Georgia's governor is the very model of a modern major conservative

​​​​​The Wall Street Journal's editorial board is most unhappy that Trump, subsequent to being happy that Georgia's governor reopened the state, isn’t at all happy that the governor reopened the state.

"I want him to open as soon as possible. And I want the state to open. But I wasn’t happy with [Governor] Brian Kemp," was Trump's latest verdict on the gormless gov. (The prez's ruling came the day before he advised American citizens to guzzle a cleaning agent of their choice. Just days ago, Kemp revealed — months after this had been quite prominently in the news — that he had just learned that asymptomatic covid-19 can be contagious. And there you have it: the state of "conservative leadership" in America.)

Mused the WSJ: "Consistency has never been Donald Trump’s strong suit, but during a national calamity it would be terrific if the President would decide what he wants without shifting from day to day." Georgia's governor "may be wrong to open gyms and nail salons this early," the Journal continued, "or he may save the livelihoods of thousands of Georgians without significantly reducing the health risk."

That the editorial board believes Kemp may be right is plain enough, though its reason for this belief is just plain nuts: "Mr. Kemp made a good case. Georgia has not seen a devastating outbreak of Covid-19. As of Friday the state has had 22,147 known cases, with 892 deaths related to the virus — a per capita rate far below that of such hard-hit areas as Louisiana, Michigan and New York."

Overlooked — entirely — by the Journal is that mitigation efforts have been responsible for Georgia's heretofore lockout of a devastating outbreak. With his own mitigation of those efforts, Gov. Kemp has taken the encouraging status quo — "the number of documented cases appears to be diminishing," note the editors — and hoisted it on its own, otherwise deactivated petard.

I cannot understand, in any sympathetic way, the conservative resistance to self-evident reasoning — other than that conservatives know what they want, and thus grab for it as would an ill-mannered toddler for a cookie. It's politics of the moment; the infantile thrill of immediate gratification; the shucking off of responsibility for harmful consequences.

What I do understand is that not for long can you run a functioning state — or country — that way.

Comments

[Peter G]

Yea, about that stuff about Kemp just learning about a fundamental aspect of Covid transmission months into a massive deadly outbreak? He is, it should be said, not alone alone among his conservative brethren. They have always been an incurious lot. But, hear me out, maybe there is a solution of sorts. What if the critical information they need not to kill people could be put into a format they could understand. Something like a Waffle House menu. Maybe that would help.

[Anne J]

I doubt it. I worry about these premature reopenings. I worry about the low wage workers who are being put into a position to choose between their lives and their livelihoods. It does seem to be affecting the low wage workers forced on the front lines for not enough money to live on even in the pre pandemic world. How will the bosses handle it when their low wage workforce is getting sick and dying and the profit margin gets thinner. What will life be like for workers post pandemic?

[Freesia]

PM, I read the article but somehow had skipped the headline. I just noticed the witty nod you gave to Gilbert and Sullivan. One of the things I love about this site. The way with words.

Not to distract from the seriousness of the topic, but I just noticed and it made laugh. Thanks for that.