North Carolina’s governor needs to do more than talk tough about masks
In managing the state’s response to the pandemic, Gov. Roy Cooper wields the power of the bully pulpit.
He used it Tuesday, zeroing in on those who won’t wear masks. He said, “For those who continue to defy basic decency and common sense because they refuse to wear a mask — either wear one or don’t go in the store.” He also said: “The refusal to wear a mask is selfish. It infringes on the life and liberty of everyone else in the store.”
But sermonizing about decency and the evils of selfishness won’t get the breadth of compliance needed. That’s where the bully in bully pulpit comes in. The governor needs to do more than talk tough, and he needs to do it with more than those who aren’t wearing masks.
If gym owners slyly cite a customer’s “medical needs” as a reason to open — as is happening in North Carolina — make those gyms produce a doctor’s note from every customer. If gyms can’t do so, they should be fined and possibly forced to close.
If N.C. bar owners continue to defy orders to stay closed by claiming they are private clubs, send Alcohol Law Enforcement agents into those “clubs” every night for proof of membership. If it’s a sham club, they should face the possibility of a suspended liquor license.
As attorney general, Cooper spent 16 years as North Carolina’s top cop. Somehow, as governor, he’s gotten shy about law enforcement, with a notable exception: Cooper forced ACE Speedway, which flouted his restrictions on business, to shut down. He should do the same with other defiant businesses.
Finally, the governor should remind the UNC system that it, too, must comply with COVID-19 safety requirements as campuses reopen. Faculty and graduate students who teach at UNC-CH and N.C. State say university leaders appear to be unprepared for the risks of reopening and are leaving it to them to enforce rules about social distancing and wearing masks.
It’s unfortunate that Cooper or any governor would have to get tough to get people to do the right thing. But the early “we’re all in this together” spirit has shown cracks under the stress of social isolation and financial losses and some are exploiting the gaps.
So far, Cooper has done a commendable job managing this pandemic. He has stood firm against the reopen protests, vetoed Republican bills calling for the reopening of bars and gyms and rejected the president’s call to reopen schools as usual. Had he not stood his ground, many more North Carolinians would have been sickened or died.
Now, however, the governor has arrived at a new phase. He’s facing restlessness and obtuseness. He needs to do more than preach that all should cooperate. He needs to punish those who won’t.
The city of Miami, for instance, is issuing fines for not wearing a mask starting at $50 and going up to $500 for repeat offenders. Miami City Manager Art Noriega said, “The only way to ensure compliance in some way, shape or form is you have to have a heavy hand.”
Being heavy-handed isn’t an easy role of Cooper. By nature, he’s moderate and tolerant. Politically, he’s running for re-election, and he doesn’t want to give credence to a Republican opponent who has criticized his orders as excessive. But while restraint in enforcement may serve the governor’s re-election, it undermines his cause.
More than 1,600 people have died from COVID-19 in North Carolina and more than 1,000 are now fighting for breath in its hospitals. More than 100,000 cases of infection have been confirmed since March.
North Carolina, like most of the world, is under siege from this virus. Cooper is fighting it, but he should also call to account those who are ignoring it.
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 1:17 PM with the headline "North Carolina’s governor needs to do more than talk tough about masks."