More bad news for Covid restriction lovers! Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal ran a long article headlined, “School Reopening Mess Drives Frustrated Parents Toward GOP.” The sub-headline blames democrat party defections on Covid restrictions: “So disillusioned: Covid restrictions are weighing heavily for Democratic voters who say their party officials left mandates in place too long, with devastating consequences for their children.”[clip]
One of those interviewed was Gina Genovese, a longtime Democratic voter until November, when she cast her ballot for Governor Murphy’s unsuccessful Republican challenger. Ms. Genovese was the state’s first openly gay mayor in 2006 when she presided over Long Hill, N.J., as a Democrat.
But Genovese told the Journal that she was turned off by her party’s support for mask and vaccine mandates, which she viewed as violations of personal freedom. Last year, she helped pay for a lawsuit that tried to strike Governor Murphy’s school mask mandate. This year, she has repeatedly turned down fundraising requests from the Democratic Party. “Democrats have left me so disillusioned,” she said.
Ms. Genovese described herself as “far-left” on global warming and gay rights, and admitted it was a tough decision to support Republicans during the pandemic. But she said she would probably back Republican Thomas Kean for Congress this fall. “Everything is a balance,” she said.
Rachel Keane, a 35-year-old registered nurse and mother of two in West Orange, N.J., said she had never voted Republican until last fall, when she straight Republican on her ballot, right down the ticket. She admitted she was worried about what her liberal parents would think about her switch, but described her decision as an awakening. She had always supported democrats without a second thought, but her anger over the governor’s mask requirements for children made her question that loyalty.
“I knew I wasn’t going to vote for Murphy, but wasn’t sure if I was going to leave it blank or what,” Ms. Keane said. “Then I just got angry and in the back of my head I thought, ‘F— you!’ And I voted Republican all the way down the line.”
☕️ Coffee & Covid ☙ Monday, April 11, 2022 ☙ SHANGHAI’D 🦠
The unreported humanitarian crisis exploding in Shanghai; Musk backs off a board seat; more bad news for dems; Fauci says something remarkable; and the Times wants reporters to stop tweeting so much.
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