‘Not dealing with the politics’: Gov. Kelly urges continued caution amid COVID-19
As of midmorning Friday, Gov. Laura Kelly hadn’t yet read the legislation passed by Kansas lawmakers, which would seize control of her pandemic response and give counties the power to set their own rules on reopening during COVID-19.
She said she didn’t yet know whether she’d veto the bill. But there’s something troubling about the middle-of-the-night political maneuverings that produced it.
“I think that there were some policies developed without much thought, without thorough vetting, without really understanding the implications,” Kelly said in a telephone interview Friday morning.
“Way too much of it done for political posturing, for campaign material, and very little done, from what I can see, that will benefit the people of Kansas.”
Indeed, the Legislature’s Thursday-into-Friday session was an example of the worst kind of lawmaking — rushed, confusing, frantic attempts to undercut a governor who has taken an aggressive but thoughtful approach to the worst public health crisis in recent history.
Senate Republicans, led by Wichita Sen. Susan Wagle, cut off debate and fast-tracked their plan before amendments could be offered. They set a midnight deadline and then changed the rules, accusing Democrats of stalling.
Rushing the bill via conference committee meant “we don’t have to go through delayed hours and hours of the Democrats trying to block us,” Wagle said.
That’s called debate, Senator. It’s called democracy.
Wagle, who is running for U.S. Senate, told protesters outside the Statehouse on Thursday: “We’re willing to take reasonable precautions to make sure that we don’t spread the virus.”
She said it in a large crowd of people standing close together, not covering their mouths or noses, gleefully defying the advice of medical experts. They held signs accusing Kelly of tyranny, and they cheered when Rep. Leo Delperdang, another Wichita Republican, thanked them for “not wearing the damn face masks.”
That’s not taking or demonstrating reasonable precautions. And putting politics above public health is not a responsible way to legislate during an emergency.
The governor said Friday that she plans to continue her phased-in reopening, which President Trump praised this week. She should be allowed to do that, to establish statewide guidelines rather than a confusing, county-by-county patchwork of regulations.
“I’m dealing with the metrics. I’m dealing with the data. I’m not dealing with the emotion, and I’m not dealing with the politics,” she said.
Any move made by this governor in solid-red Kansas will be viewed as political, of course. But the coronavirus doesn’t care who’s at the helm or what party she’s from.
Our focus moving forward should be to avoid a second-wave spike that could endanger hospitals, healthcare workers and thousands more Kansans.
“I can’t imagine a worse scenario than that,” Kelly said. “If we were to just wholesale reopen everything without any kind of safety precautions put in place.
“I’ve been watching other states that have sort of thrown the doors wide open, and watched the increase in cases, and I don’t want to see that happen to Kansas.”
Does she feel confident she’s doing the right thing? Our data so far proves it, Kelly said.
“The vast majority of people in Kansas appreciate the fact that we acted aggressively quickly, and that we are taking a cautious, slow approach to reopening,” she said. “By and large we’re not hearing those voices because they’re staying at home, they’re being responsible.
“None of us want to shut down again, so I share that feeling,” she said. “But . . . while I hope that there’s no second wave, we’re going to be prepared for that, and we will do what we need to do to protect Kansas.”
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 1:35 PM.
