#47: Shifting Sands of Democratic Mandates
A few more dominoes fell on Monday (some bigger than others)...
Hello All,
Monday was a wild one for Illinois schools - we’ll get to that in a minute. First, the SUDDEN pivot from Democratic Governors on COVID-19 restrictions.
In a curious bit of timing, several states with blue Governors announced the end of various restrictions and mitigations on Monday… almost as if new orders came through from Star Command. “POLLS ARE TANKING! GET OUT THERE!”
Governors in 4 states plan for end to school mask mandates (ABC News)
States announcing end dates for school mask mandates on Monday included Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon. Others announced various changes or even continued efforts to fight for mandates (*cough cough*… Illinois). Highlights below:
California: Unvaccinated people will still need to wear masks indoors as of February 15th, while everyone will need to continue masking for “public transit and nursing homes and other congregate living facilities.” From the ABC News article linked: “State officials also announced that indoor “mega events” with more than 1,000 people will have to require vaccinations or negative tests, and those who are unvaccinated will be required to wear masks. For outdoor events with more than 10,000 people, there is no vaccination requirement, but masks or negative tests will be recommended.”
Connecticut: February 28th ending for statewide mandate in schools and child care centers.
Delaware: February 11th ending for universal indoor mask mandate, and a March 31st for school mask mandate.
New Jersey: March 7th ending for the school mask mandate.
Oregon: March 31st ending for school mask mandate, while statewide indoor mask mandate will be lifted “no later than the end of March.”
Calls for action on mask mandates came from more than Governors alone on Monday. A Democratic Virginia State Senator wrote the strongly-worded letter below. In addition to calling out the pandemic’s disruptions to education for children, the Senator wrote: “In the coming days, I will ask the Governor to either send down special legislation or amend existing legislation so as to end the Forced Masking of children. We will pass that with a bipartisan majority and this sad episode will finally end.”
Forget political party affiliations for that one - those are the words of a fed up parent. Something I think many of us can relate to.
Clearly, there were a lot of movements on Monday - so much so, that many on Twitter were quick to connect the dots on a broader strategy by Democrats to pivot away from COVID-19 with 2022 midterms on the mind. Meanwhile - the White House reiterated its support of masking in schools.
And SPEAKING of politicians still fighting for masks, we finally reach my home state of Illinois.
For those of us here, especially those of us with kids - Monday was a whirlwind. As readers of this blog know from our post over the weekend, a judge in downstate Illinois struck down Governor Pritzker’s mandates for school masking, testing and quarantines. There was much confusion amongst school districts as to whether or not the ruling impacted all districts - or only those specifically named in the lawsuit.
Drip by drip, school district strategies for Monday came out over the weekend. They ranged from (but probably were not limited to!):
Mask-optional, in alignment with the court ruling
Mask-mandatory, in the case of CPS pointing to an existing agreement with the Union from January 2022 - others chose to stay the course as they were not specifically named
Mask-optional based on the situation, provided social distancing was maintained
Class cancelled (yes - cancelled) for an “emergency day”
School districts choosing to maintain mask mandates encountered major opposition in certain towns - leading to some students being held in gymnasiums or sent home.
There were plenty of clips worth sharing, but to keep things concise - let’s sum up Monday for schools in Illinois with one word: chaos. Chaos that Governor Pritzker would blame on the judge who struck down his mandates. As quoted in the WCIA article here:
“Judge Raylene Grischow’s ruling is out of step with the vast majority of legal analysis in Illinois and across the nation,” Pritzker said, claiming her ruling “cultivates chaos.”
Many of us have questioned the mandates, as well as the data behind them - and yet Governor Pritzker would like us to believe that he owns none of the chaos on Monday. His administration has requested an appeal of the decision, in part to fight for the ability to once again force masks in the future if he so chooses based on… well, something. Amy Jacobson makes this point in the tweet below. Without metrics in place for this to end… will it ever? Only in Illinois would taxpayer dollars continue to fight to keep children in masks when other Democratic states are RUNNING in the opposite direction.
Remember these tactics come summertime, when politicians grant freedoms back before elections follow in the fall. I have a feeling the many of the harshest mandators will be telling a different story by then, hoping we forget the last two years even happened.
I will not - let it be known that this one-time “JFK Democrat” voter is now and forever a freedom voter, first. God-willing, I’ll be an grandpa one day - and I’ll get to warn my grandkids never to become too trusting of their government.
“Did I ever tell you kids the story of the COVID-19 pandemic?” I’d ask.
“Oh please, not again, Grandpa!” the kids would groan.
“Well,” I’d grin, “it started in 2020. I was too blind, too trusting to see what was coming. You see, the government…”
And speaking of trust, before we wrap up this edition… readers will certainly recall our previous posts affirming the effectiveness and durability of natural immunity. It’s probably my favorite topic, and for good reason. Well, a Democratic Congressman out of California pointed to a CDC chart showing confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations by vaccination and previous diagnosis (whether or not you’ve had the virus). The lines are small at the bottom, but those recovered from natural infection were somewhat BETTER protected that vaccinated individuals with no prior infection.
Yes, natural immunity for the win - again. And when Democrats who pushed for mandates and mitigations start calling for its recognition, you know the floodgates are opening. It only took two years.
Or, you know, a new record low for President Biden’s job approval.
We’ll see what the rest of the week brings - Monday certainly set a high bar for action! More to come. Thanks for reading!
-G
Very well laid out and concise