O
ct. 5, 2018. The Senate
chamber held its collective
breath as Sen. Susan
Collins, R-Maine, rose from the desk
once occupied by civil and women’s
rights activist Sen. John Sherman
Cooper, R-Ky., to waste nearly an
hour of time and announce that she
would vote to elevate accused sexual
assailant and calendar enthusiast
Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme
Court. During her winding speech,
Collins
addressed
everything
from her reservations about the
judge to the reality of the #MeToo
movement. Collins was flanked by
two fellow GOP senators: Shelley
Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Cindy
Hyde-Smith, R-Miss.
The former is supposedly pro-
abortion rights, yet she voted to
permanently ban federal funding for
abortions, including Medicaid. So,
for Capito, it’s morally permissible to
have an abortion ... as long as you’re
not poor. The latter made a truly
inexplicable joke about lynching
during her 2018 Senate campaign
against a Black man. When asked if
she regretted the comment, Hyde-
Smith said she was sorry that people
were offended. This trio elevated
the first explicitly pro-beer Supreme
Court
justice,
which
allowed
Republicans — especially the 6’3”
Cheeto topped with a Pringle in the
White House — to use Kavanaugh
to galvanize the base in the 2018
midterms.
Enter Sen. Marsha Blackburn,
R-Tenn. As a politics nerd, I first
saw Blackburn when she was
just
a
climate-change-denying
representative who debated Bill Nye
— yes, that Bill Nye — about global
warming on NBC’s Meet the Press.
As someone who easily experiences
secondhand
embarrassment,
watching the vice chair of the
Energy and Commerce Committee
get ripped to shreds on national
television made me experience
several
levels
of
discomfort.
Highlights of the debate include
Blackburn calling climate change an
“unproven hypothesis” and claiming
that the Earth had cooled over the
last 13 years. The constant lies and
disinformation made her a darling of
the right-wing.
This energy also fueled her 2018
Senate campaign against Tennessee
Gov. Phil Bredesen. Conventionally,
Bredesen — being a former governor,
centrist and generally boring guy
— would have been competitive in
this race. But, on the back of the
Kavanaugh-induced
conservative
rage, Blackburn wiped the floor
with Bredesen, winning by 10.8
percent despite being outspent by $3
million. Since she has been in office,
Blackburn has continued to support
the far-right and the interests of the
president, blocking three different
election security measures in a move
that made #MoscowMartha trend
on Twitter. She has also baselessly
attacked
Lieutenant
Colonel
Alexander
Vindman
for
being
“unpatriotic.”
The
midterm
elections
also
brought
Sen.
Martha
McSally,
R-Ariz., to national prominence
through her loss to the most
interesting woman in the world,
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. Now,
while I would love to spend the
rest of this article talking about
Sinema’s illustrious side hustle as
a triathlete, I cannot. Suffice it to
say, she is amazing, which fueled
her 2.34 percent win to take over
the seat previously held by Sen. Jeff
Flake, R-Ariz. However, after the
election, Gov. Doug Ducey pulled
a switcheroo on the people of the
Grand Canyon state and appointed
McSally, who had just lost statewide,
to sit in the other Senate seat vacated
by the late Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz. In McSally’s time in the
Senate, she has taken on the mantle
of a “warrior,” repeatedly berating
journalists, blaming Democrats for
the coronavirus and belittling sexual
assault survivors, despite being one
herself. Now, don’t get me wrong, I
believe McSally sharing her story is
incredibly brave and commendable,
but stealing a Senate seat and using
that national perch to degrade our
country and make lasting structural
damage to our institutions is
completely unacceptable. However,
McSally is not the only person who
cheated and lied in order to gain
power.
Remember how I said earlier
that there was a 6’3” Cheeto topped
with a Pringle who was in the
White House? Well now, sadly, we
have to talk about him. Specifically,
we have to talk about his role in
shaping all of the aforementioned
women’s political careers. Prior
to the Trump era, Collins was
moderate, pro-abortion rights and
consistently spoke in defense of
moral leadership. Capito was a
moderate with a strong women’s
rights agenda. McSally was a Paul
Ryan critic. The Trump effect has
been pronounced for all of these
women, especially those who have
received promotions in the Trump
era: Blackburn and McSally. Their
political legacies are so intertwined
with Trump that they must echo not
only his policy preferences but also
his toxic rhetoric and lies. See, since
the Republican Party is increasingly
male-dominated
in
both
representatives and constituents, the
women who remain have become
“Trumpified.” Unlike the old white
guys who are inherently assumed
to be on their side, GOP women
have to prove themselves to a sexist
base. This extra level of scrutiny and
purity testing makes female senators
from moderate Maine to ruby-red
Mississippi
reconsider
political
positions that they previously held,
which in turn gives the president
an increased hand in shaping the
Congressional GOP.
While Republicans have pursued
this strategy, Democrats have taken
a different approach by allowing
their young female representatives
to span the ideological spectrum,
from Bloomberg-endorser Rep. Lucy
McBath, D-Ga., to Bernie Bro and
democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. This diversity
inside the Democratic caucus has
allowed for a robust policy debate
surrounding issues like Medicare
for All and a Green New Deal, while
the Republicans’ united front has not
yielded much except a ballooning
deficit and a corporate tax cut.
The Democrats have been allowed
to build such a broad coalition by
not having a Trump-like figure
to dominate the scene. Instead,
the national party has allowed
for debate and discussion around
policies rather than insisting on
political allegiance.
Now, I’m not saying Republican
women should want Trump to lose
in 2020 — especially because that
would change many of their political
fortunes — but it would ultimately be
better for democracy and the GOP.
