As COVID-19 Surges, Republican Lawmakers Will Not Stop Spreading Reckless Conspiracy Theories and Fueling Vaccine Hesitancy
As the Delta variant surges across the country, Republican lawmakers are continuing to downplay the virus and fuel vaccine hesitancy, resulting in needless deaths among the unvaccinated. Recent coverage makes clear that, instead of doing everything possible to get shots in arms and put an end to this crisis, Republicans are still fighting commonsense measures to slow the spread of the virus and spreading reckless conspiracy theories to undermine public health. In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach issued the following statement:
“Every day, more and more Americans are dying from a now preventable disease. Instead of working to end the pandemic, Republicans are still attacking scientists and spreading dangerous conspiracy theories about vaccines, which is directly fueling the spikes in cases we’re seeing today. It is unconscionable but unsurprising that Republicans are continuing to put partisan politics and their loyalty to former President Trump above the American people. Unless they want more blood on their hands, Republican leaders must reverse course.”
HEADLINES:
Washington Post: Texas Gov. Abbott Issues Executive Order Prohibiting Cities From Requiring Masks, Vaccines. “‘The new Executive Order emphasizes that the path forward relies on personal responsibility rather than government mandates,” Abbott stated. ‘Texans … have the individual right and responsibility to decide for themselves and their children whether they will wear masks, open their businesses, and engage in leisure activities.’…Abbott’s executive order made official his repeated statements that he would not enforce mask or vaccine mandates in Texas, even as coronavirus cases in the state have returned to levels not seen since early spring. Covid-related hospitalizations in Texas have risen nearly 40 percent in the past week.” [7/29/21]
POLITICO: Florida Officials Defy DeSantis As Infections Spike. “Local officials across Florida are bucking Gov. Ron DeSantis and his anti-mandate coronavirus strategy as infections soar in the state and nation. They’re imposing vaccine and mask requirements for government workers and even declaring states of emergency…The new pandemic regulations were announced Wednesday, a day after Florida reported over 16,000 new cases — the highest one-day total since mid-January when the vaccine was not widely available. The local mandates also came as DeSantis reiterated that the state will resist any pandemic-related regulations, even as it remains one of the worst hotspots in America.” [7/29/21]
New York Times: ‘Covid With A Vengeance’ Consumes U.S. Politics. “The split among Republicans over how to handle the coronavirus was on painful display in Washington this week, as Mr. McConnell issued the latest of many personal pleas for Americans to ignore ‘bad advice’ and get vaccinated, while his counterpart in the House, Kevin McCarthy of California, fired off a conspiratorial tweet saying that the new C.D.C. masking guidance had been ‘conjured up by liberal government officials who want to live in a perpetual pandemic state.’” [7/30/21]
NBC: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Blames Unvaccinated Migrants For Recent Covid Spike. “Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Tuesday blamed migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border for some of the nation’s Covid-19 spike, saying ‘none of them are vaccinated and they’re getting dispersed throughout the country.’…Less than half of Iowa residents are fully vaccinated, according to the latest state data.” [7/28/21]
AP: Republicans To Block UW Virus Testing, Vaccination Rules. “A Republican-controlled committee plans to block the University of Wisconsin from instituting COVID-19 testing, masking and vaccination protocols on campuses across the state. State Sen. Steve Nass said Wednesday that he will be moving to require the university to get approval from the Legislature before enacting any virus-related regulations.” [7/29/21]
Vanity Fair: Republican Governors Are Meeting COVID Surges With A Giant Shrug. “Despite only about 43% of Texans being fully vaccinated, Abbott has also said that he will kill any new attempts to revive pandemic lockdown measures. ‘There’s no more time for government mandates,’ he said on Tuesday, adding that it is now the ‘time for individual responsibility.’ Over the past week, the state’s coronavirus-test positivity rate exceeded 10%, according to The Texas Tribune, which is the highest rate that Texas has seen since February.” [7/23/21]
Forbes: Five Republican Governors Oppose CDC Mask Guidance As Covid Cases, Hospitalizations Surge Nationwide. “In the last two weeks, new cases of Covid-19 across the U.S. have jumped 145% and hospitalizations 70%. All five of the Republican-controlled states [Texas, Nebraska, Iowa, Arizona, Florida] have fewer than 50% of their population fully vaccinated against Covid-19…The states that have resisted further public health restrictions—at least ten have taken steps to prevent local authorities putting them in place themselves—are overwhelmingly Republican and often the states that have the worst vaccination rates.” [7/28/21]
Fox News: Texas Order On Covid-Carrying Migrants Will Be Met By Legal Action, AG Garland Says. “Garland said the order not only interfered with federal laws but ‘would jeopardize the health and safety of noncitizens in federal government custody.’ The attorney general warned Abbott that if he does not rescind the executive order, Garland ‘intends to pursue all appropriate legal remedies’ to ensure Texas does not interfere with federal regulations.” [7/29/21]
Fox News: Conservative Reaction Pours In After Dem Mayors, Governors Impose New Mask Mandates: ‘Kiss My Mask’. “Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., has argued that the government has no authority over such edicts. ‘If we cave on our freedoms in the halls of Congress, what hope do the people have across America?’ She was part of a large group of GOP lawmakers who protested Pelosi’s reinstated mask mandate this week by walking over to the Senate side of the Capitol, where there is no renewed requirement. ‘I will not comply with Pelosi’s anti-science mask mandates,’ she said. ‘She can kiss my mask.’ Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., called the renewed mask mandates a ‘socialist takeover of America’ led by Pelosi and President Biden.” [7/29/21]
WPTV (West Palm Beach, FL): Gov. Ron DeSantis Rejects Mandates, ‘Faucian Dystopia’ Amid Covid-19 Surge. “‘Floridians are free to choose — and all Americans should be free to choose — how they govern their affairs, how they take care of themselves and our families, and they should not be consigned to live — regardless of which state in the union — consigned to live in a Faucian dystopia in which we’re governed by the whims of bureaucratic authorities who care little for our freedom, little for our aspirations and little for our happiness. No more. We can’t let it happen going forward.’ His verbal assault was directed at Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden.” [7/29/21]
WKMG (Orlando): Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Mocks CDC Mask Recommendations. “‘Did you not get the CDC’s memo?’ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joked Wednesday before an almost entirely unmasked audience of activists and lawmakers crammed into an indoor hotel ballroom in Salt Lake City. ‘I don’t see you guys complying.’ From Texas to South Dakota, Republican leaders responded with hostility and defiance to updated masking guidance from public health officials, who advise that even fully vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors if they live in areas with high rates of virus transmission. The backlash reopened the culture war over pandemic restrictions just as efforts to persuade unvaccinated Americans to get shots appeared to be making headway.” [7/29/21]
WESH (Orlando): Gov. DeSantis To Sign Executive Order Against Rules To Force Children To Wear Face Masks In Schools. “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will soon sign an executive order that he’s calling the parents’ rights bill that will prevent mask mandates for children attending school in Florida.” [7/30/21]
WMUR (Manchester, NH): Sununu Says New Hampshire Has No Plans To Reimplement COVID-19 Guidelines. “‘At this point, it isn’t about the government providing that bubble of safety around individuals,’ Sununu said. Instead, the governor said it’s about the individual taking on personal responsibility.“ [WMUR, 7/28/21]