In what has become a recurring GOP sentiment, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made public his true priorities in the coronavirus pandemic in an interview Monday with Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Just as a hint: It’s not saving lives. "And what I said when I was with you that night, there are more important things than living, and that's saving this country for my children and my grandchildren and saving this country for all of us," Patrick said. "I don't want to die, nobody wants to die but man we have got to take some risk and get back in the game and get this country back up and running."
Following Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's announcement Friday that he planned to ease up on shelter-in-place restrictions, Patrick also took some time in his interview to pat himself on the back for sticking to his guns when he was earlier criticized for revealing his economic priority a month ago. “I’m sorry to say that I was right on this, and I’m thankful that we are now, Tucker, finally beginning to open up Texas and other states because it’s been long overdue,” he said.
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Patrick's recent remarks follow Indiana Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth’s similar declaration last Tuesday. Hollingsworth, who serves on the House Financial Services Committee, said the country’s gross domestic product is expected to fall 20% this quarter alone, and lawmakers have to work to improve economic conditions even as the coronavirus progresses. “It is policymakers’ decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say this is the lesser of these two evils, and it is not zero evil,” he said.
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Republican governors have announced plans to roll back stay-at-home orders in not only Texas but Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said at a press conference Monday he plans to loosen restrictions he just put in place earlier this month and let gyms, hair and nail salons, barbershops, and bowling alleys reopen Friday if they comply with social distancing standards. "We have more people moving around, we're probably going to have to see our cases continue to go up, but we're a lot better prepared for that now than we were over a month ago," Kemp said. "But like I said in my remarks, if we have an instance where a community starts becoming a hot spot, then, you know, I will take further action."
When asked about the potential consequences of opening too soon, he added: “Well, I can tell you I don’t give a damn about politics right now.” Apparently, he doesn’t care very much about public health right now either, and he has the support of the White House in that regard.
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More than 39,130 people had died of the coronavirus when President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence pushed governors to “step up” to get Americans back to work this past weekend. "No one in America wants to reopen this country more than President Donald Trump," Pence said.