Sarah Ferris and Nicholas Wu at Politico lead off their article about Democrats dropping mask mandates with a bang (emphasis mine):
Democrats are making a U-turn on mask mandates, just in time for the midterms.It’s happening among the party’s governors, several of whom are easing up their masking rules as Covid’s Omicron wave fades. And it’s happening on the Hill, where Democrats are suddenly lining up to call for rollbacks of the nation’s most noticeable pandemic-era rule.Their pandemic pivot comes as they brace for a brutal November election in which the virus — and the culture war that’s accompanied it — is shaping up to be Democrats’ biggest blind spot.“By the time we’re at the midterms, we’ll hopefully not be wearing these,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), gesturing to his own mask as he walked through the Capitol. “People are, of course, frustrated. We all want to get back to life.”
Daaaaaaaaaaaaamn.
Republicans have noticed and won’t waste this opportunity.
Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon: “It’s not based on science; it’s based on politics. I think people are fed up, and the Dems are seeing the polling.”
California Democrat Rep. Ami Bera, a physician, described the criticism aimed at the White House and CDC as “fair” over their “overly cautious” policy against COVID-19.
However, Bera thinks the fight over masks is “less of a political issue, but I think it’s where the public is.”
Some in the Democratic Party disagree but those in danger of losing their job are not waiting for Biden or the CDC:
“We’re never going to get risk down to zero. But there’s also risk by not letting our kids have normal lives,” said Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who faces a tough reelection battle this fall.Another swing-district Democrat, Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), said she worried people are so exhausted by the pandemic that they’re losing trust in government — presenting a huge risk if the U.S. is hit by a more dangerous viral variant in the future.“Millions of people haven’t been affected at all by Omicron.” Wild said. “We have to recognize that. We can’t live in this state in perpetuity.”
Losing trust? Oh, sweet summer child. Those who aren’t like me and lost their trust in the government a long time ago lost that trust towards the end of 2020.
It’s happening at the state level. Does anyone think it’s a coincidence that a handful of Democratic governors all of a sudden dropped mask mandates at the same time?
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis started the domino fall when he declared the COVID-19 emergency over in December.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, Delaware Gov. John Carney, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. California Gov. Gavin Newsom did it as well.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul dropped the mask mandate but not in schools. That makes no sense.
Illinois Gov. j.B. Pritzker wants to do the same as Hochul. So stupid.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak dropped the state’s mandate today, which includes schools!
We also saw the Virginia Democrats vote to make masks optional in school after screaming about Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s EO that did the same thing.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY