Just hours after President Joe Biden announced new COVID vaccine requirements for workers, several GOP governors took to social media and proceeded to have tantrums despite the fact that in most cases their states are seeing a terrifying number of new cases and deaths.
Specifically, Biden said the federal government would now require:
- All employers with over 100 employees either mandate vaccinations or weekly testing
- Vaccinations for all federal workers and contractors
- The nation’s 17 million health care workers at facilities that receive federal funds must be vaccinated
The actions, Biden explained, are meant to help the country control the spread of COVID, which is overwhelming hospitals in some states and resulting in the deaths of thousands of Americans each week.
That was all it took to send some Republicans over the edge, with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott daring to use the words “right to choose” just days after he signed the most draconian restrictions on abortion in the U.S.
Biden’s vaccine mandate is an assault on private businesses.
I issued an Executive Order protecting Texans’ right to choose whether they get the COVID vaccine & added it to the special session agenda.
Texas is already working to halt this power grab.https://t.co/TwoQMhDxoM
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 9, 2021
Gov. Kevin Stitt also said he would refuse to obey the new federal vaccine mandates:
It is not the government’s role to dictate to private businesses what to do.
Once again President Biden is demonstrating his complete disregard for individual freedoms and states’ rights.
As long as I am governor, there will be no government vaccine mandates in Oklahoma.
— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) September 9, 2021
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves suggested Biden was a tyrant:
The President has no authority to require that Americans inject themselves because of their employment at a private business. The vaccine itself is life-saving, but this unconstitutional move is terrifying. This is still America, and we still believe in freedom from tyrants.
— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) September 9, 2021
And Brad Little of Idaho, where hospitals are so overwhelmed with COVID patients that they have started rationing care, complained about “government overreach.”
Today’s actions from President Biden amount to government overreach. Government should stay out of decisions involving employers and their employees as much as possible. I’ve advocated for and championed fewer government regulations and mandates on business.
— Brad Little (@GovernorLittle) September 9, 2021
Kay Ivey of Alabama suggested that the president’s actions were “outrageous.”
Once again, @POTUS has missed the mark. His outrageous, overreaching mandates will no doubt be challenged in the courts. Read my full statement below. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/9BNbvenVEJ
— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) September 9, 2021
In the name of some amorphous notion of “freedom,” Republicans are killing their constituents to curry favor with the most extreme members of their party.
Featured Image Via NBC News
