NJ Gov Ditches CDC Guidance, Cites Fauci in Statement Upholding Mask Mandate
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey announced Friday that he would keep in place the state’s indoor mask mandate, effectively ignoring new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a series of tweets, Murphy told his state’s residents he wasn’t ready to let his power over them slip away — at least not yet — despite the fact that the CDC issued guidance Thursday telling Americans that, from a health perspective, they can ditch the mask in most cases if they’re vaccinated.
Per the governor, Dr. Anthony Fauci is a more trustworthy source for public health recommendations than the CDC, so he will ensure they continue being forced to engaged in political theatrics as a matter of policy.
“A quick update on yesterday’s @CDCgov guidance: We will keep our indoor mask mandate in place in public settings as we continue to work toward our vaccination goals. To be clear, we’re making incredible progress, but we’re not there yet,” Murphy wrote in the first post of a lengthy Twitter thread.
A quick update on yesterday’s @CDCgov guidance: We will keep our indoor mask mandate in place in public settings as we continue to work toward our vaccination goals. To be clear, we’re making incredible progress, but we’re not there yet.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 14, 2021
“Today, New Jersey is top ten in vaccinations and the top five in lowest case count. That’s because of the incredible work millions of New Jerseyans have done to mask up, social distance, and most of all, to make the decision to get vaccinated,” the Democrat added. “One thing is abundantly clear: fully vaccinated people are much safer to engage in everyday life than unvaccinated people. This is even more reason for every eligible New Jerseyan to make the decision to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”
One thing is abundantly clear: fully vaccinated people are much safer to engage in everyday life than unvaccinated people. This is even more reason for every eligible New Jerseyan to make the decision to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 14, 2021
In another tweet in the thread, Murphy invoked Fauci.
“Dr. Fauci himself said yesterday that he thinks lifting indoor mask mandates at this time could lead to a rise in infections. So we’re not going to let up for the next few weeks as we keep pushing forward on our statewide vaccination goals,” Murphy explained.
Dr. Fauci himself said yesterday that he thinks lifting indoor mask mandates at this time could lead to a rise in infections. So we’re not going to let up for the next few weeks as we keep pushing forward on our statewide vaccination goals.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 14, 2021
After CNN host Jake Tapper asked him Thursday if local and state governments should eliminate mask mandates “for people who are vaccinated,” Fauci responded that doing so might lead to “an increase in infection among those who are not vaccinated.”
“The problem they’re going to find, Jake, from a public health standpoint, since you can’t completely validate that someone’s vaccinated except depending upon them telling you that if you drop the mask mandate, then you might have an increase in infection among those who are not vaccinated,” Fauci said.
“So that’s the kind of dicey situation that you’re in when you’re trying to deal about policy at the local level when you have a high degree of transmission. That’s not an easy decision to make.”
You knew Murphy was going to soak up every bit of power he could from this pandemic last spring when he essentially told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that the Bill of Rights was above his “pay grade,” as he punished people for attending church and synagogue services.
“The Bill of Rights, as you well know, protects Americans’ right — enshrines their right — to practice their religion as they see fit and to congregate together to assemble peacefully,” Carlson told Murphy, who at the time was persecuting Christians and Jews. “By what authority did you nullify the Bill of Rights in issuing this order?”
“That’s above my pay grade, Tucker,” the Democrat said, adding: “So, I wasn’t thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this.”
Murphy still hasn’t embraced that whole “inalienable rights” concept, and he’s simultaneously now flouting science.
Given an opportunity this week to end the madness and still save face for his state’s COVID-obsessed Democratic voters, the anti-science governor clung to his power over New Jersey and justified doing so by invoking the words of Fauci.
Fauci was permitted to gain too much influence over the direction of policy from the beginning of this nightmare.
Sadly, for those living in the Garden State, his words will affect their lives for the time being.
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