The craziness of a governor suing a city over mask mandates.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/we-re-fighting-our-own-state-southern-mayors-push-back-n1234280

And we wonder why we have the highest number of deaths and infections in the world.

I thought is was just a clueless Gov. Kemp, who didn’t know that COVID is contagious in asymptomatic people who have the infection.

But apparently, other Southern states are just as conflicting.

“Lumumba (Jackson MS mayor) said he fears that the state leadership has chosen to not work with the city for political reasons. Republican state leaders recently displayed that politicization, he said, when they met at the state capitol in Jackson earlier this month and did not follow basic protocols, including wearing masks or socially distancing from one another.

An outbreak at the capitol ensued — the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives and dozens of other lawmakers came down with the virus — even though Lumumba had instituted a mask mandate for the city.”

Are we that obtuse as a nation, or is it just the Republicans who insist on killing Americans on some misguided principle?

No country is perfect, of course, but we might pay attention to Germany and how they handled, and still handle, this pandemic. I believe their unemployment hit an “astounding” 6%. Yes, they borrowed money, but not nearly to the extent we did because they actually had a surplus. And they beefed up their export markets long ago in spite of China.

True, we are not Germany. We are America and I guess “we showed them a thing or two”.

This last sentence is sarcastic and the quotes are mine and don’t reflect the view of management.

Published by lenrothman

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38 thoughts on “The craziness of a governor suing a city over mask mandates.”

  1. Another point that was made by the Atalanta mayor this weekend was the possibility that GOV Kemp’s actions were potentially racist or misogynistic (as well as political). Other mayors in Georgia instituted local mask requirements, but it wasn’t until Mayor Bottoms, a Black Female, issued hers did Kemp take legal action.

    It just sounds “fishy” and she could be right. -IMO

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        1. Ah, the pettiness of petty men.

          I wonder (???) where Kemp got the idea to sue, sue and sue some more, as a tactic to cause confusion, financial hardship and just plain orneriness to show his macho side.

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          2. I didn’t want to say that. It is so obvious that even the most partisan supporters can’t help but notice. Of course, they don’t care about anyone but themselves.

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        2. I wonder if the Atlanta prosecutors can charge the governor with negligent manslaughter or some such crime for purposefully endangering and causing disease among his citizens.

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  2. President Trump is properly deferring to governors to make public health decisions except in those cases where Constitutional rights are transgressed.

    Governors should do the same toward local governments unless protections of state law are threatened.

    For example, a mayor who demanded closure of hair braiding salons but not barber shops might properly be challenged by the governor.

    But a mayor should have reasonable control of public health in their own jurisdiction.

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    1. “President Trump is properly deferring to governors to make public health decisions”…

      But he is providing ZERO leadership for something that is affecting the entire country, because as someone recently stated ““The president got bored with it,” David Carney, an adviser to the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, said of the pandemic.”

      So the mayors are within their rights to do what they think is necessary to protect the public health of their citizens and governors who sue them for it are wrong?

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  3. I am not particularly interested in what some governor’s advisor thinks is in President Trump’s mind.

    Trump is deferring to governors because he understands that Montana and New Jersey are not the same and the solutions to their problems are best found as locally as possible. And of course, anything Trump recommends, no matter how correct, will be maligned by opponents and resisted.

    But I agree that mayors should be deferred to unless the governor has good reason to intervene to protect the rights of citizens against biased or partisan edicts.

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    1. “I am not particularly interested in what some governor’s advisor thinks is in President Trump’s mind.”

      The adviser to the TEXAS (R) governor voiced an opinion that appears to be backed by facts. A governor who is constant contact with the VP and has insight that you nor I have. You might want to rethink what you said just for one second.

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    2. RE: “But I agree that mayors should be deferred to unless the governor has good reason to intervene to protect the rights of citizens against biased or partisan edicts.”

      Sounds good in principle, but I’m skeptical. If city and county governments can reject or supercede a governor’s orders with impunity, some level of chaos will ensue.

      It is not the case that empirical science has validated the efficacy of face mask use in the general population. Municipal governments are just guessing if they assume such a thing. Even if one believes (as I do) that the guess is a good one, municipal governments should not indulge in guesswork when they choose to deviate from state-wide standards.

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        1. I tend to agree with your sentiment (I used that premise below or above.) However if there is a Walmart in Campbell County, patrons of that store are required to wear masks. I know it is not because of the governor’s order, but because Walmart is requiring customers to wear mask nationwide.

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        2. Here is the thing, however. Campbell County has some stores, bars, restaurants, and they take delivery from people working for companies throughout the regions.

          The hardware store owner then goes to church on Sunday and, voila, we have infections in an area where just a few could overwhelm clinics.

          If we keep carving out exceptions for this place, that place or to appease those who follow the president’s #LIBERATE, we will never get this pandemic under some kind of control.

