The gruesome spectacle of the GOP's bad-faith holiday tantrum
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- As we careen toward the holidays and a record number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities, the GOP's opposition to health mandates is increasingly dangerous.
- Republicans stand alone in their extremist position that people will abide by health recommendations even in the absence of mandates.
- That extremism is fueling irresponsibility and creating the conditions for uncontrolled spread.
- Kathi Valeii is a writer living in Southwest Michigan.
- This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
November has been wild.
It started with a fraught election during a pandemic, continued through Trump-induced mayhem and baseless allegations of voter fraud (plus the GOP-enabling that accompanied it), and is coming to an end with a massive surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
We're now going on month nine of what it means to invoke deadly partisanship during a pandemic. As we careen toward the holidays with record numbers of cases and uncontrolled spread across the US, the GOP's continued opposition to state-imposed limitations on social gatherings is now just a gruesome spectacle.
As Republican leaders offer up bad-faith posturing that suggests Democrats hate the holidays and joy and want you isolated and alone, the data paints the true picture. Just days before Thanksgiving, the US recorded its highest COVID-related fatalities since the pandemic began and daily confirmed cases are approaching 200,000. No matter how tired we all are, no matter how much we want to see our families, the reality is, it's never been more dangerous to do so. Science doesn't care what you believe. Data has no reason to lie.
Republican extremism kills
I was surprised when, a couple of weeks ago, a family member asked if we were available for a gathering on Thanksgiving. We said no.
My partner and I are worried about the most vulnerable people at a gathering, like grandma, and we're also worried about ourselves and our kids. We're worried about the people in our community. We're aware of our responsibility to keep not just us and our family protected, but the wider population, as well.
And if anyone's tired, it's those of us who have taken the pandemic and the health mandates and guidelines seriously since day one.
When Republicans mock science and conflate executive orders meant to save lives with authoritarian abuses of power, it enables deadly denial and selfishness. Republicans stand alone in their extremist position that people will always act in good faith without the law as a consequence. In fact, it's the very people that listen to this kind of rhetoric that balk about wearing masks, that aren't staying home, and that aren't social distancing.
It's pathetic that we exist in a country where "mask solidarity" is even a thing. When my family was on a walk in our neighborhood the other day, someone happy-honked and waved at us. We could only deduce that they were excited to see us masked up. Another day when my child saw someone she knew with a mask on for the first time since the pandemic began, she said, "she must be a Democrat." I chuckled, but I also wanted to scream.
Republican's opposition to "authoritarianism" is notably only for a specific brand of power - namely authority that they've branded as "socialist." The GOP opposes the kind of power that does collective good, that requires individuals to consider the whole, that asks us to sacrifice so that other people might stay alive.
In early October, thanks to a lawsuit brought by Republican legislators in Michigan, the Michigan Supreme Court struck down all of Gov. Whitmer's executive orders related to the pandemic. The week before Thanksgiving, as cases of COVID-19 in Michigan began to climb at alarming rates, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) enacted new orders related to mask mandates, limitations on social gatherings, and limited closure of indoor dining, high schools, gyms, and entertainment venues.
You'd think after more than 400 Michigan residents died from COVID-19 in a single week, these mandates would be widely accepted and understood. And by the public, they largely are. An October poll found that 61% of Michigan residents approved of Gov. Whitmer's handling of the pandemic. But members of the Michigan GOP, predictably lost their damn minds when the new orders were issued, responding only to chastise the governor and criticize mask mandates.
Just two days after the new orders in Michigan went into effect and just days before Michigan's State Board of Canvassers was set to certify Michigan's general election votes, Michigan GOP lawmakers accepted an invitation from President Trump for a conversation with him at the White House. The legislators would have us believe that the meeting wasn't a pitch to subvert the will of Michigan voters, and instead was heavily centered around a discussion about federal aid for the pandemic.
However, President Trump was actively challenging election results in multiple states, including Michigan, attempting to convince key GOP-majority legislatures in several states to agree to appoint electors who would vote for him despite the will of the voters in their state.
Irresponsibility is on brand
In contrast to their opposition to pandemic executive orders intended to keep people alive, enabling and coddling a would-be fascist is quite hypocritical. But, as we've learned over the past many years, it's perfectly on-brand for Republicans. The most infamous double-speak from Republicans is about whether or not a supreme court justice can be appointed during an election year. Hint: they can not when the president is a Democrat, and they can when the president is a Republican.
Instead of acknowledging and correcting these clearly visible and unexplainable double-standards, come Thanksgiving, the GOP is relying on playground-level deflection, yelling, "I'm not a hypocrite, you are!"
They're referring to a few notable examples where Democratic leaders have made very public bad calls — like Nancy Pelosi's (since cancelled) dinner for incoming members of the House and Governor Cuomo's (now cancelled) Thanksgiving day plans. While those were certainly questionable calls, Democrats are not generally calling on their base to defy and resist orders intended to curb a pandemic.
Instead of posturing about authority, Republican legislators could do their jobs and enact common-sense pandemic legislation that would save their constituents' lives. Instead, unaccountable GOP extremism is fueling the kinds of irresponsibility that directly leads to illness and death and for which there is no end in sight.
There is no question that pandemic-related orders save lives. Data shows that places that do not enact mandates, have the worst outbreaks. It's too bad that the GOP's pandemic safety plan of sharing a few flag-masked PSAs, while simultaneously popping off about freedom and trust, eschews that data. It's too bad that so many more people will have to suffer and die as a result.
This past Thanksgiving, my spouse and child and I took a hike, ate good food, put up the Christmas tree, and watched Holiday movies. We'll be glad that we have this year, that we survived a pandemic for nine whole months. We'll hope we make it through the holiday season and beyond without getting sick. And we'll hold on on our own, because half of the lawmakers with the ability to help us, won't.
Kathi Valeii's journalism and essays focus on parenting, identity, and justice issues, and often the intersection of those topics. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Pacific Standard Magazine, and many others.
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