Monday, April 13, 2020 | 2 a.m.
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On the same day that Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak made the painful but prudent decision to prohibit large Easter Sunday gatherings as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19, something very different and disturbing was taking place in Kansas.
There, Republican lawmakers overturned an identical directive the state’s Democratic governor, Laura Kelly, had issued Tuesday. As the defiant move was being made, Kansas was recording its highest daily number of new cases yet in the outbreak of the disease. But that didn’t matter to the state GOP. In a remark aimed at Kelly, the Senate majority leader grumbled to a reporter, “don’t tell us we can’t practice our religious freedoms.”
Kelly, in a good choice of words, called the action “shockingly irresponsible.”
“There are real life consequences to the partisan games Republicans played today,” the governor said.
Very true, and not just for Kansans. In a number of states, Republicans are putting Americans at deadly risk to advance their party ideology and grab political control.
Perhaps the most chilling example was Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary, which the Republican-controlled state Legislature refused to postpone. Their motive: to rig voting for the state Supreme Court, which occurred in tandem with Democratic primary balloting. The GOP knew turnout would be low, especially in crowded urban areas, which would favor aconservative candidate who was facing stiff competition from a progressive opponent.
So although 10 Wisconsin mayors sent a letter pleading with the state to postpone the election, the Republicans went through with it. Their willingness to sacrifice the health and lives of Wisconsin voters over party politics was appalling.
But that’s today’s GOP.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order allowing large religious gatherings to be held, before then defaulting to limitations that had previously been imposed by large counties.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis refused to close beaches during spring break and didn’t impose a stay-at-home order until April. Church services are exempted.
In Idaho, a Republican state representative is actively trying to rally her constituents against that state’s stay-at-home order, saying people have “a God-given constitutionally protected right to peacefully assemble.”
Thankfully, not all Republicans have gone down the path of disregarding science, minimizing the threat and putting people at risk.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has been aggressive and responsible; he took bold action early on to delay the primary elections and was the nation’s first governor to close schools. As a result, Ohio’s outbreak has been relatively modest.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan also has distinguished himself by acting promptly and calling out failings in the federal response when appropriate.
But in far too many places, Americans are being sacrificed by GOP extremists.
Thankfully, Nevada is not one of those places. Here, voters showed the good judgment in recent years to elect moderate leaders from both parties who tend to put the best interests of Nevadans over party dogma. We have our outliers, sure, but the balance of our leadership is reasonable and responsible.
The voters’ wisdom is paying off during this pandemic, as Nevadans take appropriate steps to flatten the curve and protect both ourselves and our fellow residents from the disease. The madness of the GOP doesn’t rule the day here, and we’re all better off for it.
