Political analysis: Mandate resistance--why Republicans are oppposing Covid vaccine mandates

Why GOP is stepping up fight against vaccine mandates Republicans say the government has overreached by requiring more than 100 million Americans to get the shot. The Christian Science Monitor The Christian Science Monitor

On more than half of the days the Senate has been in session since late September, GOP Sen. Mike Lee has taken to the Senate floor to rail against one thing: President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates.

Senator Lee isn’t opposed to vaccination; he himself has gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, and he has encouraged others to as well. But the Utah conservative – a former Supreme Court law clerk – sees the mandates as an unjustified infringement of freedom. He argues that the federal government has chosen coercion over transparency, undermining public trust. 

“When openly and transparently informed, I believe that each and every American is able to handle the responsibility of weighing the risks of getting vaccinated or not getting vaccinated,” he said in his opening speech on Sept. 28, introducing his first of a dozen bills targeting the mandates.  ...

Most Democrats, along with public health officials, see widespread vaccination as the best tool to promote the well-being of the country and end the pandemic. “This is not about freedom or personal choice. It’s about protecting yourself and those around you – the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love,” said President Biden when he announced the mandate for private businesses on Sept. 9. ...