Republicans are seizing the heated debate over coronavirus vaccination passports as part of their strategy to regain control of Congress by 2022.
In interviews and conversations with The Hill, GOP strategists and agents acknowledged the growing eagerness among Americans to be vaccinated against COVID-19. But many are also betting that the emerging debates over so-called vaccine passports will help them respond to voters’ fears of government overruns and privacy violations.
The idea of vaccine passports has gained increasing attention in recent weeks as eligibility for COVID-19 vaccinations has grown rapidly and Americans are beginning to see a glint of a post-pandemic normal on the horizon. The White House has indicated that it will issue basic guidelines for such programs, although it has also said it has no plans to create a centralized, federal requirement.
Still, some of the country’s most prominent conservatives are starting to hold on to the emerging possibility of vaccine passports or certificates, seeing such proposals as an extension of their campaign to rally the GOP base as opposed to coronavirus-related restrictions such as lockdown- orders and masks. mandates.
“It’s a political winner,” said Ford O’Connell, a Florida-based Republican strategist. “They see it as a total assault on personal freedoms and the constitution, but it is also about protecting the average ordinary Floridian who wants to live his normal day-to-day life.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantis Parts of the province of Florida are being evacuated over fears of the sewage reservoir collapsing. More GOP-Led States Risk Backlash from Companies Like Georgia’s Overnight Health Care: CDC Says Fully Vaccinated People Can Travel Safely | Biden complains about those pretending that COVID-19 is arguing about | Will vaccine passports be the biggest campaign issue of 2022? MORE is one of the Republicans who spoke out against the proposals early on. He criticized the idea of vaccine passports at a news conference on Monday, calling it “unacceptable” for local governments or companies to require proof of vaccination to “participate in normal society.”
On Friday, he signed an executive order banning future vaccine certification requirements in Florida, calling on the GOP-controlled state legislature to draft a bill to enshrine such a policy in law.
Republicans hope their early efforts to define vaccine passports as a symbol of overreaching government will help counter what Democrats see as their most powerful political weapon in the mid-2022 period: their efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing economic crisis.
Democrats hope that a massive $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package signed into law last month, along with a sweeping proposal to overhaul the country’s infrastructure, will help them stave off the typical electoral shellacking that a new president’s party will have. usually sees in the first midterms after his inauguration. .
Some Republicans compared the offensive against vaccine passports to the party’s campaign against the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the 2010 midterm elections, when the GOP successfully rallied voters in opposition to sweeping health care reforms and government spending under the Obama administration. .
That year, the Democrats lost 63 seats in the lower house and with it their majority in the lower house.
It’s not a COVID discussion for Republicans. It’s a freedom discussion. It’s a discussion about the role of the government, ”said a GOP strategist. “Would I rather have a COVID discussion next year? No. But we want to have that freedom discussion. “
Republicans must get five seats in the House and only one in the Senate next year to recapture their majority in both houses, a goal well within reach for the GOP.
But the Republicans will also defend more Senate seats than Democrats next year, including several open seats in perennial battlefield states like Pennsylvania and North Carolina. They hope that the voter will come back to this President Biden
Joe Biden Lawmakers say resolving a border crisis is up to Biden Trump calls on Republicans to boycott companies amid controversy over the voting bill. White House: GOP has ‘struggled to formulate a reason’ to oppose infrastructure plan MORE and the Democrats’ agenda in Congress will be enough to send them back to the majority.
Not everyone in the GOP is convinced that opposing vaccine passports will be a winning issue for them.
“It’s red meat for the base, of course, but this doesn’t help us reclaim the middle,” an experienced GOP campaign advisor told The Hill. “It’s just more the culture wars … and it also means talking about COVID instead of the damage done by Democrats.”
Polls show that a growing number of Americans have already received one of the approved coronavirus vaccines or plan to get vaccinated as soon as possible. A Gallup poll released Tuesday found that about three in four Americans are willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Only about a quarter of respondents – 26 percent – said they were unwilling to receive any of the three vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In addition, categorically rejecting the idea of vaccine passports or certificates could put many Republicans at odds with the business community they have been associated with for so long.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the powerful trade group that traditionally supported Republicans, joined several airline and trade union trade associations in a letter to White House COVID-19 recovery coordinator Jeff Zients
Jeff ZientsArkansas ends the mask mandate, but extends vaccination options to all adults. Overnight Health Care: More Johnson & Johnson Doses Next Week | This is where schools are in session again | WHO Asks Rich Countries To Donate 10 Million Vaccine Doses To The White House: 11 Million Johnson & Johnson Doses Coming Next Week MORE last month urged the Biden government to “rapidly develop uniform, targeted federal guidelines for temporary COVID-19 health credentials (CHC) that cover both tests and vaccinations.”
Her. Mike Lee
Michael (Mike) Shumway LeeGeorgia County Says All-Star Game Removal Will Cost Tourism 0M GOP Senators Try to End MLB Antitrust Status Hillicon Valley: Supreme Court Rules Facebook Text Warnings Not Similar to Robocalls | Republicans Press on Google, Apple, Amazon on Parler Removals | Texas Senate Blocks Social Media Platforms To Ban Users Based On Politics MORE (R-Utah) suggested something of a middle ground when it comes to vaccine passports, saying in an interview on the Utah Politics podcast on Friday that private companies should have the ability to use such tools, while insisting that the government stays away from the problem.
“I think vaccines are good, and I think once people get a vaccine, they have the opportunity to provide references to private property owners who may decide they want their customers vaccinated,” Lee said.
“You never want to put us in a position where our own government plays a role in the way people move within our own borders,” he added. “That’s something the American people, regardless of their political affiliation, don’t want.”
Some Republicans, meanwhile, are taking a wait-and-see approach to the vaccine passport argument. In particular, they wait to see if former President Trump
Donald Trump Lawmakers Say Solving Border Crisis Is Up to Biden Trump Calls on Republicans to Boycott Businesses Amid Voting Controversy Georgia County Says All-Star Game Removal Will Cost Tourism MORE weighs on the issue.
“The X factor in all of this – whether it becomes the big problem for Republicans – is what DJT says about it,” said a former Trump campaign official, referring to the former president’s initials. “The candidates are looking for clues because he is still the most important person in this party.”