Yesterday, Ted Cruz scolded Sherrod Brown for asking that Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan wear a mask while he’s presiding over the Senate. He called it “virtue signaling” which is a common slam against people who wear masks and otherwise try to follow the guidelines:
Here’s some “vice signaling”:
Four New York sheriffs say they will not enforce Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) restrictions on Thanksgiving gatherings, with one saying he “couldn’t in good faith attempt to defend it.”
Sheriffs from Erie, Fulton, Saratoga and Washington counties have come forward saying they will not enforce rules released last week by Cuomo that limit indoor gatherings to 10 people, including for the holidays.
“With regard to the Thanksgiving Executive Order, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office will NOT be enforcing it against our County residents. Frankly, I am not sure it could sustain a Constitutional challenge in Court for several reasons including your house is your castle. And as a Sheriff with a law degree I couldn’t in good faith attempt to defend it [in] Court, so I won’t,” wrote Richard Giardino on the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard, meanwhile, wrote, “I have no plans to utilize my office’s resources or Deputies to break up the great tradition of Thanksgiving dinner.”
In his statement, Howard said his office is respecting the “sanctity of your home” and encouraged people to “follow your heart and act responsibly.”
Sheriffs Michael Zurlo of Saratoga County and Jeff Murphy of Washington County both made similar statements, saying what happens inside people’s homes is beyond their jurisdiction
The restrictions fall in line with recommendations that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made in regard to the holiday season. In a new report, the CDC said that gatherings would be best if they were limited to only those within a person’s immediate household, even excluding college students returning home from school.
These sheriffs are not the only public officials to publicly go against Cuomo’s orders. In a tweet, Joe Borelli, a Republican Staten Island council member, said he planned on having more than 10 people at his Thanksgiving celebration.
They did not have to come forward and make a statement about this. They could have just told their forces to concentrate on public gatherings and not to cite anyone without coming out and making a big deal of it. They did this as a truly policial act as government actors defying the guidelines to perform for their right wing followers.
People are dying. They don’t care.