Aside from Culp having no leadership experience (he is a “police chief” with no officers), he raises other concerns. His Trumpian position on COVID-19 stands out. Countries that have successfully brought COVID-19 under control had serious, nationally led, shutdowns. We have had no national leadership to make that happen, and our deaths are still increasing. We are fortunate to at least have a state governor who issued a stay at home mandate for a while. Culp is attacking him for doing so, claiming Inslee is violating his right to be free. He might not have to worry about COVID-19 because there are hardly any people where he lives. But the rest of us have to worry plenty.
Culp claims that since so many people die from auto crashes it makes just as much sense to restrict driving as it does to restrict people contact because of COVID-19. First of all, we already restrict driving. Our laws dictate how much distance to keep from other cars, how fast we can go, when we can and cannot pass, wearing seat belts, and where we can drive and park. I am sure Culp has issued his share of tickets for infractions of those laws. By doing so, has he violated the people’s freedom or made them safer? Additionally, people can choose not to drive. They can’t choose not to breathe.
Secondly, comparing auto deaths with COVID-19 deaths doesn’t make sense. Auto accidents are not contagious. A single individual carrying the virus can infect three people who each can then infect three more, which now gives us 13 people with the virus in a very short period of time. That is the nature of contagion, and that is what turns an uncontrolled virus into a pandemic.
So, the question I have for voters is this: are pandemic deniers, like Trump and Culp, looking after the public good or simply trying to turn people against one another to attain power?
Finally, Culp is blaming Gov. Inslee for our state’s current economic difficulties. These are problems all states are having, and they are having them because we have no national leadership.
We have not had a president willing to take charge of resolving the pandemic related problems. Ultimately, the states that will be hit the hardest are the ones that followed Trump’s pandemic-denying “leadership.” By using science and good judgement, our governor has taken appropriate steps to protect our health and our economy. Of course, thanks to Trump, there are still serious problems, but Inslee is doing everything he can to solve those problems. The Culp and Trump approach is to do nothing and blame everyone else. That isn’t leadership. That is a cowardly power grab.
So, I now know who Loren Culp is. He is a Donald Trump wannabe. That is why he hired one of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign managers. God save us. Surely Republicans can do better.