A debate over Trumpism among
Republicans and, more importantly,
a reckoning for the behaviors
of this era might just usher in a
kinder, gentler, more compassionate
conservative party. Even though
I still won’t vote for them, it’s a
movement I can support.
S
ince the University of Michigan’s
initial COVID-19 announcement
on March 11, students have been
feeling overwhelmed, to say the least.
The uncertainty that comes from a
surreal crisis like the one we are facing
induces heightened levels of stress
and anxiety for both students and
community members. The University
administrators’
fumbled,
multi-day
rollout of their response measures did
little to mitigate these fears.
In the midst of universities and
governments around the globe enacting
unprecedented policies, people want to
cling to what is comfortable. Yearning
for normalcy during a crisis is natural.
Some students are still hanging out with
friends and visiting on-campus spots
while taking precautions. To many, this
type of response seems reasonable.
It is not.
By only providing additional clarity
and toughening their policies March
17, the University helped facilitate
this dangerous attitude. The March 11
statement did not take a clear stance on
whether or not students should leave
campus, only specifying that housing
and dining halls would continue to
operate. By not conspicuously stating
they wanted students to leave if they
were able to, the University caused
confusion and many people, quite
understandably, decided to remain on
campus for the time being and go about
their lives as normally as possible.
This widespread desire to stay in Ann
Arbor for the semester briefly influenced
my plans. I could have easily driven
myself an hour and a half to my moms’
house in Kalamazoo, but I wanted to stay
on campus. I figured being in Ann Arbor
would help me focus on my schoolwork
and avoid the probable challenges of
moving back home. I reasoned that I
could stay if I exercised precautions,
such as limiting my movement outside
of my residence hall and not meeting up
with large groups. Many of my friends
and hallmates were planning on sticking
around, too.
This sentiment was echoed by what I
witnessed on my social media feeds, as
students posted photos from bars, joked
about spending $20 to fly internationally
and shared statments like the following:
“I’d rather be dead in Ann Arbor than
alive in my hometown.” Soon after the
University switched to online classes, I
noticed that students were continuing
to attend informal events with more
than 10 people and neglecting to adhere
to proper social distancing measures at
such gatherings.
This approach exhibits privilege that
is, quite literally, deadly.
It is imperative for those who have
the ability to go to an alternative,
safe location to do so. Crowded living
environments like residence halls and
sorority houses would make the virus
remarkably easy to spread to others and
make it difficult for individuals who
have been exposed to properly self-
quarantine. Many people who have the
coronavirus might not even realize they
are carrying it, being that some of those
who are infected are asymptomatic.
About 81 percent of cases are mild,
which is likely higher among younger
demographics. A lack of caution among
students, coupled with the effortless
transmission of the virus, will only
spread it wider and faster, further
risking vulnerable populations and
increasing the number of patients that
health care workers will need to aid.
Additionally, not taking the advice
to move home is seriously harmful to
students who have no other choice but
to stay. Some people simply don’t have
the funds to travel or a safe place to
go. International students are caught
in incredibly difficult situations due
to travel restrictions, while out-of-
state students have to choose between
waiting it out or making the trek back
home — potentially increasing their
risk of exposure by traveling across the
country — to be with their families.
Others might need the food provided
by campus dining halls or need to work
jobs in Ann Arbor to make ends meet.
Staying on campus means frequenting
common spaces like dining halls and
grocery stores while continuing to
live in tight quarters, making social
distancing harder and putting the
students who must stay here at an
increased risk of exposure.
By risking transmission of the virus
in a condensed campus environment
like that of Ann Arbor, people with
the ability to return to safer homes
elsewhere are only adding to the
problem. Even though it might not
present a severe risk to you personally,
staying on campus and spreading
the disease could mean life or death
for others. Although not explicitly,
doing this prioritizes those who are
healthy, young and wealthy over
those who are immunocompromised,
elderly, undocumented, disabled and
impoverished. Not taking the threat
COVID-19 presents seriously is a
demonstration of blatant privilege that
will inevitably weaken public health
efforts to combat the virus and prolong
its adverse effects on society.
This is our chance to come together
and do something good. By following
preventative measures — like moving
off-campus and not socializing with
friends in person — we can prevent this
pandemic from saturating the capacity
of our health care system and causing
long-term disruption to society. If you
are privileged enough to have a choice,
choose to help the vulnerable people
who need us to do our part.
4— Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Alanna Berger
Zack Blumberg
Brittany Bowman
Emily Considine
Jess D’Agostino
Jenny Gurung
Cheryn Hong
Krystal Hur
Ethan Kessler
Zoe Phillips
Mary Rolfes
Michael Russo
Timothy Spurlin
Miles Stephenson
Joel Weiner
Erin White
ERIN WHITE
Managing Editor
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420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
ELIZABETH LAWRENCE
Editor in Chief
EMILY CONSIDINE AND
MILES STEPHENSON
Editorial Page Editors
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
LILY ANTOR | OP-ED
If you have the privilege of choice, choose to go home
Lily Antor is a sophomore in the College
of Literature, Science,& the Arts and can be
reached at lilyant@umich.edu.
SUBMIT TO SURVIVORS SPEAK
The Opinion section has created a space in
The Michigan Daily for first-person accounts
of sexual assault and its corresponding
personal, academic and legal implications.
Submission information can be found at
https://tinyurl.com/survivorsspeak2020.
What it takes to be a successful woman in the Trump GOP
KEITH JOHNSTONE | COLUMN
Keith Johnstone an be reached at
keithja@umich.edu.
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