          Trump is afraid to countermand his base many of whom think this is a hoax, overblown, not a big deal, Bill Gates “master plan to take over the earth”, and an invasion of their God given right to spit virus laden breath in my face.

          No matter what kind of excuses are given, this is a national crisis. If that were not the case, then why are we spending trillions. Just let the virus die out in the cities, killing a few million, and then the suburbs won’t be so threatened.

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          1. I’m going to guess that the mayors know what external risks they face and are prepared to react accordingly. But VA Beach, due to tourism and military travel faces risks that a rural county does not. To require they both follow the same procedures is either overly restrictive for the latter or inadequate for the former.

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          4. Oh, that was the only small town affected? I did not know that.

            Yes, the extrapolation was simplistic. But the numbers are real enough to make the very plain point. No region is immune. Period.

            It just has taken a bit longer for the naysayers in rural America to wake up and smell the Corona.

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      2. “If city and county governments can reject or supercede a governor’s orders with impunity, some level of chaos will ensue.”

        That is actually part of the problem in several states. Just like New Jersey isn’t Montana, Atlanta isn’t Augusta. If governors don’t mandate state-wide mask usage, but localities deem them necessary, what is wrong with the locals doing what is best, in their minds for their citizens?

        In the Georgia case, if Kemp ordered masks statewide and then Bottoms said not in Atlanta, then it would be an issue. But cities putting in place more stringent measures should not be cause for a lawsuit that says the mayor can’t do that, and cannot make public statements or have press releases. That is ludicrous.

        I go back to Mayor Bottoms’ assertion that Governor Kemp’s move was driven by misogyny, or perhaps racism, based on the fact that other localities had put their own mask orders in place in the state, but no action was taken by the governor against them.

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        1. RE: “But cities putting in place more stringent measures should not be cause for a lawsuit”

          Who says that mask mandates for the general public are “more stringent measures”?

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          1. Well hmmm. Let’s see. The governor RECOMMENDS the wearing of masks, whereas the mayor ORDERS the wearing of masks. If you can’t tell which on is “more stringent”, then I can’t help you.

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  4. RE: “And we wonder why we have the highest number of deaths and infections in the world.”

    True, but meaningless. The U.S. is a big country. As such it has the “highest number” of lots of things.

    Instead, use per million population to get meaningful comparisons:

    • The U.S. ranks eighth globally in deaths per million.

    • The U.S. ranks first in infections (confirmed cases)/million.

    Or, use the case fatality rate (total confirmed deaths divided by total confirmed cases): The U.S. ranks 50th in CFR.

    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/coronavirus/

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    1. How about this for meaningful:

      26% of worldwide cases are in the US
      23% of worldwide DEATHS are in the US

      The United States population is 4.3% of the global population.

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      1. RE: “How about this for meaningful”

        Might be meaningful to a one-world government. But even then we would need another world to compare with.

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      2. Sure, and the US is exactly the same as a country where the majority of the population lives and dies within 50 miles of where they are born.

        Or where population density nationwide is the same as Wyoming?

        The world is a big and varied place, and comparisons between dissimilar demographics are not very useful,

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        1. I’m sorry if you and Todd don’t believe we are in worse shape than the majority of the rest of the world. As far as density goes, I will refer you to Hong Kong, who until the Communist Chinese government decided to basically take over the enclave, had their part of the pandemic under control. As did several other countries with very dense population centers.

          Fact is this country is in not very good shape when it comes to its response to the pandemic and the effects here. I do not blame Trump for the pandemic; I do hold him accountable for how this country has responded.

          If you want be all rosy, go ahead and forego the use of masks, back the grifter and liar in the Oval Office, and pray that when the Trump era is over, this country recovers. Leadership during a crisis is not, “OK, I did all I can do. The rest is up to you. I have a campaign to win”. If he REALLY want a second term, he would try a little leadership and start paying attention. If you doubt what I am saying, may I suggest you view Chris Wallace’s interview from yesterday. From the transcripts alone, he barley put together two coherent sentences.

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    2. “The U.S. ranks eighth globally in deaths per million.”

      That means there are about 200 plus other countries and principalities have lower mortality.

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      1. RE: “That means there are about 200 plus other countries and principalities have lower mortality.”

        What do you think that tells you?

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        1. That Sweden has a slightly higher per capita death rate than we do and the Swedes purposefully did little.

          We spent 6 trillion and apparently did little.

          And we haven’t seen the impact from the upcoming evictions, foreclosures and the medical bills of the unemployed and uninsured.

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        2. Your comparison suggests that Sweden had a more successful public-health response than the U.S., but I doubt the mortality per capita metric does much to support that view. A better comparison would be the case fatality rate. Sweden’s is about double ours.

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