Bolder Polis

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” ~ C.S. Lewis

We’re all in this together says Governor Jared Polis – Really?

Colorado Governor Jared Polis has a fondness for saying, “We’re all in this together” during press conferences addressing the coronavirus pandemic. He is also fond of the words, “bold,” and “flatten the curve.” During an April 26 press conference, he declared the curve had been flattened but then added that folks in Colorado would continue living in a “much more dangerous” world, and that folks should wear masks while in public.

Originally, the purpose of “flattening the curve” was to spare hospitals the trauma of being overwhelmed with people infected with the coronavirus seeking medical care. Polis spent much of March and April repeatedly telling folks the state had to flatten the curve so businesses could open quickly as possible while reducing and preventing as many infections and deaths. By all accounts, the state has flattened the curve. The state has seen fewer outbreaks of the virus, declining infection rates, and also a daily fatality count that has fallen into the single digits since May 1st.

Safer at Home?

Now that we are under a Safer at Home marketing campaign endorsed by the state and governor, folks are antsy to get outside, get back to living life normally, and in other words, move forward and past the pandemic. But many medical officials in the Polis administration are fearful another spike or a dramatic increase in infections is inevitable, so they continue to harp on the claim that the state can only open if certain metrics are achieved.

During an interview with a Denver news outlet on April 7, the Governor Jared Polis said the state had to “squash” the virus. Here, this seems at odds with the idea of “flattening the curve” in the context of preventing hospitals from being overrun by a surge of infected humans. 

But today, many hospitals have furloughed medical employees with some rural hospitals in danger of closing down due to a lack of medical patients. Did “squash the virus” also “squash” hospitals and the jobs of many medical workers? In other words, was it Polis’ plan to significantly reduce overall hospital capacity while raising hospital capacity solely for COVID-19 patients? At a minimum, it looks like the governor’s “flatten the curve” policy damaged the state’s healthcare system while trying to save folks from a virus.

As I mentioned before, the governor has a fondness for saying “bold” during his press conferences. Sometimes, he says folks in Colorado are bold, and they are bold. Sometimes, he describes himself as bold. Oh, OK. Be bold, then guv. 

Impact of Federal Stimulus Money

But it is curious why the governor felt the need for Colorado to join a pact with the Democrat governors of Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington state. Obstinately, the purpose of joining the pact seemed to be a way to share information between those states but new events suggest it may have been more about collecting federal stimulus money. Meanwhile, the governor has indicated he is “watching” how Georgia handles their pandemic, which many experts and pundits claim is similar to how Colorado has been managed thus far into the pandemic, and the evidence appears Georgia is doing fine while businesses are open.

Near the end of April, Governor Polis promoted one of the slogans of the Western States Pact, “Health outcomes and science – not politics – will guide these decisions.” If the pact had included, as one example, South Dakota and its vastly different approach to the pandemic, and worked with that state’s governor to share numbers, ideas, solutions, failed solutions, and more, then that would have been a wonderfully fantastic opportunity for Governor Polis to acquire good and timely information. 

Democrat governors only?

Georgia’s governor is a Republican. Did Governor Polis decide to only work with Democrat governors? Why stop there? What about Sweden’s model, which the World Health Organization endorsed in terms of their dealing with the pandemic? While the governor once indicated he wanted the state to follow a model similar to South Korea’s, he appears to have all but abandoned that model, seemingly preferring to stay huddled with other governors of his own political party.

In contrast and back in early February, the governor stated, “We are at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history where we must reject the manufactured division that is being shoved forward for the sake of political gain and work together on bold efforts to expand opportunity for all.” My, my, my, that quote aged well, didn’t it? Quite the bold words.

The Maverick Observer, or “The Moe” as we affectionately call it, is an online free-thinking publication interested in the happenings in our town. We launched in February 2020 to hold our politicians and businesses accountable. We hope to educate, inform, entertain, and infuse you with a sense of community.