GOP Senator, Arkansas Gov. Criticize Republican Mask Mandate Bans: ‘Local Officials Should Have Control’ - Forbes

soworos.blogspot.com

Topline

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.) and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) opposed statewide bans against local mask mandates Sunday—including in Hutchinson’s own state—breaking with other high-level Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who have blocked mask mandates in spite of new Covid-19 surges.

Key Facts

Cassidy, who has a background as a doctor, said Sunday on CNN he opposed state orders that prohibit local officials and schools from imposing their own mask mandates based on his “conservative principle[s],” saying, “I think you govern best when you govern closest to the people being governed.”

“I do disagree with Gov. DeSantis,” Cassidy said, saying “local officials should have control” and he “doesn’t want top-down control from Washington, D.C., I don’t want top-down control from the governor’s office.”

Hutchinson said Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation he changed his mind on the mask mandate ban because “facts change and leaders have to adjust to the new facts that you have and the reality of what you have to deal with.”

“It was an error to sign that law,” Hutchinson reiterated Sunday, after previously saying he regretted signing a mask mandate ban into law and unsuccessfully trying to have the law amended to allow school mask mandates.

Arkansas’ mask mandate ban has now been temporarily struck down in court after local parents sued to block it, which Hutchinson praised, saying “thank goodness” Arkansas now “has that local flexibility” to impose new mandates.

Crucial Quote

“When it comes to local conditions, if my hospital is full and my vaccination rate is low and infection rate is going crazy, we should allow local officials to make those decisions best for their community,” Cassidy said. “Whenever politicians mess with public health, usually it doesn't work out well for public health and ultimately it doesn't work out for the politician.”

Key Background

State-level bans on mask mandates have come under greater scrutiny amid the Delta variant’s rapid spread, particularly as some of the states that prohibit mask mandates—like Florida, Texas and, until it was overturned, Arkansas—are also now among the states with the highest Covid-19 transmission. President Joe Biden has called for governors prohibiting mask mandates to “get out of the way,” and some cities and school districts have resisted the bans and imposed their own mask mandates anyway. Despite the controversy and Hutchinson’s remorse for enacting a mask mandate ban, other governors like DeSantis have continued to defend their policies, with DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw saying “it is not the role of any level of government — local, state, or federal — to micromanage individuals’ decisions or fine people for declining to wear a face covering.”

What To Watch For

The court ruling imposing a preliminary injunction against Arkansas’ law is likely the first in a series of court rulings on mask mandate bans. Multiple legal challenges have been filed against DeSantis’ order barring school mask mandates and a Phoenix-area teacher has sued his school district for imposing a mask mandate despite Arizona’s ban on doing so, with more lawsuits potentially still to come.