Republicans are going all-out in their campaigns against the stay-at-home orders that have been instituted in an attempt to stem the spread of the Coronavirus. As of early Friday, well over 64,000 Americans have died from the Coronavirus, and Republicans would no doubt favor an all-out national response if that sort of death toll had been enacted by just about any other kind of crisis imaginable — but since it’s a virus, which they can’t see or shoot at, they’re losing their minds. This week, the Michigan state Senate’s Republican leader, Mike Shirkey, insisted that Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s decision to extend the state’s emergency declaration was on par with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that sparked the U.S. entry into World War II.
Shirkey’s extreme rhetoric is, quite simply, laughably ridiculous and detached from the actual reality of the situation.
In an angry Facebook post, he bellowed, in reference to Whitmer’s emergency declaration extension:
‘With breathtaking disregard for the law, our Governor took an action yesterday which will memorialize Michigan’s spot in dubious, embarrassing history. April 30, 2020: a day in our State’s legacy which will last in infamy. Familiar and fear provoking words. But accurate and honest.’
What on earth is he talking about? What law does the stay-at-home order supposedly break? Would he even be able to answer that question, if asked, or is it all just hot air? Odd are that the answer is the latter option.
He continued:
‘Michigan now has earned the distinction of having a Governor, drunk on the addiction of unfettered power, declaring that she, and she alone, can and will continue to act unilaterally to lock down our society, our culture, and our economy. Her own Medical Director sent an unmistakable message that should cause each of our hearts to stop. She said: we will likely be restricted under Emergency Declarations well into 2021. The Senate, along with our partners in the House will continue to fight for the voice of every MICHIGAN citizen. Against one lone, power emboldened voice. If you want to join in the fight, please share.’
Read below:
With breathtaking disregard for the law, our Governor took an action yesterday which will memorialize Michigan’s spot in…
Posted by Mike Shirkey on Friday, May 1, 2020
So, Shirkey thinks that the simple declaration that some kind of emergency response may have to continue into 2021 is some kind of evidence of some kind of nefarious liberal plot against his rights? What — does he think that the Coronavirus’s continued spread around the globe is some kind of liberal plot to steal conservatives’ firepower or something? Are European governments in on the plot too? Maybe George Soros funded the virus in a secret lab on a boat in the middle of the ocean where Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and others have been plotting their escapades! Obviously, that’s not the case, but little seems too far-fetched for the folks to latch onto who think that basic public health measures to keep thousands of people from dying are some kind of secret agenda.
This week, heavily armed protesters who were angry about the stay-at-home order stormed the Michigan state capitol — and the following day, President Trump himself expressed support on Twitter for their escapades.
