With COVID-19 cases of the Delta variant surging in New Mexico, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham reinstated the mask mandate for indoor settings, and suggested mandatory vaccines for all healthcare workers. The Delta variant is especially concerning since it has proven to be more contagious, may cause more serious illness in unvaccinated persons, and that fully vaccinated people can spread the virus to others.

Of course this announcement unleashed pushback from conservatives and anti-maskers. Senator Gregg Schmedes, M.D. (District 19) and Senator David Gallegos (District 41) released the following statements in response to the Governor Grisham’s announcement:

“In the Governor’s zealous pursuit to institute the most draconian approach to COVID-19 in the nation, she may be crushing healthcare access at the very time we need it most,” said Senator Schmedes. “It has been reported that nearly one in three healthcare workers at our nation’s largest hospitals are not vaccinated. Regardless of their reasons for being unvaccinated, this mandate tells our healthcare workers that the Governor thinks she is better than them at their own jobs. I do not know many in the healthcare field who will take kindly to this demand and I fear many who were already on the fence about staying in New Mexico will take this as an invitation to pack their bags.”

The statement continued: “Rural New Mexico healthcare faces the triple threat of a looming influx of hospitalizations, a lack of access to providers, and now, an arbitrary vaccination deadline that may push our local healthcare systems into chaos,” added Senator Gallegos. “The last thing we need is a forced shortage of healthcare workers and possible hospital closures due to a lack of staff. In an effort to solve a healthcare scare, the Governor may in fact be creating another healthcare crisis. A bed shortage is not as severe as a doctor, nurse, and hospital shortage.”

These statements from Senators Schmedes and Gallegos is more of the same GOP pushback against mask and vaccine mandates. The senators seem to think that  mandating vaccines for healthcare workers will cause a healthcare crisis in our state, including a shortage of hospital beds and forcing healthcare workers to leave the state. This type of “doom-and-gloom” reaction is nothing new from conservatives and anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers.

In a more recent statement, Senator Schmedes said, “Governor Lujan Grisham is forcing kindergarteners to wear masks all day even though COVID-19 is not a pediatric disease (this statement is untrue). Her policy embarrasses and shames unvaccinated children and fails to accommodate COVID recovered students who have no need for vaccination. This is a virus that represents less of a threat to children than does seasonal influenza. With no local autonomy to account for regional needs, the Governor is sending a clear signal that her concern is not with the wellbeing of our children, but rather, with maintaining her grip on our state.” The Senator went on to add, “It comes as no surprise that a record-number of New Mexico parents are removing their children from public schools. Under this administration, our students’ best shot at a quality education is an education far from the reach of their unscientific and misguided policies.”

I must say that I am flabbergasted with these comments coming from a medical doctor. I would imagine that any and all healthcare professionals would advocate the mantra “prevention is the best medicine.” We know that masks work, that vaccines work, and that taking such precautions can save lives. So what is the real issue here?

If we look at some statistics, the partisan gap in those Americans who have received vaccines versus who have not is surprising. More than 80% of Democrats have already received at least one vaccine shot, as opposed to 49% of Republicans. Also, 27% of Republicans say that they will never get vaccinated (contrasting with only 3% of surveyed Democrats).

The pushback against masks and vaccines continues. Right-wing state legislatures, such as in Montana, have rushed to stop employers from requiring vaccinations. Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order preventing governments and school districts in the state from requiring people to wear masks, and Florida Gov. Rick DeSantis has started a fued with local school districts who want to require mask mandates for students and staff.

It seems to me that Republican lawmakers want to spread the virus among their own constituents. Why do GOP leaders refuse to accept the science, and so vehemently fight back against preventative measures? Scholars Amy Fried and Douglas Harris provide some insight into this phenomenon, and put forward some theories in their book, “At War With Government: How Conservatives Weaponized Distrust from Goldwater to Trump.”

The authors point out that over the last 50 years, the conservative movement has been built upon a “political identity emphasizing suspicion, hostility, and antipathy toward the government, particularly the social welfare state.” Their book suggests that the right has built a philosophy on fighting against, and eroding, collective government and civic responsibility. This philosophy is built on fueling paranoia and a deep distrust of government, and that this view has been an effective strategy for the GOP to hold on to political power.

In their book, Fried and Harris trace the anti-government movement of the GOP back to the conservative resurgence created by Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona in the 1960s and implemented by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. The mistrust of government has allowed conservatives “to build political organizations, to win elections, to channel power toward institutions they controlled … and to promote or thwart policy proposals.”

We all remember how the tea party claimed that President Obama’s health care reform created “death panels,” which was an effective tactic that helped Republicans to gain seat in both the House and Senate in the 2010 midterms.

The reluctance to accept the reality that masks and vaccines work, that the denial that Trump and his supporters attempted a coup on January 6 are all part of the GOP strategy. This strategy is to generate fear, anger and ultimately engagement by their supporters, and at the same time exonerates political leaders from recognizing the facts. The anti-establishment, anti-government, and anti-science narratives recited by conservative lawmakers such as Ted Cruz, Rick DeSantis, Gregg Schmedes and David Gallegos are innately conspiratorial. In order to stay in power, the GOP continues to spew malevolent disinformation, and they push the view that “we’re on your side, and we are the only ones to tell you the truth.”

Neither January 6, nor over ½ million COVID deaths has convinced the GOP to change its mind. Honestly, it has been a party promoting mistrust and hate for over half a century, and there is no sign of stopping.

Although there is no easy solution to this dilemma, it is important to recognize the philosophy and motives behind the GOP actions. There are good reasons to hold government power in check, but to fuel conspiracy theories and bogus COVID treatments in an effort to convince people to turn against vaccines and masks seems like a bizarre group-think in an effort to push back against big government and “own the libs.” The common hatred of big government and embracing of conspiracy theories only harms Americans, and erodes Democracy itself.