Last March, Governor DeWine of Ohio cancelled the Arnold Festival, costing the economy of Columbus millions of dollars. He went on to order closure of most businesses and schools, and to mandate wearing masks and social distancing, and other actions to reduce the risk of spreading of the coronavirus. He was following the advice of Dr. Amy Acton, the Director of the Department of Health for the state. I was surprised, but pleased, the DeWine would take these steps. He's never seemed very bright to me, and is very conservative, so I expected him to take the mindless path chosen by the former guy in Washington, who made the US response to coronavirus a sad joke, causing suffering throughout the world. DeWine reverted to type later, caving to pressure to open up the state too soon, resulting in two subsequent surges in cases and more deaths, but at least he started right.
We now know that blanket lockdowns are not particularly effective in slowing the spread of the virus, but no one knew that then, so caution was the right choice. Now, in part because some people defied the public health experts, we have a better understanding of what works and what doesn't help. Targeted lockdowns are helpful. Close churches, theaters, and bars, places where people gather, stay close together, and sing or cheer a lot, because those are places where the virus spreads quickly. Wear masks around others, and keep proper distance between people. And once the vaccine is available, get jabbed.
Some people rebel against any restrictions, no matter how important, and people have complained about mask mandates and business closures since they were first imposed last year. Some are insisting that all limitations are unconstitutional and political, and that coronavirus is a hoax created to harm the former guy's campaign. If only.
Now, the state legislature has decided that DeWine, in following the advice of doctors, epidemiologists, and public health experts, failed to protect the "rights" of uninformed assholes, who have made a lot of noise for the last year. So they passed a bill limiting the emergency powers of the governor, the Department of Health, and the local jurisdictions, to impose public health measures for the protection of the population. The legislature has grabbed the power to override those rules. Governor DeWine vetoed the bill, but the legislature has voted to override the veto. Supporters claim they are doing so in the name of asserting the right of the legislative branch to share power equally with the executive.
These state representatives and state senators are uninformed assholes. They are not listening to public health experts, or doctors, or epidemiologists, or anyone with any experience in dealing with public health emergencies. They are playing to their base of arrogant, uninformed assholes, the kind who still say the Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election, despite the clear evidence they did not. It is shameful of them to pander to the weakminded fools who howl about rights without any understanding, or even consideration, of the realities of disease processes.
When a public health emergency appears, actions much be taken quickly to have much effect. Inserting the legislative branch in making those kinds of decisions will slow the process to meaninglessness, besides the fact that legislators in both houses have repeated shown themselves incapable of judging data and science, and have no record or tradition of seeking proper advice. It is a childish power grab that will be bad for Ohio, and may result in dramatic increases in morbidity and mortality in future emergencies. Or even the current one. After all, the number of new cases is not dropping in Ohio, which probably portends another surge. An avoidable one. And how do we hold them accountable for this travesty?
People say that in a democratic republic, we get the government we deserve. I fear that is true. The people of Ohio are narrow-minded, uninformed, uncurious, biased, and easily fooled, which is why they voted for the former guy twice, chose Mike DeWine over a vastly superior alternative, and maintain Republican supermajorities in the state house and senate. I hope they don't suffer too much from these pathetic mistakes. I hope those of us who know just how bad this could be don't suffer, either.
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