by Bob Barr | Dec 2, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall There never was evidence or scientific data that in-person schooling presented an elevated virus threat for students, faculty, or staff warranting schools’ prolonged closure – no evidence whatsoever. In fact, it was clear even before the traditional school year’s start that children and young adults were far less likely to be infected with COVID or to be severely impacted if they became infected. So, was the response by teachers’ unions and bureaucratic school administrators to reopen but with common-sense health and safety measures in place, so students were not kept away from teachers, classmates, and all the other benefits in-school learning provides? Of course not. Their response was to put on blinders, ignore common sense and hard evidence, and remain…closed.There does now seem to be a glimmer of hope that this close-mindedness is softening slightly. The New York City public school system, for example, plans to open soon for in-person classes, at least for elementary students. The timing of this about-face, and whether it actually will remain in-place, are questions still on the table, and parents should continue to demand to know why it took the teachers and school administrators so long to admit what everyone else knew months ago. Even more important, parents should demand accountability, including firing teachers and bureaucrats for the waste of money caused by their bad decisions, and for the damage inflicted on the students as a result.Waiting for any apology by those self-serving public officials would be a waste of time. As with other fear-driven public policy decisions made in response to the pandemic, refusals to open schools for in-person teaching were nothing more than partisan footballs to be...
by Bob Barr | Nov 25, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall All things considered, America has done remarkably well through the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite profoundly dramatic changes to the very fabric of American life (primarily the result of state and local government overreach), we are nearing the light at the end of the tunnel. The economy slowed, but it did not stop. Schools closed, but children are still learning (at least sort of). People are sick and some are dying, but there is a miracle cure on the horizon. All this, thanks to private sector innovation.So why does Joe Biden want to kill it?When you think about it, America’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is nothing short of incredible. In just a matter of weeks this past Spring, how we work, learn, and live changed dramatically. However, rather than the economy grinding to a halt, many American businesses quickly pivoted – with considerable, if somewhat uneven success – to a work-from-home model. The same with schooling; it still continues to be a struggle (no thanks to petulant teachers and their unions), but remote learning allows at least some semblance of academic instruction. Even restaurants found lifelines by partnering with food delivery startups after state and local government tyrants shut them down arbitrarily.None of these successes would have been possible even five years ago. Exponential advancements in broadband means internet speeds are faster, and cheaper than ever before, thereby allowing tens of millions of Americans to work from home without major internet interruptions. Technical devices are more affordable than ever, making remote opportunities more possible for the working class. And, thanks to app technology that can create jobs out of thin...
by Bob Barr | Nov 18, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall The government’s long-running and destructive effort to control our nation’s economy at all levels, which went into overdrive this year with the advent of COVID-19, barely slowed for the speed bump that was the November 3 election.The current pattern has become distressingly clear and sadly predictable: issue declarations and then shame people into following them.Without any science to support many of their recommendations, unelected bureaucrats and politicians enamored of the power their status provides, continue to propose radical and often nonsensical measures.The American people can see this system at work simply by skimming through Joe Biden’s official transition agenda. It includes implementing mask mandates nationwide and many other Nanny State proclamations. Others have proposed mandates even worse than Biden’s, including wearing a mask between bites at dinner and refraining from getting together during Thanksgiving. Some have even suggested that failure to wear a mask should make one an accessory to murder in the eyes of the law.These decrees have hurt all 50 states, including my home state of Georgia, in a big way. Mandates have caused the loss of over 60,000 jobs in the Peach State’s food and accommodations sectors alone. Unfortunately, Uncle Sam is not yet done interfering in Georgia’s affairs.Biden’s COVID advisor already is discussing another four-to-six week nationwide lockdown to “control” the pandemic. Doing this would devastate Georgia’s already struggling businesses and the workers they employ. But even that is not enough for the Nanny State.If not overruled soon, this bureaucratic intervention is on track to hit Georgians even harder, by reaching into one of the people’s small pleasures — enjoying a beer or other alcoholic beverage. This could be accomplished with a typical regulatory...
