Foolishness: Conley, Azinger acting irresponsibly
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Imagine the mental gymnastics it is taking for politicians who manipulated voters into believing they are conservatives (they convinced folks they believe in personal accountability, small government, local decision-making, and avoiding increased dependence on the federal and state government) but who are now hosting super-spreader events at which they seek a special session of the West Virginia Legislature to take decision-making about mask mandates away from the local level and place it in Charleston, instead.
Elected officials such as state Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, and Del. Roger Conley, R-Wood, asked more than 200 people to toss aside their personal responsibility for their own (and their families') health and safety to instead herd together at Bicentennial Park for an event that featured signs such as the apparently unironic "My Body My Choice."
Further, they deceived the people gathered by shouting proven falsehoods such as "masks don't work." That was Conley.
Azinger roared "I do not believe a private employer should have the right to mandate their employees to get vaccinated."
Read that again. State Sen. Mike Azinger does not believe a PRIVATE employer has the right to make decisions about what is best for its own employees. He thinks bureaucrats and politicians in Charleston should be doing that.
Meanwhile, every move these elected officials make to convince people not to wear masks or get vaccinated does two things because it increases the amount of time we are in the grip of this pandemic.
First, it dramatically increases the likelihood COVID-19 will surge again to the point of requiring lockdowns, and therefore cost people their jobs -- and increases dependence on the federal government for stimulus checks, unemployment payments, loan forgiveness, eviction bans … you name it.
Second, and unforgivably, it will kill people.
Gov. Jim Justice, also a Republican, understands how terribly misguided those such as Conley and Azinger are on the matter.
"We've given the school systems local control for them to be making decisions about our kids and everything, because the local people should know better," Justice said. "We're trying to work with everyone the best we possibly can, but what we really should be getting from our legislators as a whole is get yourself out there and get vaccinated."
Don't let them do it, folks. Don't let them convince you to argue FOR sending more control to Charleston, FOR behaviors that will inevitably increase dependence on the federal government, and FOR abandoning your own common sense and personal accountability in favor of following a crowd that is headed in the wrong direction.
Politicians such as Conley and Azinger might be hoping you won't catch on, but you're better than that.