‘Fear-mongering must end’: Does Missouri AG Eric Schmitt ever listen to himself?
“The fear mongering must end,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt wrote on Twitter Friday morning. “Individuals should be allowed to make their own decisions about masks.”
Schmitt needs to heed his own words. But he won’t. Schmitt, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, is too busy campaigning for higher office.
Consider the threatening cease and desist letters he sent to dozens of school districts across the state, ordering them to repeal mask mandates and vaccination requirements or face legal consequences. Some districts cowered and dropped mask requirements immediately. Most districts pushed back, and rightfully so. Under Missouri law, duly elected school board officials have the right to protect the health and safety of students and staff.
The duplicity doesn’t end there. Schmitt asked amateur sleuths to send proof of school districts violating a decision by a Cole County judge, who ruled mask mandates cannot be enacted by public health officials. No photos or video footage of school children without their parents’ permission would be collected, the Attorney General’s office told us. Thank God.
Schmitt’s actions are antidemocratic. He does not have the authority to force school districts or other elected bodies to drop their mandates.
Public health orders violate the separation of powers in the three-branch government system, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled last month. Schmitt is seemingly confused about the law.
“We encourage you to take immediate action to remove all unconstitutional and illegal orders,” Schmitt wrote earlier this week to school officials across Missouri.
School districts in Kansas City, Park Hill, Kearney, North Kansas City and Lee’s Summit were among those that balked. Safety protocols to slow the spread of the coronavirus will stay in place in each district at least until the end of the semester.
“There are many who’ll never let this go & won’t ever tell you the criteria by which they’ll ‘allow’ you to make these decisions again,” Schmitt tweeted Friday. “It’s wrong & needs to stop.”
No, Attorney General, you’re wrong and you need to stop using your taxpayer-funded position to campaign for higher office. School boards have the right to enact policies to prevent the spread of a fatal airborne virus. You would know that if you did the job you were elected to do.
This story was originally published December 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
