Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has come under fire for her extreme stay-at-home orders. One of the most ridiculous aspects of that order is the fact that people can shop at places like Walmart and Target and only purchase "essentials." Things like clothes and gardening seeds are blocked off and cannot be purchased. But other goods, like weed and alcohol, are deemed necessary throughout the state.
In Michigan today you can buy weed but not seeds. https://t.co/XXfPiYvLfl
— Sen. Mike Shirkey (@SenMikeShirkey) April 10, 2020
Non-essential in Michigan:
— Lee Chatfield (@LeeChatfield) April 11, 2020
-Lawn care, construction, fishing if boating with a motor, realtors, buying seeds, home improvement equipment & gardening supplies.
Essential in Michigan:
-Marijuana, lottery & alcohol.
Let’s be safe & reasonable. Right now, we’re not! #AdoptNewCISA
Just before Easter, the governor extended parts of her stay-at-home order, including banning travel between two residences until May 1. The goal was to keep Detroiters from traveling up north to visit cottages and other family members and keep the hotspot to just the city.
Despite that, Whitmer believes she has "one of the nation's more conservative" stay-at-home orders.
"Michigan right now has the third-highest death count in the country. We are the 10th largest state. As you can deduce, that means we have a uniquely hard issue going on here because it's disproportionately hurting our state and that's why we need to take a uniquely aggressive action to protect people," the governor told CNN's Jake Tapper. "Our actions are working. You know, my stay-at-home order is one of the nation's more conservative, but the fact of the matter is, it's working. We are seeing the curve start to flatten and that means we're saving lives."
Whitmer said it's hard to quantify how many lives are saved with mitigation efforts, which is one of the challenges of dealing with a public health crisis.
Tapper pushed back against the governor, saying there's been confusion over specifics of the stay-at-home order, like why boating is allowed but jet skis are not.
"Do you regret anything about the way these rules have been rolled out?" Tapper asked.
"You know, this is an unprecedented crisis that we are confronting as a globe, frankly, and the harsh way that it's hitting my state means that we've got to be really smart about the actions we take now to protect life as well as the actions we take to reengage," Whitmer explained. "And no one is more anxious to reengage our economy than I am but I want to do it in a way that really does save life, that makes it safe, that mitigates risk and means that we can avoid a second wave."
"As tough as this moment is, it'd be devastating to have a second wave and I know that the vast majority of Michiganders understand that not going to the gas station to fill up your boat so that you can go tootling around is a sacrifice but it's one that's worth it because who among us would rather forego jet skiing or boating right now if it's going to save your grandparent, your neighbor's life?" she asked. "That's precisely what the trade-off is in this moment."
Whitmer failed to answer the question though. If you're going to the grocery store and are picking up other things, how does adding seeds to your basket add to the curve? You're already out in public. You're already in the store. Adding a couple more items to your cart isn't going to change the exposure potential.
And that logic (or lack thereof) is precisely why people take issue with Whitmer's stay-at-home order.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: "You know my stay-home order is one of the nation's more conservative, but the fact of the matter is, it's working. We are seeing the curve start to flatten. And that means we're saving lives" #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/WK2NtJasIg
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 19, 2020
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