If you ask any vaccine skeptic about their objection to the vaccine mandate their answer is always two-fold.
Firstly, they are concerned about the effectiveness and side
effects of the vaccine. The authorities frequently redefining the term
‘fully-vaccinated’ by adding boosters also alarms them.
They are also troubled by government overreach. They realize
that once freedoms and rights are encroached upon by the government, they are
seldom fully relinquished completely.
The Biden administration has successfully mandated vaccines
for health care workers, military personnel, and non-citizen air travelers,
while their attempts to mandate the vaccine for federal government contractors
and employees
and private
sector employees have failed. There have been proposals to vaccinate
children, including those under 5.
State administrations have imposed restrictions on movement,
access to public spaces, and public assembly. There have been instances of
police arresting and fining individuals for merely attending
a party or being part of religious
gatherings.
While other restrictions can be undone over a period of time,
the citizen understands that the vaccine once injected into your body will
cause permanent changes.
Since the Democrats have been dogmatic about vaccine mandates,
the people look towards the Republicans for support.
The good news is that some Republicans have been showing the
way to challenge undemocratic mandates.
On Tuesday, February 15th, Republican Sen. Mike Lee
proposed an amendment to defund vaccine mandates for medical workers, military
personnel, federal employees, etc.
Senator Lee distributed copies of a letter to his Senate
colleagues on behalf of himself, and Sens Roger Marshall of Kansas, Cynthia
Lummis of Wyoming, Mike Braun of Indiana, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Ted Cruz
of Texas.
The following
is a key excerpt of the letter.
“We have consistently opposed President Biden’s federal
COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which would force millions of Americans to choose
between an unwanted medical procedure and being able to provide for their
families. For legal, constitutional, and policy reasons, we remain not only
strongly opposed to the mandates but also firmly convinced that the risk of
inaction on our part is unacceptably high”
The amendment received support from some of Lee’s fellow GOP
senators however the support was not enough to pass the amendment.
Senator Lee’s amendment failed in a 46-47
vote.
https://twitter.com/SenMikeLee/status/1494388012209352711
A mere day later on Wednesday, February 16th, Republican Senator
Ted Cruz proposed an amendment to the budget that will block federal funding
for schools and child care centers that mandate Covid-19 vaccines for children.
It was a very astute proposition.
Cruz said
the following while introducing his amendment:
“Enough is enough. It’s time to stop the petty tyrants
imposing Covid-19 vaccine mandates on families across the country. No child
should be denied an education because of his or her personal medical choice.
Schools shouldn’t get federal taxpayer dollars to trample on our constitutional
liberties. It’s time for all of us to take a stand. Are you with parents and
kids, or power-hungry politicians?”
Senator Cruz even tweeted a warning to Republican Senators not
‘skip town’ for his amendment
https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1494406038010871809
Much like the support for Senator Lee’s amendment, Cruz’s
fellow GOP senators’ support was not enough to pass the amendment.
Senator Cruz’s amendment failed in a 44-49
vote.
For both these amendments, the problem was with six GOP
senators.
The usually suspect Sen. Susan Collins of Maine voted against
the amendment, she was joined by Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri.
Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Mitt Romney of Utah,
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma were absent.
Senator Graham is currently in the UK, focused on defending
Ukraine and holding Putin accountable.
https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1495083937386934284
Next, 19
GOP senators voted in favor of averting a government shutdown,
which means they handed Democrats more time to fund their anti-citizen agenda.
Among them were Blunt, Collins, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming,
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Sen.
John Cornyn of Texas, Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of
Mississippi, Sen. John Kennedy of Lousiana, Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell of Kentucky, Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of
Alaska, Sen. Robert Portman of Ohio, Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Sen.
Marco Rubio of Florida, Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, Sen. Thom Tillis of
North Carolina, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and Sen. Todd Young of
Indiana.
Last year, 80 House
Republicans voted to fund the creation of a federal vaccination
database.
All polls and trends suggest that the GOP will have emphatic
wins such that they will have a majority in both the House and the
Senate.
But power is meaningless if those who are in possession of it
are reluctant to use it.
Republicans are aware that their constituents are deeply
skeptical about the vaccines and want the ability to choose what to inject into
their bodies, yet 2 among them sided with Democrats and 4 were absent. This is
inexcusable, at this juncture, there shouldn't be a bigger concern for Senators
than that of their constituents. These constituents are merely demanding the
freedom of choice, which is essential in a Democracy.
The Republicans must remember that in a democracy, the voter
lends power to their representatives. This representative doesn’t own power,
they are merely custodians of power. They are hence obliged to act in the
interest of the people.
If the Republicans win majorities in both the Senate
and the House in November the voters will have sky-high hopes. If after that some
among the Republicans side the Democrats for key issues and block the overall agenda
of the people, there will come a time when the public will run out of patience.
The Republicans must remember that patience when needlessly
provoked turns to fury.
This article also appears on American Thinker
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