At least in the movie, the wizard of Oz repents his scams on Dorothy and her fellow innocents. It turned out he was a snake oil huckster before winding up in Oz and he couldn't help but scam the inhabitants of the Emerald City. It seems the real life Dr. Oz can't help himself either.
Oz and his fellow "expert", Dr. Phil have been regaling the credulous viewers of Faux News for some time, but their forays into the mechanics of transmission of Covid 19 and the epidemiology of the disease make a case for malpractice. Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and Dr. Phil, a pop psychologist have zero expertise in pandemics, yet they are presented as experts. Richard Epstein, a lawyer who confidently predicted no more than 500 fatalities in the US as a result of the pandemic is another non-expert who has outsize influence in the tRump administration.
As Paul Krugman in the NYT opines, this administration and the conservative movement in general rewards loyalty to the cause above all else. At first it corrupted those with at least some knowledge of economics. Art Laffer and Stephen Moore come to mind. These supposed economists have consistently supported debunked theories such as "supply side economics".
Now, however, the pandemic demands real scientific expertise to explain the epidemiology. No real scientists have sold their souls to the conservative machine, so instead Fox and other right wing news sites use Oz, Phil and other self proclaimed experts to push back against real science. Unfortunately, this trend will over time discredit the real experts like Anthony Fauci who follow the trail of hard science even when it appears contradictory.
When everyone is an expert, no one believes anything they are told. That is the ultimate aim of republicans and conservatives.
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