If you think issuing drastic stay-at-home orders is more of a Democrat than a Republican thing, you’re right — all but two of all Democrat governors have moved forward with the drastic edicts, yet only a handful of Republicans have dropped the hammer.
CNN has a running list of those states, although they missed Pennsylvania’s Democrat governor issuing the order.
A total of 31 states have told residents to stay at home and not go to work unless it’s of vital importance to the state — doctor, policeman, liquor store clerk.
And of the country’s 24 Democrat governors, 22 are on the list.
It’s interesting Democrats are quicker with the trigger to kill jobs and put people on unemployment lines, cripple the economy, and infringe on people’s liberties.
Granted, some of the hardest-hit states are governed by Democrats, and those orders are necessary in places like New York, Louisiana, California, Washington.
We hope they’ve learned to wash their hands properly.
Yet other states like Kentucky declared a state of emergency after one case was reported.
Meanwhile, Republicans seem more intent on surgical targeting to change behavior and encourage social distancing like closing beaches, restaurants, and of course schools, instead of ordering complete lockdowns.
Gov. Polis now says the spread of coronavirus has slowed down in Colorado, but it has nothing to do with his stay-at-home order issued just a few days ago.
He believes that slowdown is a result of the March 16 order closing the state’s restaurants and bars to dine-in service and shuttering other large-scale gathering spaces like theaters and gyms.
It came naturally for Democrat governors including Polis to shut down their economies and put their people on social welfare rolls.
The trick will be to encourage all those businesses to reopen while explaining to unemployed workers why the government can’t keep extending their benefits indefinitely.