The Politico’s Caitlin Oprysko seems rather shocked that Democrats are getting sued left and right, but mostly not Republicans
Democratic governors hit with flurry of legal challenges to coronavirus lockdowns
The raging public debate over statewide coronavirus lockdowns is running parallel to a series of legal battles in state capitals — and the lockdown skeptics got a big boost this week.
The decision by Wisconsin’s Supreme Court on Wednesday to toss Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide shelter-in-place order set off a scramble in cities across the state to impose their own local restrictions. Elsewhere, bars and restaurants shut down by the order declared themselves open for business.
And legal challenges are continuing to pile-up across the country — even as governors who extend their state’s shelter-in-place orders begin peeling back some restrictions. The plaintiffs are business owners, aggrieved private citizens, pastors and in some cases, state legislators and legislatures.
The targets? Almost always Democratic governors or their top health appointees.
Gee, I wonder why? Suits against Dems in Maine, Michigan, California, New York, Oregon, Washington state, Colorado, Virginian, and others
The lone pair of Republican governors facing such lawsuits, Maryland’s Larry Hogan and Ohio’s Mike DeWine, recently announced reopening plans that could potentially render pending lawsuits moot.
They aren’t drunk with power
Legal threats against Democrats who have kept more stringent social distancing restrictions in place have taken different forms.
In Texas, for example, the pressure has come from the top down. There, state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday threatened the leaders of three major metro areas — Austin, Dallas and San Antonio — with legal action if they don’t roll back parts of their local stay-at-home orders.
Because cities and counties run by Democrats have been just as authoritarian. What started as elected officials slapping restrictions and such because they were afraid and people were afraid and wanted to do something morphed into quasi-dictatorships. Hogan and DeWine knew when to back off. They weren’t the ones telling people that no only do they have to stay home, but they couldn’t even be outside at their own home, so, no gardening stuff (initially, that woman in Michigan backed off).
