that black Americans who don’t hew to the party line aren’t really “black” (didn’t Joe Biden say exactly that?), then perhaps immigrants who won’t kowtow to Democrat demands can’t ever be Americans at all? No matter what color they are?
Shameful. Practitioners of “woke” medicine will not abide a difference of opinion. Are we going back to “bleeding as healing”?
Are Democrats racist? Of course. It’s their defining feature.
Now that is an interesting take! I’ll mull that one over. Thanks.
When they need to be.
Wow.
That’s about as impressive as it gets in matters of public health.
This is sounding like some of the amazing scientists who got bounced from professional and academic status because they dared to question the evolution dogma.
Something is rotten in the world of science these days.
It’s not racism. It’s the politicization of the pandemic.
Leftists are Leftist First, and everything else later, even “anti-racists”. To the people who see life through the lens of race, even race takes a back seat to Leftism. That’s why they attack black conservatives.
Being conservative negates being non-white, being LGBTQ, being pro-illegal immigration, pro-abortion every time . . .
Wow! Outstanding post – thank you Susan for bringing this to the forefront. I agree – It is outrageous! As a FL citizen, I will call the state house and ask that he be confirmed based on his credentials and qualifications. I think and hope DeSantis will get this done!
What do you hear about Ladapo’s chances? I can’t get into the Sentinel article to see whether they have joined in.
The Republicans say he will be confirmed, but I don’t know how firm that is. Since this is also about attacking DeSantis (every time he gives any speech, the press calls it another campaign speech for president), I think he will make it through the process. But I don’t take anything for granted.
I can’t imagine him not being confirmed based on the opinion of someone from Los Angeles.
Even Democrats in FL have their principles!
Ron DeSantis has all the right enemies! DeSantis is looking better every day.