Dunleavy declines to answer easy question on Anchorage restaurant/bar emergency order
The question put to Gov. Mike Dunleavy at his latest COVID-19 show by an Anchorage Daily News reporter went something like this: Do you support the emergency order about bars and restaurants in Anchorage and the attempt by local government to enforce it?
A simple question like that about public health deserves a simple answer, especially since Dunleavy, who says he is all about local control, has been inconsistent. He rejected the Anchorage mask mandate on state property earlier this summer, for reasons he refused to explain and then reversed himself a few weeks later.
As with so many other things during this yea of political distancing, Alaska’s leading conversationalist couldn’t bring himself to say yes or no about the emergency order from Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz.
Here is his reply:
“Yeah, good question. I’ve always been consistent that the best way to approach dealing with this virus, as we’ve talked about today, is looking at it at the local level, especially where there’s cases.
I’ve also been consistent in saying that we need to have conversations with Alaskans. I think we do better when we have those discussions with Alaskans. We saw that back in February, March and April, into May.
We opened up. We, in my opinion, we all kind of went back and got a little comfortable. And some of us are rubbing elbows a little too close with folks.
But with that said I think the best, the best way to deal with this is having conversations with individuals, with entities, with businesses.
And certainly if everyone took into account the idea that if you distance yourself from somebody else, six feet or more, if you can’t do that and you have to be in close proximity like we say over and over again, you wear a face covering for a limited period of time, we’re gonna limit the number of cases. And as the doctor said there are some promising, promising medical advances in regard to this virus here, right on the horizon.
And so again, I think it’s discussions, I think it’s best dealt with at the local level. And those conversations need to happen at the local level. And so, we’ve been consistent on that.
That’s in my opinion, that’s the best way to handle these situations.
Because the state publicity shows relegate reporters to mere background props, journalists are prohibited from asking the appropriate followup question that reply deserves: Do you support or oppose the emergency orders and efforts to enforce them?
The Anchorage Daily News did not make it clear in its coverage that Dunleavy refused to answer the question: “When asked at a community briefing Tuesday if he supports Anchorage’s emergency order and the city’s steps to enforce it, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said that it’s important to have conversations about the virus at the local level.”
Dunleavy’s response to almost every contentious issue is to change the subject by calling for conversation and discussion, which is his way of refusing to answer.
Political language, George Orwell once wrote, is designed to “give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” This is a textbook example.
Your contributions help support independent analysis and political commentary by Alaska reporter and author Dermot Cole. Thank you for reading and for your support. Either click here to use PayPal or send checks to: Dermot Cole, Box 10673, Fairbanks, AK 99710-0673.
Comments? Write to me at dermotmcole@gmail.com