Death Gets Partisan

If I had to give voice to the whispering suspicion in the back of my head it is this one — the country is probably irreversibly broken. I hope not, but I think it is distinctly notable that as a global pandemic ravages the planet and people are dying the partisan divisions and presuppositions of partisans remain constant, if not more strident.

Now that comes to death as well.

For months, Democrats insisted Republicans were anti-science and going to get people killed. Republicans insisted the President’s handling of the viral spread was beyond criticism and flawless. People got stuck in their homes and some governors, local officials, and neve neighbors revealed themselves as wannabe nazis intend on not just controlling lives, but rounding up those who dared venture out in public.

Honestly, the phenomenon of the neighborhood narc is the most revealing thing in this quarantine age. We should all relentlessly work to expose the neighbors intent on calling the police to shut down others who dare venture out. But I digress.

In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp got assailed by Democrats in March for refusing to order shelter in place in the state. They demanded he listen to “the experts,” which I assumed meant actual experts, but apparently meant people Democrats like to listen to.

Governor Kemp actually was listening to experts who were advising him he did not yet need to go with a shelter-in-place order. When the modeling shifted to suggest Georgia could exceed hospital capacity, Kemp shut the state down.

What is left out of national press coverage is that locally Democrats still grumbled. Kemp ordered state police to take a soft approach. Data from cell phone companies suggest only about 15% to 20% of the state curbed its behavior. A lot of people were already hunkered down. Restaurants were already emptying as were gyms before the shelter-in-place. It was enough to stop the viral spread, but Democrats insisted it was not enough and people still were not taking it seriously.

The state never actually exceeded hospital or ICU capacity even as it scrambled to build spill over hospital facilities. 800 neighborhood narc based complaints resulted in a total of 12 citations by police. The state has seen declines in new daily cases each day for the last week. The pockets of case spikes are explainable and manageable suggesting the virus is not really spreading in communities now.

As a result, the same experts who told Kemp to close the state are now telling him that it will be okay to start opening back up slowly. But suddenly the very partisans who said to listen to the experts now are attacking Kemp for listening to the experts.

Death is becoming a partisan weapon.

It is predictable that the virus will spread as people get comfortable, get out of their houses, and lower their guard. No one denies that. But the state has shown it has the surge capacity to meet the demands and new sanitation guidelines, etc. are going in place to help minimize social spread.

Unfortunately, Democrats are already talking about the blood on Kemp’s hands. They will fundraise off any dead bodies. Though the experts have said we can reopen, Democrats intend to weaponize any death against the Governor. The media too in Georgia is already criticizing the Governor’s decision.

But I thought the Governor was supposed to listen to the experts.

Partisans are constructing no-win scenarios for states. If governors do not open their states, they get praise from the press and left while savaged by conservatives for destroying economies. If they open their states, they get blamed for every death in the state by the press and left while, frankly, a lot of conservatives grumble that shelter-in-place was ridiculous anyway.

There should be a balance in there somewhere and that balance should revolve around listening to the experts. That is not happening. The partisans have decided to make death a partisan affair. The great danger is that it does become partisan, which encourages even more people to not take the situation seriously.

At the height of irony, it is funny to see the party of abortion on demand take the position that any death is tragic and avoidable and it is funny watching the party of life take the position that some death is an acceptable cost of reopening the economy. That upending of both sides suggests there is something new here and something different.

The reality is that any death that we can prevent from this virus is a worthwhile endeavor. But also, short of keeping everyone inside for a prolonged period of time, including during a potential second wave of the virus, we need to find other ways to mitigate the spread while letting people move about, work, and earn money. The experts have said Georgia is now ready to make that attempt. The state might as well try to find a middle ground.

Whether it succeeds or fails, Georgia will be a training ground from which every other state can learn. Governor Brian Kemp is either making or breaking his re-election. It is clear, however, he is more focused on the here and now and not on 2022.