The Republican Party of Virginia criticized Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam for what it believes to be a “bungled” rollout of the state’s new mandatory mask policy.
In a statement released Wednesday, officials with the Republican Party decried the mask policy as “dictatorial” and accused Northam’s coronavirus response of being a “third-rate mess.”
“In a time of crisis, Ralph Northam has failed,” Virginia GOP Chairman Jack Wilson wrote. “He has failed our seniors in long term assisted living facilities. He has failed thousands of small business owners. He has failed Virginia’s minority communities. He has failed our students. He has failed every single Virginian. This Commonwealth used to be a leader in this nation and a shining example of what a state should be. Governor Northam has turned it into a third-rate mess.”
Northam, who was spotted without a face mask during an outing in Virginia Beach last weekend, announced Virginia’s new mask policy, which will require all people to wear masks in public places beginning on Friday.
“Maybe our tune would be different if Governor Northam had not been caught just this weekend in a crowded public area with no mask and no regard for social distancing,” Wilson continued. “While this administration’s COVID-19 response has been defined by its unforced errors, this is the first time it has turned them back on suffering Virginians. Will those without masks be able to tell Big Brother that they ‘forgot it in the car’? How are we supposed to take this man seriously?”
Though police have been instructed not to arrest people violating the new rules, Wilson accused Northam of failing to fulfill his duty to protect residents from “authoritarian rule.”
“Governor Northam’s latest edict infringes on the freedoms and liberties of the citizens of Virginia,” Wilson added. “This nation was founded as a direct rebuttal of tyrannical, authoritarian rule from those who thought themselves suited to govern a land to which they had no real connection. Ralph Northam appears to have forgotten that.”
