CONSTITUENTS ARE NOT SUBJECTS.

Michigan governor Gretchen "Schlachterfrau" Whitmer (D-Hell) has run into that reality, and she's out of options.

Last week Whitmer told Michiganders that she was asking them, not ordering them, to keep their distance for the next two weeks and to cancel activities like high-school sports, as infections have been exploding among younger people. The Michigan High School Athletic Association responded to her quickly: Uh, nope. Even some Democratic officials and public-health experts in Michigan wonder if there’d be any point to locking down at this stage, as most of the population seems fatigued by the pandemic and ready to forge ahead into normalcy even if it means enduring another spike.

It's not that the shutdowns did Michigan much good in the first place, and it might be that politicians are looking toward upcoming elections.  "These governors and departmental secretaries have a better chance of keeping their offices by treating their constituents as citizens with the rights to dissent and to review, rather than as children to be bossed around."  Better to be voted out, which is what constituents who have run out of patience do, than to be subject to what can happen when subjects run out of patience.

It's turning into a test of wills between the governor and Our Progressive Betters in Washington.  "The backdrop for this polite but escalating fingerpointing exercise between the Biden White House and a prominent Democratic governor is far too grim for partisans on the other side to enjoy, but just because it’s not fun doesn’t mean it’s not newsy. Both sides are now openly accusing the other of incompetence even if they’re careful not to use that word."

In part, the governor can't go closing the paint aisles again because the legislature exercised its responsibilities.

In October of 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court stripped Whitmer of the emergency powers she  had assumed during the pandemic, declaring the orders an “unlawful delegation of legislative power to the executive branch in violation of the Michigan Constitution.” Now, faced with increasing COVID-19 spread, the governor is powerless to issue the same kind of restrictions she did in the past without the Republican-controlled legislature’s consent. With the friction between the branches caused by her overarching actions earlier in the pandemic, getting back her authority to act is not likely.

In addition, constituents are wise to the ineffectiveness of the lockdowns.

Residents of Michigan will be thrilled to hear “flatten the curve” again, to be sure. It is like none of our public health experts have realized the curve only stays flat until people start emerging from their homes. They don’t seem to correlate a surge in positive COVID-19 tests with states that implemented the strictest lockdowns.

The articles I've linked to include other figures and charts that might suggest "data driven" isn't just for the advocates of continued corona tyranny.  Victory Girl Nina Bookout is irritated "to no end" by that advocacy, in the face of accumulating evidence that the tyranny is ineffective.

More to the point, it’s time they quit the lectures and let Americans use their own best judgement. Having just been in Texas, it was a treat to see Americans making their OWN choices as to whether to stay home, go out to eat, shop, and travel. Furthermore, it was left up to their choice whether they wanted to wear a mask or not. Texans have conducted their own risk assessments and are choosing accordingly.

So it goes with politics. There are still constituents who would like to be thought of as the politicians' children, and there are politicians who will cater to that desire. It is up to the more adult-minded constituents and the politicians who seek their votes to come up with messages to get the children to grow up.