Richard Crawford
Columbus
The last two years have been difficult for all of us. Too many families in our community know someone who has had COVID-19, or worse, know people who have lost their lives to this virus.
We’re all hurting. We all feel like we’ve gone through one horrible storm. We’re all left confused and wondering what’s next and what we should prepare for in the future – for ourselves and our families.
It’s possible to “return to normal”. There’s an opportunity to return to the days where we can go to church, Friday football games, or our local restaurant without worrying about carrying a mask, dousing ourselves in hand sanitizer, or keeping our distance in line at the grocery store.
But here’s the hard truth: the only way out of COVID is the vaccine. The only way to return to normal is by getting a shot in your arm.
Democrats have done everything possible to solve COVID-19. We passed the American Rescue Plan, made vaccines as available as band-aids at the local store, and made sure our communities weren’t financially burdened by the pandemic.
Unfortunately, far too many Republican elected leaders in our state threw their heads in the sand. They refused to get ahead of this virus and push a vaccination campaign this summer. And they proactively endorsed misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines with the sole purpose of winning future elections.
But what’s worse, now Republicans want to force through House Bill 1001 and Senate Bill 114 in the 2022 legislative session, bills that would further invalidate the vaccines we need to end COVID-19. What the heck are these so-called “leaders” doing? Why do they still want our families to hurt?
Republicans’ partisan agenda does nothing to solve what we all want: a ticket out of this pandemic. In fact, their actions are just a slew of irrational behaviors that wouldn’t be accepted in any other setting. These politicians are in desperate need of a timeout.
