Make no mistake about it. Sen. Ted “Cancun” Cruz is against any mandates aimed at controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cruz said: “There should be no mandates — zero — concerning COVID. That means no mask mandates, regardless of your vaccination status, that means no vaccine mandates, that means no vaccine passports."
Cruz said he would be introducing legislation to block vaccine passports, vaccine mandates, and mask mandates nationwide. Of course, this was just for show and to score points with MAGAts since the legislation has no chance of passage.
And Cruz has made clear that he supports Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s bans on mask mandates in schools, although officials in some of Texas’ largest cities are defying the bans and challenging them in court.
Abbott’s inaction comes at a time when Texas’ hospital system is in crisis mode, struggling to keep up with the surge in COVID-19 patients due to the delta variant. And pediatric hospitals are running out of beds for children with severe COVID cases who are more vulnerable to the delta variant.
But Cruz is ever the hypocrite.
It turns out that his two daughters attend the tony private St. John’s School ($30,000 per year tuition) in Houston. And it turns out that the school has a very strict mask mandate.
“The school views the use of face coverings as a very important way that we as a community can slow the spread of the virus and protect one another. Due to the current situation in our community, all persons on campus will be required to have a face covering. Please prepare your children that a face covering will be utilized throughout the day.
“All students and adults are required to wear face coverings at all times except while eating and drinking. “
Cruz has said that he and his wife Heidi have both been vaccinated. Their two daughters -- ages 10 and 12 -- have not been vaccinated.
Do you think Cruz has been trying to organize parents at the school to protest the mask mandate? I don’t think so.
However, some St. John’s parents did have a strong reaction after Cruz took his family to Cancun to escape the aftermath of Texas’ devastating winter storm. They demanded that the school enforce a rule it had introduced that students who travel internationally must quarantine for 7 to 10 days upon their return.
And what about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis? I wonder if his children attend a private school with a mask mandate. The same question should be asked of other Republicans who oppose vaccine and mask mandates.
The bottom line: No mask mandates for you and your children at public schools. But mask mandates are all right for my children at their tony private school.