That’s the implicit question in a Steve Benen rant:
The good news is, Texans are seeing “decisive actions” from top state officials. The bad news, these ostensible leaders are taking decisive actions that are likely to make conditions worse, not better.
Backed by a court ruling, Dallas County’s Clay Jenkins (D) this week announced that all local public schools, child-care centers, and businesses in Dallas County must require face coverings to help stem the tide of COVID-19 infections. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) are ready to fight — not against the pandemic, but against the policy designed to address the pandemic. …
And if “liberty and individual choice” leads to a breakdown in Texas’ public-health system, as infections, hospitalizations, and deaths rise, so be it. That’s a price the state’s Republican governor and state attorney general are willing to pay.
After all, governing and protecting the public during a pandemic is fine, but they’re no match for conservative ideological goals, which must take precedence.
Developments in Texas are difficult to watch from a distance — The Atlantic‘s Adam Serwer noted, “Abbott and Texas Republican legislators have undermined virtually every effort to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus” — but they’re by no means unique. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also refuses to abandon his passivity toward the crisis, and is investing much of his energies into fighting against local officials who are eager to take potentially life-saving steps.
On some days, I figure Abbott and DeSantis are competing with Governor Noem (R-SD) for the 2024 Presidential nomination in some sort of macabre pretense that the pandemic isn’t so bad, even if it does force hospitals to setup extra beds in nearby open spaces.
On alternate days, I think this is evidence of absolutist ideological tenets of freedom and the evils of government intrusion. It seems the officials in question believe that free citizens will, naturally, make the proper decisions. I had a bitter laugh at this notion yesterday.
And then there are those days when it seems like they’re operating off of obscure religious tenets that precedent freedom over life & health. Their maneuvers are those of cult leaders, asking their followers to perform maniacal stunts to prove their worthiness, and, not incidentally, strengthen their adherence to their cult.
And if it kills a few vulnerable people, hey, it’s all part of God’s plan, now isn’t it? The great absolver of responsibility.
So, yeah, I don’t have an answer for Benen, but I have a final selection of options to pick from.
