Bad faith and bad taste in one Louisiana lawmaker's Nazi jibe against masks

When it comes to battling the coronavirus pandemic, there’s no shortage of bad-faith actors in the Louisiana Legislature.

You know them. They’re the folks who act as if Gov. John Bel Edwards imposed tough restrictions on businesses and gatherings without even considering the economic pain — not after weighing that pain against the risk of overwhelmed hospitals, widespread sickness and death, and financial hardship resulting from the public health crisis itself rather than the shutdowns.

They’re also the folks who are pushing back against his authority to enact such orders in the first place, all in the name of freedom. I mean, who doesn’t want the freedom to live our lives as we did six months ago? How exactly do they propose that we get there?

Even in this group, though, one lawmaker stands out: Danny McCormick of Oil City, in Caddo Parish. McCormick, a Republican just elected last fall, got his first taste of notoriety when he organized a May protest against Edwards’ stay-at-home order outside the Governor’s Mansion, which drew about 250 people.

Read more: https://www.nola.com/opinions/stephanie_grace/article_a811fe72-c2cb-11ea-8e22-a3baceabf282.html