In October, Bill Maher noted how much better red states are than blue states when it comes to COVID.
“I know some people seem to not want to give up on the wonderful pandemic, but you know what? It’s over. There’s always going to be a variant. You shouldn’t have to wear masks. I should be to … I haven’t had a meeting with my staff since March of 2020. Why?” he asked. “Also, vaccine, mask, pick one! You’ve got to pick. You can’t make me mask if I’ve had the vaccine.”
Maher also noted that when he travels, “the red states are a joy and the blue states are a pain in the a**. For no reason.”
Yeah, well, I live in New York state—probably the biggest pain in the a** state behind California. On Monday, a new statewide mask mandate will take effect, thanks to Governor Kathy Hochul.
Small business owners are furious, as the mandate presents them with a new challenge to deal with during the holiday shopping season. The mandate will remain in place until January 15, 2022, when New York state will “re-evaluate based on current conditions.”
But local leaders are also not thrilled with the mandate, which was only announced on Friday. Several Republican-led counties are refusing to enforce the mandate, while various Democrats in the state are praising Hochul for her leadership.
It’s likely only a matter of time before New York follows California’s lead and institutes a vaccine mandate for children to attend school.
I hope not.
It would be so lovely to live in a red state like Florida and Texas—states that care more about personal liberty than hysteria.
However, it turns out that not all blue states are buying into the hysteria. For example, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, says he won’t be reinstating a statewide mask mandate because Coloradoans have had plenty of time to get vaccinated and the coronavirus “emergency is over.”
“The emergency is over. You know, public health [officials] don’t get to tell people what to wear; that’s just not their job,” Polis said in an interview with Colorado Public Radio. “Public health [officials] would say to always wear a mask because it decreases flu and decreases [other airborne illnesses]. But that’s not something that you require; you don’t tell people what to wear.”
“You don’t tell people to wear a jacket when they go out in winter and force them to [wear it],” he added. “If they get frostbite, it’s their own darn fault. If you haven’t been vaccinated, that’s your choice. I respect that.”
“Everybody has had the chance to get vaccinated,” he added. “And at this point, I think it’s almost like they made a deliberate decision not to get vaccinated,” Polis explained. “I still encourage everybody who hasn’t been vaccinated to get protected. And for those who are, make sure to get that booster after six months. The data shows it’s important and very likely even more so with this omicron variant.”
The data also shows that vaccination (even boostered) isn’t surefire protection from COVID, but hey, it’s still refreshing to see a Democrat who isn’t caving to COVID hysteria and implementing draconian measures that won’t stop the virus from doing what the virus is gonna do.
I just wish my governor was like that.
Related: Now The White House Defends Child Abuse to Fight COVID?
