Op-Ed: Democrats Have Been Too Quick To Shut Down Cities, States
“Question authority” was a treasured anthem of ’60s liberals along with “sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.”
But wherever they are in authority today, liberals, leftists and progressives don’t relish being questioned at all. Even as they shut down our lives, the economy and the country, we are “COVID-19 truthers” if we dare to doubt.
With 2020 quickly becoming known as “coronavirus spring,” questioning authority is critical not only to our physical health but to our health and survival as a nation.
The same people who have been exposed running scam after scam to unseat a duly elected president are now telling us to believe them and their good intentions when they use their massive emergency powers to restrict our rights to travel, engage in commerce and freely assemble.
I’ve been wondering whether Democrats were more likely than Republicans to shut down states and cities due to the pandemic. My hunch has been that Democrats are more likely to invoke extraordinary power and force citizens to bend to their will in an emergency — regardless of the facts and risks on the ground.
Additionally, have Democratic mayors invoked their authority more often where their states are governed by a Republican? Here are the results of my investigation:
According to The New York Times, 23 governors have issued “stay at home” orders for their entire state.
Of those 23 states, 16 are governed by Democrats, and seven by Republicans (Idaho, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Vermont and West Virginia.) Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia was elected as a Democrat but switched his party to Republican while in office.
While it’s true that states like New York and California have highly populated cities and are led by Democratic governors, that doesn’t tell the whole story.
This Johns Hopkins website provides worldwide statistics on confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths.
The aforementioned state of West Virginia has a population of approximately 1.8 million people and is currently under a statewide “stay at home” order. There have been 76 confirmed cases in the state and no deaths have been reported.
In Montana, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock has issued a “stay at home” order effective March 28. Montana has seen 108 cases and no deaths.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, also a Democrat, has issued a similar order. There are currently 137 cases — and no deaths — in her state. New Mexico is home to over 2 million people.
The Times also reported on 15 states where partial shutdowns have been ordered by elected officials in specific cities and counties.
As I suspected, 11 of those states have Republican governors, who are less likely to shut down the whole state. The counties and municipalities that have issued “stay at home” orders for their jurisdictions have been overwhelmingly ordered by Democrats.
While many Democrat-run cities, counties and states have high population densities and more serious coronavirus outbreaks, that’s likely not the only reason they have come down harder than their Republican counterparts.
Democrats clearly prefer to impose stricter restrictions on citizens.
Conservative pundit David Horowitz is known for saying, “inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out.”
We must also ask whether such extreme restrictions fit our current reality.
In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a death toll of 80,00 from the previous winter’s flu season. That was the highest in 40 years. Drastic measure such as those we are watching for COVID-19 were unthinkable.
There is an oft-repeated analogy that compares the loss of our liberty to a frog in a pot of boiling water. Put him in the pot and he’ll hop out, but fill the pot with cold water and slowly turn up the heat, and he’ll stay there until he boils to death.
The heat has just been turned up to high and the frog is on life support.
Liberty is the most precious of our God-given rights. We should never expect less from our government.
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