“Polis’ centrist approach to governing – what counts as heterodox thinking in the Democratic party these days -- isn’t limited to his handling of the pandemic. From the beginning of his political career… he’s been a champion of public school choice”
“In our interview, he promoted the fact that Colorado parents have a great degree of flexibility over where to send their child to school, compared to many states’ one-size-fits-all systems.”
Polis: “Glenn Youngkin’s message in Virginia was parents should control schools, right? We take school choice as a given in Colorado. We have open enrollment within districts and between districts. We have charter schools and magnet schools.”
More Polis: “It’s similar during the COVID era: Different schools handled [the pandemic] in different ways, and parents were able to choose schools that better fit them.”
He noted that if a school system went remote for COVID, parents cld transfer into a different jurisdiction.
Of states with Dem governors, only 2 were in person more than CO.
Polis: “We were one of the earlier states to return to school. Kids had a relatively normal second semester last year. And the majority of our school districts were actually in session all last year in person”
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“This is what playing to the political center looks like. At a time when the Democratic Party has pandered to outspoken progressives with little to show for it, Polis is offering an alternative vision in a politically significant swing state.”
“If Biden decides not to run for a second term, having a popular executive in a battleground state filled with Hispanic voters who happens to be openly gay checks a whole lot of boxes for Democrats looking to win the next presidential election.”
Fauci, with the buried lede in WaPo intvw: “It may turn out that omicron, at least among those who are vaccinated and/or previously infected, is going to turn out to be more of a bothersome upper-respiratory infection…”
More Fauci: “If your plans are to go to a 40-to-50-person New Year’s Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing and wishing each other a happy new year? I would strongly recommend that this year we do not do that.”
Another cautionary note on testing: “The PCR tests, meanwhile, are more accurate in detecting the presence of the virus but are so sensitive they can identify traces of the virus many weeks after a person is no longer infectious.”
“They were so careful, for so long. They got covid anyway.”
(My insta-reax: Getting COVID pre-vaccines *so* much different than being vaccinated now while getting omicron… and reporting should reflect the difference.) washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/…
The big question: Should public health acknowledge this reality and tamp down on the aggressive guidance on how to avoid omicron, period?
Should the new guidance be: "Get vaccinated (+ boosted) and start living life normally."
Just finished interview with CO Gov. Jared Polis for my column coming out this weekend. That's his message, as he prepares for his re-election campaign in 2022.
"The argument for keeping schools open rests on two constants ever since the Covid pandemic began: The risk of severe outcomes to kids from coronavirus infection is low, and the risks to kids from being out of school are high." nytimes.com/2021/12/20/opi…
"We need to stop quarantining entire classrooms when there is a positive case and instead establish so-called test-to-stay policies as the default. The Biden administration has finally woken up to this."
"For those who test positive, the current protocol requires a 10-day isolation period, with no option to test out, even for the vaccinated. This is overly stringent and is causing more unnecessary missed schooling."
“The smarter White House strategy would be to take the words of country singer Kenny Rogers: ‘You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em.’”
“The more that Democrats insist on pushing through ambitious legislation and proposals without majority support, the more they’re frustrating their own base and losing valuable support from middle-of-the-road voters.”
“Instead, this should be an opportunity for the administration to change course and start focusing on the new priorities animating American voters—addressing inflation, coming up with a new pandemic playbook amid rising cases, and getting crime in check in the nation’s cities”
“In a sign that party leaders’ emotions are getting ahead of their strategic thinking, Schumer declared that he would be putting the doomed BBB bill up for a Senate vote next month to get everyone on the record.”
“Vulnerable Democratic senators, already facing the prospect of a punishing midterm environment, will now be forced to take a position on the polarizing legislation.”
“There’s a reason why swing-state Democrats like Mark Kelly, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Maggie Hassan have been unusually quiet about their support for the social-spending bill; it was easier having Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema act as a heat shield”