You might’ve thought that since November’s election has come and gone, we can cool it with the political fights for a while.
But you’d be wrong.
The biggest and most consequential political fight is happening right now: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear vs. Dr. Anthony Fauci, over whether schools should be open during the coronavirus pandemic. Our children’s futures are at stake, and Beshear has sided with his campaign supporters instead of the nation’s leading infectious disease scientists.
Follow the science? More like follow the money, at least when it comes to Beshear’s decisions made at the behest of a union that supported him with massive contributions. Teachers’ union bosses want the schools closed, so they are.
Beshear is fond of lecturing his constituents, often saying, “We must listen to the science.” It’s what Democrats like Beshear say to end the debate about pandemic policies; anyone who disagrees with their decisions is labeled as anti-science or accused of trying to kill their fellow man.
On the same day that Dr. Fauci said “the default position should be… to keep the children in school,” and that virus spread “among children and from children is not really big at all,” Beshear was telling Kentucky parents “don’t try to find an exception” to his edicts, which have closed all public and private schools.
Which made me wonder: does Beshear think Dr. Fauci is anti-science? Does he think Fauci is trying to kill people?
But it’s not just Fauci. Dr. Robert Redfield, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, says that a school is one of the safest places for a kid to be. He’s been raising alarm bells for months about the “significant public health consequences” of school closures.
Amid Beshear’s war on in-person learning, Dr. Redfield last week reiterated his view that schools aren’t significant spreaders of the virus, telling a public forum: “I just think it’s healthy for these kids to be in school…the data clearly shows us that you can operate these schools in face-to-face learning in a safe and responsible way.”
There’s little doubt that we are in for rough winter with this virus. But schools are not part of the problem and the downsides of closing them are beyond real.