COVID cases are on the rise, and to the extent that such means anything given our increased testing and better therapeutics, left-wing politicians are already seizing on the opportunity. As I wrote some days ago, Chicago and the state of Virginia are already falling back into regulations that are reminiscent of the late spring. Stay at home orders, limits on gatherings, closed churches, etc. have become a staple in Democrat-run areas, and it appears there will be no slowing of that.

Now, Michigan and New Jersey are following suit after feeling emboldened by the election.

First question was asking what metrics will be used to determine whether to limit it to the 3 weeks or extend it beyond that. Whitmer responds with 0 specifics and just says they will be watching cases and trends. https://t.co/rdLBqhF0ok

— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) November 15, 2020

Meanwhile, America’s favorite little tyrant is out there letting you know that you’ll need to wear masks and socially distance even after a vaccine that is 95% effective.

Fauci says Americans shouldn't stop wearing masks, social distancing even after they're vaccinated against Covid-19 pic.twitter.com/75E3QtQ5z7

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 15, 2020

Think about the numbers involved in that. COVID is still 99.4% survivable, and truly only represents an out-sized danger to those above 75 years of age. Under that age range, you are talking about death rates that either mirror the flu or are less than the flu as you get into children. While a flu vaccine is typically only 40% effective, new vaccines for COVID have shown effectiveness rates of 95%. That means that once the vaccine is deployed, COVID will be far less of a problem than the regular flu. Yet, Fauci still wants you to wear ineffective masks and socially distance for years afterward. For what? Is the goal for no one to ever die again or to manage the disease in a responsible manner?

And on the topic of masks, I had this to say this morning, so I’ll just re-post it here instead of regurgitating the same thing.

Given the spread we are seeing and Europe is seeing despite heavy mask usage, anyone still pushing masks as anything but a “what can it hurt,” mostly ineffective mitigation tool is just 1) trying to save face like Dr. Fauci or 2) wants a political tool like the media. Maybe both.

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) November 16, 2020

At some point, Americans have to realize that bureaucrats do not always know best. Politicians who have every incentive to abuse their power to save face do not always know best. Unfortunately, that’s a lesson some areas didn’t learn during the last election. Now, there will be a price to be paid.

Given how the legal challenges are going, it’s looking more and more likely that Joe Biden will assume office, though the legitimacy of that will now forever be in question. We’ve seen his advisors recommend a new 4-6 week lockdown. We’ve also seen Biden assert he will put in place a national mask mandate despite the clear ineffectiveness of masks. These are the consequences of putting Democrats in power. A state like Michigan had the chance to roundly reject Whitmer’s agenda even though she personally wasn’t up for re-election this cycle. Instead, even if there was fraud, things were far, far closer than they should have been.

This is how republics die. Corrupt, self-serving politicians spitting on the rule of law and Constitution under the guise of an “emergency.” With Dr. Fauci looking to regain a central power role under Biden, the pain is coming, science need not apply. I truly hope that more Americans will wake up after this is all over. We can’t continue down this path and think the left won’t seize even more power during the next “crisis.”

(Please follow me on Twitter! @bonchieredstate)