CLICK TO HEAR GOVERNOR’S RESPONSE TO PROTESTS
Thousands of people converged on downtown Lansing on Wednesday to protest Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s ”Stay at Home” order, which has shut down many businesses and banned nearly all travel in Michigan.
The protests dubbed “Operation Gridlock” was organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition and Michigan Freedom Fund.
Whitmer used a portion of her late-afternoon news conference to address the protests, which she says may have damaged public health and safety. She added that actions like this could, in the end, lead to an even longer period of restrictions that the protestors have decried.
“I understand the frustration people are feeling. I’m frustrated, too,” Whitmer said. “None of us want to be here in this moment, but we are, and we have to do the best we can. I know that people are angry, and if you want to take it out on, and send it my way, and it makes you feel better, that’s fine.”
Whitmer noted that not only did thousands of cars block downtown Lansing streets, as had been planned by protestors, but many got out of their vehicles and marched to the steps of the capitol building.
“I was really disappointed to see people congregating, not wearing masks,” Whitmer said. “I saw someone handing out candy to little kids barehanded. People are flying the Confederate flag. Untold numbers who gassed-up (their vehicles) on the way here, or grabbed a bite (to eat) on the way home. We know that this rally endangered people.”
Michigan House Republicans issued a statement in support of the rally, and posted photos on their Facebook page praising the protests. The GOP post read, in part:
“People are justifiably furious about the governor taking away the jobs of over 1 million residents, then not allowing many of those residents to file for jobless benefits.
They’re upset the governor is thinking in terms of what jobs are “essential” or “non-essential,” instead of considering whether a job can be done safely. If workers are able to use proper social distancing practices on the job, we believe they should be able to earn a living.
The governor’s one-size-fits-all approach also is causing frustration. Since different regions of the state are experiencing varying levels of exposure, why doesn’t the governor take a more regional approach to her order Lastly, people are upset because they believe the restrictive order is taking away their fundamental civil liberties and freedoms.”
We have posted some of the GOP photos here.
The governor believes that the state’s approach is working at slowing the spread of the virus, and events like Wednesday’s will set that back.
“This kind of activity will put more people at risk,” Whitmer said. “Sadly, it could prolong the amount of time we have to be in this posture. I just ask you to do your part by not spreading COVID-19. For the sake of those frontline health care providers that I was on a Zoom call while the protests were going on.”
Whitmer added that she did not take any of the actions that she has taken lightly, and she pleaded with Michigan residents to “hang in there”.
“We’re all in this together,” Whitmer said. “I am the governor for all 10 million people of the state, whether you support all of the policies that I’ve championed or not. We’ve got to all do our part, for the sake of one another, for the sake of our economy.”
Whitmer said that she knows people have questions about whether these restrictions will last through the summer, June, July, and August. She does not have an answer for those questions at the moment.
“You have my word that I will continue to keep you informed as we have information to share,” Whitmer said. “Right now, I’m just gonna ask that you keep going (with social distancing and obeying the orders). That you keep doing your part. When we do, we’ll save lives, and it will shorten the amount of time that we have to take these aggressive actions.”
Whitmer’s current executive orders are in place through April 30th.
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