It's a political move that could be seen a mile away and now it's been confirmed: Democrats no longer want to keep strict COVID-19 guidelines. Not because they do not work as advertised, but the polling among voters shows people want to move on.
Nowhere is this exemplified more than the mask mandate in the Capitol building being lifted just before President Joe Biden gives his State of the Union address Tuesday night.
NBC News reports Impact Research, a polling firm used by Biden, found that Americans are "worn out" from COVID-related restrictions, which is why Democrats will now try to claim Biden fulfilled his campaign promise to "shut down the virus":
"In a Feb. 16 memo, the firm told Democrats to take 'the win' on Covid, warning that by 49 percent to 24 percent, Americans are more concerned about it causing economic harm than infecting them or a family member, and that far more parents and teachers worry about learning loss than illness for their kids.
"'The more we talk about the threat of COVID and onerously restrict people’s lives because of it, the more we turn them against us and show them we’re out of touch with their daily realities' Impact Research’s Molly Murphy and Brian Stryker wrote in the memo, which was viewed by NBC News. They warned that if Democrats continue to emphasize Covid precautions over learning to live in a world with the virus, 'they risk paying dearly for it in November.'"
It's because of the shift in how Democrats talk about COVID, who just months ago were warning of a winter of death from Omicron despite the evidence, shows the science didn't change, the political science did.
"Republicans aren't going to let voters forget that Democrats kept schools closed, kept kids masked, fired front-line workers for making their own health care decisions, and shut down small businesses — all while getting caught on camera enjoying their own lives mask free," Republican strategist Matt Wolking told NBC News.
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