CLICK BELOW TO HEAR PART ONE OF SEN. ED MCBROOM’S COMMENTS
CLICK BELOW TO HEAR PART TWO OF SEN. ED MCBROOM’S COMMENTS
Upper Peninsula State Senator Ed McBroom says the order by Governor Gretchen Whitmer requiring everyone to wear a mask in public is causing unneeded division in the community. And the Dickinson County Republican says that there’s not enough focus on the positive things that are happening in the fight against COVID-19, which is leading to unnecessary fear across the Upper Peninsula.
The Dickinson County Republican spoke with the Radio Results Network Wednesday afternoon, shortly after Whitmer spoke at a press conference where she continued to push for people to “mask up”. Whitmer said that Michigan was in jeopardy of going backwards in its economic re-engagement efforts, and the state will not be able to re-open schools for in-person instruction at this rate.
McBroom, however, says that simply focusing on the number of daily positive test results (a two-month high of 891 on Wednesday) is not giving people a full picture of what’s going on.
“We should be celebrating what we’ve accomplished,” McBroom (R-Norway) said. “Are the number of positive cases up? Yes. But we were testing 1,000 people a day in April. Now, we’re testing tens of thousands. The number of hospitalizations are down. The number of deaths are down. Those are things where we should be saying ‘we are actually doing really well’. That’s a good sign.”
McBroom says that he personally does not have a problem with wearing a mask. But he says telling everyone to do so, and putting businesses and employees in the middle of such a contentious issue, is wrong.
“We’re now asking our friends and neighbors, our local business guys, to be the police force.” McBroom said. “And to go out there and harass their neighbors? We’re seeing people confront long-time friends or business associates. You’re seeing these angry, hostile interactions. A lady was on TV-6 saying we should have the death penalty for people who don’t wear masks because they are endangering her. And yet, there’s more danger driving down the road from your friends and neighbors than there is from being next door to them, or being in a restaurant next to them, without a mask.”
McBroom says there’s also hostility toward the governor’s mask order because she imposed it without getting their input. The Democratic governor has issued dozens of executive orders without approval from the Republican-led legislature under the powers granted to her under a 1945 law. The legislature has challenged that law in court, and has supported a citizen’s petition drive to repeal it.
“To have basically eliminated the people’s voice in these discussions by continuing these strong-handed emergency tactics, not allowing the legislature to have any voice in what’s going on, and not allow your local communities this control, it’s no wonder people are so angry and hostile right now,” McBroom said.
McBroom says that the divisiveness and fear are hurting us just as much, if not more, than the virus itself.
“None of this has been about stopping the virus, or that it will just magically go away because people wore their masks diligently enough or didn’t go to work long enough,” McBroom said. “Are we unnecessarily scaring ourselves, and keeping our schools closed, and cancelling events, and our traditions, and our culture, when the stats show that we are making tremendous progress against this virus.”
“The continued stress and cost, and now, this force onto of neighbors against neighbors, is not good for society.”
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