What is it with these Republican leaders? They appear to be running uphill against common sense when it comes to the coronavirus. Take the mayor of Longmont CO’s attack on Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis.
After Mayor Brian Bagley went after his governor for his stay-at-home policy, he had to avoid the poison darts from members of his city council. The mayor also had to face his city’s local business owners during a virtual City Council meeting. Bagley said according to Channel 7:
‘I want somebody to come over and spit in my mouth so I can go to the hospital now cause I’m not going to die.’
The virtual meeting was arranged to explain away local coronavirus fears and questions. Boulder County Public Health Executive Director Jeff Zayach called into the City Council meeting to assist the mayor.
Two local business owners noted that the video of the meeting was making its way around the city. Julie Benoit and Luc Nadeau said the mayor’s strange request left them stunned. Nadeau said he thought the mayor was sending out wrong-headed advice to young people. He believed the mayor was encouraging their sense of invincibility, that they will not catch the virus, go to the hospital, or die.
Benoit added:
‘I just felt that it was a disregard for an elderly neighbor, a grandparent, a compromised child or adult.’
On Monday, Mayor Bagley defended himself:
‘First of all, I was speaking with emotion and sarcasm, obviously I don’t want someone to come over and spit in my mouth. What I meant was there is rooms in the hospital. I would rather get sick now than later.’
He added:
‘I don’t think that sarcasm is an excuse for irresponsible language.’
At this time over 2,300 individuals in Colorado have been given the test for CONVID-19, and of that population, 47 have died. Health care experts anticipate that the virus will run rampant in Denver, and they need to need to prepare their hospitals for the virus’ dramatic spike.
Like Donald Trump, Bagley appears more interested in the economic impact of the stay-at-home rule than his citicens. He said:
‘Screw the fact that I’m mayor, screw the fact that I’m on city council. My background is economics. … I’m telling you, we are not going to have a recession, we are not going to have a depression. We are facing the worse economic disaster in the history of the world, and if no one is left after with jobs, we are going to face health consequences much more than a disease that’s going to kill .05 of one percent of us.’
In response to the mayor’s comment, Denver7 questioned whether this mayor was more interested in money than Longmont’s economy’s head resource: its people:
‘I am not picking the economy over this virus, but I do want to say, people die all the time, so right now, for example, without data, basically the political leader has suspended the constitutional right to assemble.’
Nadeau and Benoit questioned the mayor’s leadership skills during a time when the community is confronted with uncertainty:
‘We are all scared of the economy, and I think that we are all in this together, but I also I think that humanity and the wellness of our community is way more important than the amount of dollars that are coming in.’
Bagley said that he would follow the mandates even though he does not agree with them. He said politicians’ and physicians’ beliefs were currently unsubstantiated:
‘What will the end look like? I don’t want to go a day to day as we destroy our economy, suffer the long-term health consequences and ultimately give up our mental health and other freedoms that we enjoy every day.’
Nadeau said he hopes the mayor listens to the experts:
‘We want him to follow that advice. We want him to provide a calm and measured leadership that brings us all together.’
She told Channel 7 that it was the council’s job to serve as a credible resource, speaking in one voice:
‘Everybody in this country is frustrated and worried, but we are grown-ups, and we need to listen to the doctor, nurses, and scientists and not politicians.’
One member of the Longmont City Council Polly Christensen just shook her head. Then, she said:
‘Mankind has survived many pandemics, and we will survive this by all following the advice of social distancing and more careful personal hygiene. Those two things we can control. “We can not spend all of our time being afraid of things we cannot control.’
The City Council member indicated that she did not agree with Bagely’s comments:
‘When this is over, we will be stronger, maybe we will have learned something, but it’s really dangerous and irresponsible to go out and advocate not limiting our social interactions and staying at home.’
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
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