by Bob Barr | Nov 11, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall The razor-thin margin between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden was not the result for which Republicans hoped but holding the line against Sen. Chuck Schumer becoming majority leader, and actually weakening Speaker Pelosi’s House majority are not insignificant achievements. Also, Republican gains in state legislatures as we brace for redistricting is further cause for at least muted celebration.The real task Republicans in Washington and in “red states” now face is to resist the understandable urge to focus on the election that just ended. This will take a degree of discipline and leadership not always abundant in the Grand Old Party.But still, first things first.Between now and next January, Republican leaders, donors and voters must do everything in their power to ensure both sitting Georgia GOP senators win the run-off election scheduled for January 5, 2021. Only by doing this will Mitch McConnell remain in control of the Senate as a crucial check on the worst excesses of a Biden-Harris Administration. Once this pair of victories is won, Republicans must immediately pivot and turn their attention to 2022.If the GOP plays its hand not just well but expertly, it very well could wrest the House majority back from the Democrats in two short years.Achieving this blue-ribbon prize will be difficult, but not impossible. In fact, it was Republican messaging that stressed economic recovery and law and order that was key to last week’s closer-than-expected presidential vote and up-ending the Democrats’ hoped-for congressional “blue wave.” Consistent delivery of this message will be especially relevant if, as he has promised, a President Biden listens to the “scientists” and shutters our economy.Republicans...
by Bob Barr | Nov 4, 2020 | Townhall Article |
Townhall As I write this, millions of Americans are still voting. There is no way to predict what the outcome will be election eve, or if Americans will know the outcome of the election days or even weeks from now. It did not have to be this way. The GOP should have won in a blowout, and that they are almost certain not to is a clear sign the Grand Old Party is in desperate need of a Grand Old Rebuild. The lack of leadership and coordination by the Republican Party’s leadership on Capitol Hill and in “red” States across the country has placed the burden of party messaging squarely on Trump’s shoulders; it is both a benefit and a burden he has borne.Trump’s strength as President, and indeed what has made him so effective in his first term, is getting things done. Trump is a businessman and political outsider, not a philosopher or erudite pundit; so, expecting that he, and he alone, should be responsible for the incredibly important task of articulating clear and consistent messaging to voters was at best shortsighted. It also explains why the GOP turned what should have been a blowout victory against a weak and extremist candidate into a down-to-the-wire nail-biter. GOP leaders did a far better job heading into 2020 with messaging about Democrats than about Republicans. Whether voters agreed with Democrats’ radicalism or not, there was no question as to where they stood on the environment, healthcare, gun control, illegal immigration, criminal justice, and more. These positions were repeatedly reinforced not just from the Biden campaign, but with symbolic legislation passed in the House over the last...
by Bob Barr | Oct 28, 2020 | Townhall Article |
TownhallApril 19 was the day America lost the fight against COVID-19. It was on that day that two hospital workers in Denver stood in front of a truck with people heading to the Capitol to protest the state’s stay-at-home order. Suddenly there was clarity. You were either with the hospital workers or the protestors in the truck. That was it; no in-between, no confusion. The lines had been drawn. COVID was — like every other issue in this Year of Our Lord 2020 — absolutely partisan.This, of course, was not by accident. Partisan leaders on each side recognized the value in making COVID political, and went all-in hoping their position would better resonate with voters. Consider the Great Shutdown debate. Republicans arguing it was about the economy, and Democrats about health and safety. Subtlety was thrown to the wind, as nuance is not helpful when trying to stoke people’s emotions and further drive them into embittered tribes.Predictably, today’s debate over COVID-19, which should be discussed seriously as a national crisis impacting both our health care and economy, is just another toxic mess full of vile rhetoric and misinformation designed only to better each party’s chances in November. Take, for instance, the ghoulish joy liberals express at infection rates in the South because these states’ leaders dared to defy Leftist orthodoxy on COVID shutdowns; or how many anti-Trumpers openly hoped the president’s COVID infection would remove him from office, and perhaps even from this physical world. To characterize this situation as unhealthy is an extreme understatement. There really are no winners in such an environment. Citizens are held hostage as any meaningful progress...
