Gov. Whitmer’s Approval Rating Drops Like A Rock Thrown Into A Great Lake; That Answers One Question
I published a piece back on April 7th speculating why Governor Whitmer had not closed down our state due to the increasing number of COVID-19 positive patients and hospitalizations like she did last fall.
The Michigan Capitol Confidential reminded us of an executive/emergency order she had the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued on November 15, 2020.
That order shutdown; schools, school sports, bars, restaurants, movie theaters and more. That order in part read:
“The State of Michigan presently has a seven-day average of 512 cases per million people, which is five times higher than the case rate on October 1. Test positivity has increased from 3.2% in early October to 12% on November 13. And while testing has increased 78% since October 1, test positivity has increased 225% during that same time frame, indicating COVID-19 spread is happening much more quickly than tests being administered. All regions in Michigan are now at the highest risk level, with a seven-day average in excess of 150 cases per million.”
Pay particular attention to the 512 cases per million people and the test positivity rate of 12% on November 13th.
As the April 5th article published in the Michigan Capitol Confidential points out:
“Michigan’s current seven-day average case level is 534 per million, with a “test positivity” rate of 15%”
Interesting that our numbers were worse in March and April than they were last fall but Whitmer had not ordered another lockdown like she did last fall.
So the question I asked in that April 7th piece was: what motivated her to lockdown last fall with the Covid-19 numbers we had at that time but not today with worse Covid-19 numbers presenting themselves?
For the last couple of weeks, I have been speculating on my show that there is one of two reasons why she had not brought back the closures. They were:
- Door #1: She has been given internal (only for her campaign/office) polling showing her ratings tanking. If there is one thing a politician hates to see, that is their ratings going down.
- Door #2: Big money Democrats told her she will not be shutting down the Michigan economy for the third time.
The answer has been uncovered, was it Door #1, Door #2 or perhaps the surprise package behind the never seen or heard about Door #3.
It was Door #1.
The Daily Caller is reporting that researchers from Harvard, Northeastern, Northwestern and Rutgers just released a new report as part of their ongoing “The Covid States Project”. This project surveys residents in the states to determine how they believe their governors are handling the Covid-19 virus issue.
New data from the report shows the Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s approval rating for her job of handling the COVID-19 virus issue has dropped like a 10-pound rock thrown into one of Michigan's Great Lakes. From June of last year to February of this year her ratings on that issue have plummeted by 17% over those eight months.
In June of last year, Whitmer had a 69% approval rating and as of last February, she clocked in at 52%. Could you imagine what her rating would be like if they included the months of March and April when the numbers increased even more? Her favorability number probably would have dropped by another 5 or 10 points.
The unfortunate part of all of this is it is never good when an elected leader leads by polls and not example or what is the right thing to do.
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