“I’m Pulling Out All the Stops”
FOR A SOLID MONTH, THE RAPTUROUS REVIEWS for Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s leadership during the coronavirus outbreak made her ascent to a plum role on the national political stage look like a sure bet in an otherwise uncertain world. There was escalating buzz about her prospects of becoming Joe Biden’s running mate. Admiring testimonials from long-time political opponents. An appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Skyrocketing approval ratings. Even barbs from President Donald Trump, one of her few detractors at the time, only served to solidify her image as a rising star in the political universe.
That was then and this is now.
Whitmer vaulted to national attention largely because of her bold, early actions to combat the coronavirus in hard-hit Michigan—the state has the fourth largest number of COVID-19 cases (29,265, as of April 16) in the country after New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts and the third highest death toll (2,093)—along with her public demands for more federal resources. But where those initial efforts met with wide approval from citizens and broad bipartisan support, her latest, toughest-in-the-nation social distancing restrictions have elicited a very different response. Michiganders across the state are chafing over edicts that, among other things, make it illegal for residents to visit neighbors and require big-box stores to close sections “dedicated to carpeting, flooring, furniture, garden centers, plant nurseries or paint.”
Whitmer says the purpose of these latest measures is to slow the spread of infection by reducing the reasons people venture outside for items or interactions that don’t involve life or death. But good intentions haven’t stopped the growing backlash since the restrictions went into effect on April 10. Outraged critics took to social media (a Facebook group called “Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine” now has some 350,000 members); a lawsuit has been filed and a protest outside the statehouse organized by conservatives in mid-April saw demonstrators defiantly clustered in violation of social-distancing requirements who were flying Trump 2020 flags and toting signs comparing Whitmer to Hitler.
In a Michigan minute, the perception of Whitmer went, at least in some circles, from a surefooted steward at a time of unprecedented crisis to a nanny-state warden who has blocked a shut in populace’s ability to enliven the tedium by planting their spring flowers.
