Big Jim vs The Corona

Em Carpenter

Em was one of those argumentative children who was sarcastically encouraged to become a lawyer, so she did. She is a proud life-long West Virginian, and, paradoxically, a liberal. In addition to writing about society, politics and culture, she enjoys cooking, podcasts, reading, and pretending to be a runner. She will correct your grammar. You can find her on Twitter.

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12 Responses

  1. Douglas Hayden says:

    Mike DeWine has managed to resurrect a bipartisan spirit here in Ohio, and Dr. Amy Acton has become a household name now. So far, things look under control here thanks to both of their quick actions. However, I did hear the governor was having to hold back colorful language today when talking about getting federal ventilator assistance.Report

  2. The good news is that since your governor is a good buddy of Trump’s, WV will be towards the top of the list for federal assistance.Report

  3. Saul Degraw says:

    California is on the front guard of stay in place to combat the pandemic. All in all, I do think Newsom is being serious and handling the situation well. He is not as much of a public presence as Cuomo though.Report

  4. Dark Matter says:

    He is alarmingly large – 6’7 and, I’d venture to guess, at least 400 pounds

    Seriously unhealthy, I’m bigger than that but less than 60% as heavy.

    How well is your local government handling things?

    Unclear. I’d say they’re on top of things and super compitent, but I’m out in the sticks in a county with single digits of cases and Detroit is a hot spot.

    Basically everything was shut down on the 12th-16th, when we had about 50 cases.

    We now have more than 2800, we’re getting about +25% cases every day.

    So… is that was victory looks like?Report

  5. George Turner says:

    Kentucky’s Governor Beshear has been doing an excellent job, giving daily press conferences and staying on top of things. He took the virus extremely seriously from the state.

    I think even Republicans are relieved that we don’t have Matt Bevin anymore. It’s anybody’s guess what Bevin would have done, probably having the state adopt any and all orphans from Wuhan and promoting video cock-fighting as a way to show our resilience.Report

  6. Kazzy says:

    Murphy is getting big praise, I think in part because of a folksy/no-nonsense approach to communication (e.g., a casually shot video where he says, “If you have a corona party, we’ll crash your party.”)

    County Exec just announced closing certain public parks and limiting access to others by closing parking lots, making them accessible on foot only. I think that’s more about perception than reality. If anything, it may backfire by sending folks to fewer/smaller places. My sons and I have done a lot of hiking and nature walks. We saw others on trail but everyone maintained social distancing. That will be harder now. Maybe the goal is to make us stay indoors, but people need to move.Report

    • George Turner in reply to Kazzy says:

      One state banned fishing, and I couldn’t think of anything less likely to transmit the virus than a guy in the middle of the lake waiting all day to snag a bass. Hikers scattered in the woods aren’t going to spread the infection. If everybody loaded up a camper and went duck hunting for the next two weeks, the outbreak would come to a screeching halt.Report

      • DensityDuck in reply to George Turner says:

        The point of doing things like that is to emphasize to people that this is different, that it’s something they need to take seriously, that it’s not just An Extra Christmas Break. If all the shops and restaurants weren’t closed, all the parks and bars still open, people would just go out and party and we might as well have not bothered.

        You’re right that fishing by yourself in the middle of a lake is not an activity with a high risk of person-to-person transmission, but the point is to reinforce a message, and times like this are all about the messaging.

        And it can send another message later. “They opened the lake back up. Things must be getting better. News says they’re still bad, but then those people always do.”Report

      • Dark Matter in reply to George Turner says:

        One guy in the middle of a lake isn’t a problem. 6 random guys stuck on a boat together in the middle of a lake is.Report

      • Doctor Jay in reply to George Turner says:

        I think “fishing” covers a whole lot of ground, depending on who you are. One solitary guy in a boat in the middle of the lake is one possibility, but there are others.

        I suspect that if “fishing” weren’t banned, then the resort lakes would be jammed with campers, trailers and tents, and there would be a lot of face-to-face impromptu contact.Report

  7. Philip H says:

    Mississippi’s Governor Tate (Tater Tot) Reeves is a Trump loyalist, and so has basically left the municipalities and counties to fend for themselves. The MDoH folks are doing a decent job reporting on testing, but with our proximity to New Orleans we really need a comprehensive state level response. Thankfully a lot of Mississippians are taking the stay home idea seriously but b!tching loudly as they do.Report