The state of Texas set another new record for coronavirus hospitalization today -- the 9th new record in the last 10 days -- and Texas Governor Gregg Abbot is starting to point fingers.
The problem, Abbot says, is that young people are doing exactly what Republicans told them to do: going out!
Abbott said there were a number of counties where a majority of those who tested positive for the coronavirus were under the age of 30, which he attributed to people going to "bar-type" settings or Memorial Day celebrations and not taking health precautions.
Abbott said that measures such as wearing masks, hand sanitizing and social distancing are what make it possible to reopen the state's economy.
But we've reopened, right? This is what Republicans have been telling everyone to do: go out to bars!
Numerous elected Republicans including locals in Texas have famously (infamously?) posted videos and photos of themselves proudly going out without masks on and that includes the top Republicans in the country: Trump and Mike Pence.
Governor Abbot has also made it illegal for cities in Texas to mandate the wearing of personal protective equipment.
Abbott signed an executive order on April 27 that says while individuals are encouraged to wear face masks, "no jurisdiction can impose a civil or criminal penalty for failure to wear a face covering."
On Tuesday, the mayors of nine Texas cities — including Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth and El Paso — sent a letter to the governor asking for the authority to set the rules and regulations on the use of face coverings.
Abbott also attributed recent spikes to infections in prisons and care facilities, as if those people don't matter.
Maybe they don't at least in the eyes of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick who, as you may recall, appeared on Fox News during the earlier stages of the pandemic when he said senior citizens should be willing to die so young people can return to bars.
Young people are returning to their bars as instructed and older and infirm residents of Texas could die because of it, so I guess Patrick got what he wanted in the end.
You can tell people to do something, but if you don't set a good example by doing it yourself, they probably won't. And in contrast to Trump, Joe Biden has worn a mask almost everywhere he goes. Trump is about to hold an indoor rally in Oklahoma where wearing a mask will be seen as virtue signaling or some other liberal nonsense.