GOP Leaders Respond to Governor Edwards’ Petition Remarks

The latest surge in COVID-19 cases in Louisiana has resulted in some good old fashioned political finger-pointing between Governor John Bel Edwards and Republican leaders in the Louisiana House. Those GOP members are the ones that signed a petition that would limit the Governor's office authority during a health emergency. The courts sided with the Governor's office on the issue but the decision was based more on procedural issues than the issue at hand.

Meanwhile, Governor Edwards made it quite clear that he felt the petition signed by GOP members of the Louisiana House of Representatives actually contributed to the current rise in COVID cases. The Governor has suggested in comments that the GOP petition confused many residents of the state into thinking that COVID restrictions had been lifted when in fact they had not been.

As you might imagine House Speaker Clay Schexnayder rebuked the Governor's assertions.

I don’t think the legislature had any control over the numbers going up as far as where they were headed before the petition was signed at all.

Schexnayder's comments were reported by the Louisiana Radio Network and reportedly were made during an interview with WWL Radio.

Schexnayder went on to say that the legislature never issued a statement informing the public that COVID restrictions had been lifted. That's true. However, there appears to be very little evidence that any member of the GOP delegation went out of their way to make that clear to the general public.

The bottom line is the COVID-19 doesn't care if there is an (R) or a (D) after an elected official's name. It is an equal opportunity disease and unless and until the Governor and the Legislature can come to terms on what Louisiana's best practices are then we will continue to see the increases in the disease.

Schexnayder himself seems to understand that concept as well,

And that’s the part the governor and I can work on moving forward to be more open communication and getting things done to benefit the people of Louisiana

So, just to be clear, the Governor's current COVID orders are still in place. Social distancing and mask-wearing are still required. There are still limits on gatherings and capacities at indoor facilities too. Oh, and don't forget to wash your hands.