WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding parents’ and children’s rights:
“About two weeks ago, I spoke on this floor about the state of the pandemic two years in. About letting American families get back to normal.
“The current science clearly supports the 70 percent of Americans who believe we must accept this virus is here to stay, trust the science, and proceed with normal life.
“At the time, this was not a universal sentiment.
“The next day, across the river, liberals tried to shame Virginia’s new governor for foregoing a mask in an incredibly-vaccinated area where cases have been falling for weeks.
“The top Democrat in the Virginia state Senate criticized the Governor and backed ongoing school mask mandates as, ‘common sense.’
“But my goodness, how quickly things can change.
“A few days ago, I understand that same state Senate leader did a 180-degree turn and voted for an amendment to end school mask mandates.
“A dam had begun to break nationwide.
“A week ago today, leaders in Democrat-run New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and Oregon announced they would axe or relax their mask and/or vaccine mandates in the near future.
“By the end of the week, states including California, Illinois, Nevada, New York, and Rhode Island had followed suit to varying degrees.
“Now, obviously, the scientific facts have not changed in the last few weeks. We have known for many weeks that this variant is significantly milder. And we have known for many months that the universally-available vaccines reduce the odds of hospitalization or death down to the level of many routine risks that we all face constantly in daily life.
“The only science that’s changed in the last two weeks is the political science.
“The only data that’s changed in the last two weeks is Democrats’ polling data.
“The Washington Post put it like this: The ‘abrupt end to mask mandates reflects a shifting political landscape.’