KDP: Here's what you need to know about the GOP war against public health during the pandemic
Berry Craig
UPDATE: Louisville Courier-Journal: Kentucky Supreme Court halts efforts to block Gov. Andy Beshear's covid-19 ordersBy MARISSA McNEEKentucky Democratic Party[Thursday]...night a partisan, right-wing Judge from Boone County indicated he planned to block every single executive order signed by Governor Beshear in regards to the coronavirus pandemic. Late this afternoon the Kentucky Supreme Court issued a blanket stay on injunctions in all cases challenging the governor's orders until it has ultimately ruled.
This means that any lower court decisions are expected to be "immediately transmitted" to the Kentucky Supreme Court for consideration, according to the order. So, for now at least, Governor Beshear's important public health orders are safe, and will continue to protect Kentuckians all across the Commonwealth.
So what would happen if Governor Beshear's Orders were blocked? Here's what you need to know:
Without these orders, people will die
There is no question that without Gov. Beshear’s orders -- including the mask mandate -- Kentuckians will die at a faster rate from COVID-19. The proof is all over the U.S., where states without mask mandates are seeing exploding case numbers and deaths.
The leaders of three Georgia hospitals are “sounding the alarm”: “The worst is yet to come” on COVID-19. Meanwhile, Georgia’s governor refuses to mandate masks.
In Florida, more than 50 hospitals have reached their ICU bed capacity. Florida’s governor has not mandated masks or reversed any of their reopening plans.
In Wisconsin, cases are exploding again with nearly 1,000 positive cases on Thursday. The partisan Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ executive orders in May.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron is judge-shopping for partisan judges
The judge in question, Rick Brueggemann, has a long partisan history. Before he became a judge, he was chair of the Boone County Republican Party. The Brueggeman family has given exclusively to Republicans for decades.
Normally, lawsuits against the government or governor are handled in Franklin Circuit Court. But just like he did at the beginning of the pandemic when he filed suit in federal court to get McConnell crony Justin Walker on the case -- Cameron once again picked a judge he knew would issue a partisan ruling.
The ruling came after a full day of kangaroo court with Brueggeman, where he allowed sudden surprise “expert testimony,” took up unrelated issues and signaled his “opinion” to the Attorney General at 1 a.m. in the morning.
If there’s any chance of school in 2020-2021 school year, we have to have rules
The health and safety of our children is vastly important. Without any rules, the school year will be thrown into chaos as schools break out into hotspots and have to close and reopen over and over again like bars and restaurants do now.
It will throw families into chaos scrambling to get children tested and trying to arrange childcare at the last minute -- likely pulling them from work.
In short, without masks or other requirements -- there’s zero hope for in-person instruction anytime soon.
This is ridiculous to do at a time when other states are ordering refrigerated trucks to handle the increased deaths due to the current COVID spike
Counties in both Texas and Arizona have started ordering refrigerated trucks due to overrun morgues and hospitals. It’s the same scenario New York faced in April.
Do we really want our families to have to sit in a refrigerated truck and wait to be buried?
We lose protections for our first responders
One of the orders Gov. Beshear issued was allowing first responders that are sidelined with COVID-19 as a result of their work to apply for and receive workers compensation. By striking down his orders, that’s no longer the case.
Our first responders medical professionals are putting their lives on the line everyday treating people who have a serious virus. To leave them without pay because of their sacrifice is unbelievable.
This means that any lower court decisions are expected to be "immediately transmitted" to the Kentucky Supreme Court for consideration, according to the order. So, for now at least, Governor Beshear's important public health orders are safe, and will continue to protect Kentuckians all across the Commonwealth.
So what would happen if Governor Beshear's Orders were blocked? Here's what you need to know:
Without these orders, people will die
There is no question that without Gov. Beshear’s orders -- including the mask mandate -- Kentuckians will die at a faster rate from COVID-19. The proof is all over the U.S., where states without mask mandates are seeing exploding case numbers and deaths.
The leaders of three Georgia hospitals are “sounding the alarm”: “The worst is yet to come” on COVID-19. Meanwhile, Georgia’s governor refuses to mandate masks.
In Florida, more than 50 hospitals have reached their ICU bed capacity. Florida’s governor has not mandated masks or reversed any of their reopening plans.
In Wisconsin, cases are exploding again with nearly 1,000 positive cases on Thursday. The partisan Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ executive orders in May.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron is judge-shopping for partisan judges
The judge in question, Rick Brueggemann, has a long partisan history. Before he became a judge, he was chair of the Boone County Republican Party. The Brueggeman family has given exclusively to Republicans for decades.
Normally, lawsuits against the government or governor are handled in Franklin Circuit Court. But just like he did at the beginning of the pandemic when he filed suit in federal court to get McConnell crony Justin Walker on the case -- Cameron once again picked a judge he knew would issue a partisan ruling.
The ruling came after a full day of kangaroo court with Brueggeman, where he allowed sudden surprise “expert testimony,” took up unrelated issues and signaled his “opinion” to the Attorney General at 1 a.m. in the morning.
If there’s any chance of school in 2020-2021 school year, we have to have rules
The health and safety of our children is vastly important. Without any rules, the school year will be thrown into chaos as schools break out into hotspots and have to close and reopen over and over again like bars and restaurants do now.
It will throw families into chaos scrambling to get children tested and trying to arrange childcare at the last minute -- likely pulling them from work.
In short, without masks or other requirements -- there’s zero hope for in-person instruction anytime soon.
This is ridiculous to do at a time when other states are ordering refrigerated trucks to handle the increased deaths due to the current COVID spike
Counties in both Texas and Arizona have started ordering refrigerated trucks due to overrun morgues and hospitals. It’s the same scenario New York faced in April.
Do we really want our families to have to sit in a refrigerated truck and wait to be buried?
We lose protections for our first responders
One of the orders Gov. Beshear issued was allowing first responders that are sidelined with COVID-19 as a result of their work to apply for and receive workers compensation. By striking down his orders, that’s no longer the case.
Our first responders medical professionals are putting their lives on the line everyday treating people who have a serious virus. To leave them without pay because of their sacrifice is unbelievable.