Though it shouldn’t have been hard to anticipate, Democrats are belatedly coming around to the reality that COVID-19 vaccine mandates actually aren’t popular.
Nearly three months ago, after Gov. Gavin Newsom survived his recall in California, many leftists decided that punitive mandates were vital public health policy and apparently powerful at the ballot box.
But that was in America’s bluest state in September.
Now, several notable Democrat leaders oppose vaccine mandates, specifically toward private businesses.
The most recent liberal lawmaker to voice concern was Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Once considered a potential running mate with Joe Biden — and still a better option than the disaster he chose — she opposes mandates, citing the impact on her state’s workforce.
“We’re an employer too, the state of Michigan is,” Whitmer said this week. “I know if that mandate happens, we’re going to lose state employees. That’s why I haven’t proposed a mandate at the state level. Some states have. We have not, we’re waiting to see what happens in court.”
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin explained Tuesday that he would not require businesses with over 100 employees to ensure that their workforces are vaccinated against COVID.
A fortnight before his unexpectedly razor-close reelection last month, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy moved away from embracing a strict vaccine mandate for public sector workers.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is running for election, has stated her opposition to a “broad-based mandate for all private-sector workers in New York.”
Speaking of the Empire State, only one unpopular lame-duck mayor is still pushing egregious mandates.
The souring of some Democrats on mandates comes as courts strike legal blows against a series of vaccine edicts that Biden unveiled this autumn.
It is prompting concerns among Democrats that they’re ending up with a draconian policy that will not go into effect and also will hurt them politically, especially as fewer Americans fear variants.
Appreciated hearing @ScottGottliebMD's insights on where the COVID-19 pandemic stands and where it's headed: "We can't just erect travel bans every time a country raises their hand and discloses that they've discovered a new variant." https://t.co/pvu5MynSED @usatodayopinion
— Steven Porter (@reporterporter) December 8, 2021
The White House remains disconnected from this reality.
Insular staffers are convinced mandates are necessary to finally “end” the pandemic, which they believe is also crucial to Biden’s political future. They point to polls and an uptick in vaccination rates after some businesses implemented or forced their own mandates as evidence.
“We know it works. That’s why the administration and the president will continue pressing forward,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who’s never worked outside Washington, recently said.
Biden initially did not favor vaccine requirements due to his flawed belief that citizens would excitedly jump to get shots if they were free and accessible. He naively wanted to steer clear of any political disagreements or mass protests about the government’s illegal mandates.
But it seems coastal parochialism prevails.
Perhaps the more significant aspect of this story is that the Biden administration thinks they they have a perception problem, not a substance or reality problem. https://t.co/9naEgbVz1t
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) December 8, 2021
Plateauing vaccination has caused White House officials to conclude that any political damage done by imposing mandates would be outweighed by the price Biden would pay if he failed to slow down a pandemic that’s killed more Americans under his watch than under his predecessor.
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