At one time, Joe Biden was apparently considering Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer as a vice-presidential candidate. She had gotten glowing media notices after she stood up to Donald Trump and she was the right gender.
Alas, Biden must have seen something in Whitmer’s character that caused him to pull back. Maybe it was her inability to take responsibility for her actions.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that the recent surge in coronavirus cases that has made Michigan a national outlier is partly the result of a Michigan Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key law she has used to fight the pandemic.
It was a departure from statements Whitmer made immediately following the October ruling, when she said she mostly retained powers related to public health measures but would require legislative approval for other measures, such as extending unemployment insurance benefits and allowing local governments to hold their public meetings remotely. Also, Whitmer in recent months has eased coronavirus restrictions voluntarily — not in response to court rulings — despite rising case numbers.
Whitmer was one of the most panicky Democratic governors when the pandemic hit. She not only shut everything down, she made it illegal for Michigan residents to travel to their own vacation homes. She also tried to ban motorboats. In Michigan.
That motorboat ban didn’t last long. It was rescinded less than two weeks later following a threatened suit by the state’s largest conservation group.
But it was no secret that Whitmer was running around like a chicken without a head. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that she blames others for the spike in Covid cases.
“I have been sued by my Legislature, I have lost in a Republican-controlled (Michigan) Supreme Court, and I don’t have all of the exact same tools,” Whitmer said after host Chuck Todd played her clips of previous statements she had made that Todd suggested she has changed her tune about following the science to address the pandemic.
Whitmer on Sunday did say Michigan still has “strong measures to keep people safe,” including a face mask requirement, and is “still doing what we can.” She also cited the success Michigan had early on during the pandemic, when she imposed strict measures on business and other activities, which she said resulted in “vast reservoirs of people who don’t have antibodies,” who are susceptible to highly contagious variants now circulating.
Did you follow that? Because she did such a great job at the beginning of the pandemic, more people are getting sick now because they don’t have antibodies… or something.
Whitmer’s policies have made things worse, not better. She’s attempting to get control of the pandemic without returning to the draconian shutdown measures that have nearly destroyed the Michigan economy. That’s a step in the right direction. But thanks to her previous policies, the state is going to have to endure this surge in Covid cases until it runs its course.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member