Bless your heart, Rachel Maddow and MSNBC.
It was just a matter of time before the national liberal media swooped in during this pandemic to tell the nation how backwards and wrong conservative leaders are in Mississippi.
Mississippians have come to expect no less from the national talking heads and should honestly be surprised it took this long.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who works for MSNBC/NBC News head (and on-again off-again Mississippi native) Andy Lack, criticized Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves on Wednesday for not issuing a “shelter in place” or “stay at home” order, locking down the Magnolia State.
The statewide confirmed cases of the coronavirus stand at 377 with 2 deaths as of this writing with a statewide population of nearly 3 million citizens.
While Reeves has taken the necessary measures on the state level, such as suspending school attendance and ensuring emergency management and state health agencies have the resources they need to respond to this pandemic, the Governor has also empowered local leaders by allowing them to make the decisions at the local level – the level of government closest to the people – knowing they are on the front lines and can better assess what is necessary and reasonable in their local communities.
Maddow’s critique comes a day after the Governor issued his latest executive order calling on Mississippians to avoid non-essential gatherings of 10 people or more, suspending dine-in services at restaurants and bars across the state, urging citizens not to visit hospitals, nursing homes, or long-term care facilities, and directing businesses to allow every employee possible to work from home.
Some Mississippi Democratic officials in the legislature and in city halls have criticized the Governor for not enacting a statewide lockdown, pointing to New York or California as models. Such criticism is common when there is a want to defer responsibility or a desire to rush headlong into a decision without weighing all of the costs.
There has not been another Governor in the country who has faced what Tate Reeves has in his first three months in office. Historic flooding, resolving state agency corruption, tornadoes, and now a global pandemic have occupied his transition.
Unlike Maddow who could otherwise give a hoot for the lives of Mississippians, the Governor recognizes that every word he says will directly impact the health and safety, as well as the economic stability, of every citizen in the state.
“We do know that every action we have taken to date has unintended consequences, effecting thousands of people’s ability to earn a living,” Reeves said Tuesday. “It affects thousands of families and it affects thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives. These decisions have been amongst the hardest of my career.”
Reeves took to Twitter to offer a response to the MSNBC host, calling Maddow’s headline and commentary “a dangerous lie.”
“Because we pray and reject dictatorship models like China they say we are ‘untroubled,’ undermining our warnings and pleas to stay home,” Governor Reeves said. “We’re following our experts and I’ve spent many sleepless nights praying for wisdom in this unprecedented time.”
A dangerous lie from MSNBC. Because we pray and reject dictatorship models like China they say we are “untroubled,” undermining our warnings and pleas to stay home. We’re following our experts and I’ve spent many sleepless nights praying for wisdom in this unprecedented time. pic.twitter.com/qx4Z5uico2
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) March 25, 2020
Balancing on the tightrope of leadership is a thankless, often second guessed job few volunteer for and fewer still truly understand. Thus far, Reeves has proven to be up to the challenge.
Frank Corder
