NASCAR Shot Flap: Gee, Surfer, I Guess This is Just Republican Spin, Too.

Remember the story I posted about Congressional aides getting shots usually given before going to 3rd world countries before going to NASCAR races? A commenter named surfer said, well, but yeah, they were just going to hospitals, that's why they got the shots...it is no big deal. Well, apparently the Dems didn't realize it was just hospitals, because here is a direct quote from them. Here is the story:

a Democratic official suggesting staffers get immunized for several diseases before heading south from Washington and into the Red State wilds of NASCAR country to conduct research at a pair of races.

I didn't see anything, surfer, about hospitals. I saw research at a pair of races, but no hospitals. Who is spinning now? But wait, there is some mention of hospitals, and I leave it to the reader to decide who is REALLY spinning things:

It started last month, when an official with the House Committee on Homeland Security suggested that staff aides get immunizations before visiting health facilities at Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway and North Carolina's Lowe's Motor Speedway, where the Bank of America 500 was run Saturday.

In an e-mail, a staffer who works for committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., noted an "unusual need for whomever attending to be vaccinated against hepatitis A and B," as well as "the more normal things - tetanus, diphtheria, and of course, seasonal influenza."

The note didn't explain why the committee saw such concern. It didn't mention NASCAR or the races at the tracks at all. But the implication was enough to draw a snarky complaint from Republican Rep. Robin Hayes, whose district includes Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"I have never heard of immunizations for domestic travel, and ... I feel compelled to ask why the heck the committee feels that immunizations are needed to travel to my hometown," wrote Hayes.

Thompson responded to Hayes that such immunizations are "are recommended for public safety professionals working in areas such as hospitals, holding areas and similar locations." But the staffers were only scheduled to visit a few health care facilities - not work at them.

"What do they know about NASCAR that we don't?" said Dr. David Weber, a professor of medicine and public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Weber said everyone should be up to date on standard vaccinations, he but saw no need for special vaccinations to visit a health care facility or a NASCAR event. Debbie Crane, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, said such shots are recommended for "general health" for all adults - but not for any specific circumstance.

"The very idea of immunization is laughable," said Lowe's Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler. "It's like taping your ankles to go to the mailbox."

So, I ask you, who is really spinning? I believe it is the Lefties who thought they could get away with calling NASCAR country backwaters and acting like they were going to a 3rd world country. Think again:

NASCAR driver Jimmy Spencer told The Washington Times that fans are upset that stock-car races were singled out and that other such events as football games or musical concerts were not originally included in the study by the House Homeland Security Committee about health risks at heavily attended gatherings.

"The fans I've talked to are really bothered by this. I can't believe someone would bring us into the mix," Mr. Spencer said. "What is their point? What are they looking for? Why did they even bring this up? It's not a problem, never has been a problem in the history of NASCAR.

"All the fans are a little irate about this when you ask them about it," he said.

One fan told Fox News at the race last night that the recommendation was "probably Washington bureaucracy and prejudice to the South, somewhat."

Another fan asked, "Because they are coming to the South, they think they are going to be unsafe?"

Bill Schoenadel, owner of Bill's Place, a combination general store and pub in Little Orleans, Md., said the congressional staffers overreacted.

"They are telling us we're a bunch of rednecks; that's all it's about," Mr. Schoenadel said. "I think with NASCAR fans, you're dealing with the safest people in the world."

The story, first reported by The Washington Times on Wednesday, spread quickly on the Internet and prompted hundreds of comments on blogs.

One blogger at www.nascar.com called the story "hilarious." A Washington Times reader wrote: "No wonder they feel we need all these government programs ... they think America is Third World."

"There is clearly no justification for these shots," a Republican committee staffer said. "Even the House physician said they do not recommend the shots for domestic travel.

"Despite Democratic claims, we have yet to hear of a single health official that would recommend shots for this trip," the staffer said. "There is zero precedent that there is a need for this."

Keep on shooting yourselves, Dems...I love it...I absolutely love it.. I know how to fix it...Let's get Hillary to a race and she can fake a southern drawl and wear a ballcap on crooked. That should do it.