COVID Tea Party

I have an English ladyfriend who lives in France, and she once told me that she thinks the majority of Americans are ignorant and stupid.  The news of the past few days regarding the coronavirus only confirms her observation.

This past week, after Donald Trump set out a series of economic re-opening phases for the states to follow as guides and not the gospel, it readily became apparent that too few if any states would be ready to open soon under the guidelines specified in Phase One (in which Doris gets her oats!).  That didn't stop protesters from filling the streets of various cities, mainly state capitals, demanding an end to the lockdowns and dismissing them as an assault on freedom.  The protests were apparently encouraged by Trump himself, especially in states with Democratic governors to embarrass said governors, one of them being Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer - a female governor who's on Joe Biden's short list for a vice presidential running mate. Of course - rough up a woman being rumored as a candidate for the Vice Presidency!  The Michigan protest - which included militia-type gun-toting guys giving candidate with bare hands to similarly bare-handed children - is shown below. 

Michigan is as divided as the country at large, maybe even more so.  The COVID-19 cases in the state are heavily concentrated in the Detroit metropolitan area, while the rest of the state is largely virus free - and Whitmer's restrictions are meant to keep the rest of the state virus-free while reducing the numbers in the Detroit area.  But with Detroit itself being heavily black and its suburbs being a good mix of non-Hispanic whites and racial/ethic minorities and with the rest of the state being mainly white, the restrictions have also sparked a Tea Party revival, as evidenced in the photo above. I am certain that most of the people in the above photo have phone numbers with a 906 area dove. 906 is the area code for Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  

Trump, of course, is adding fuel to the fire with tweets designed to shame the governors following his own suggested re-opening guidelines: "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" LIBERATE VIRGINIA!" "LIBERATE MINNESOTA!" (Minnesota governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, has allowed the resumption of outdoor recreational activities where social distracting is possible, such as golf and boating.)  You don't see a "LIBERATE NEW JERSEY!" tweet against Phil Murphy because Trump knows he can't win New Jersey in November under any circumstances.  And because Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio is a Republican, you don't see a "LIBERATE OHIO!" Tweet either.  It's quite obvious that these protests are in fact Trump rallies without Trump.

But there have been protests in states led by Republican governors, including Ron DeSantis's Florida, where the picture above was taken.

If these women get their way and defeat the lockdown in Florida, the two of them will get both of what their signs are requesting.