Inevitable

At some point, this was inevitable. Conservatives were always going to move towards "let the old people die for my 401K." There are three reasons why. 

One if that conservatives tend to prioritize the individual over the group. They are probably right that they themselves are not going to die. Even if we took no countermeasures against Covid-19, it would like "only" kill, let's say, 3% of the population in the next year.

That's around 10 million people.  But - statistically speaking - that's unlikely to be you. There is also the mindset, revealed here, that most conservatives naturally think that - left to themselves - they will be fine. It's only when outside forces come to bear that they are screwed.  Their belief in their own rugged individualism is so strong, that they think that they are largely immune from a virus, but African Americans are the reason they can't get ahead at work.

The other strain of thought is that of Republican elites, who largely measure everything through the lens of the 1%. This is more in line with Trump and his advisers. The stock market is tanking and there's an excellent chance that we tilt into a depression.  That's bad for everyone, but for the first time, the millionaire class can feel real panic and pain.  They aren't used to that; they don't like it; they will be heard.

Finally, you have evangelicals.  They tend to have a point of view that is largely hostile to science, and they tend to be in rural areas that are unlikely to be hammered by the virus in the early stages. Liberty University's decision fits neatly into this.  And of course, evangelicals also fit into the other two strains of "getting coronavirus to own the libs."

It would be one thing if their poor decisions only effected them, but it will effect all of us.