Americans for Limited Government opposes government snoops going door-to-door asking vax status
by Brett Kimball
President Joe Biden announced his administration’s plans to deploy a door-to-door “strike force” aimed at “educating” communities with low vaccination rates. This drew immediate uproar from the public whose reaction, for the most part, was as adversarial as it was warranted. Biden’s announcement however was followed swiftly by a defense from White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
During a press conference, Psaki described the initiative as, “Targeted community door-to-door outreach to get remaining Americans vaccinated by ensuring they have the information they need on how both safe and accessible the vaccine is.” Psaki said the teams will be made up of grassroots volunteers and members of the clergy. They are trusted voices in communities who are playing this role and door knocking,” Psaki added.
Still, many Americans aren’t comfortable with the president’s “strike force” teams.
On Sunday the Biden administration released a “script” to be used by those intending to go knocking on our doors. Though it does specify that the door-knocker’s goal is to “educate not convince,” it does give express permission to “ignore ‘no soliciting’ signs” as it claims there is nothing illegal about what they’re doing. The script also provides clear instructions to record the vaccination status of each person, and explains that for anyone interested in getting vaccinated, they are working on bringing “vaccinators door-to-door” as well.
With the push from the left for mandatory vaccinations, this is enough to put off many who see this initiative as massive government overreach and an invasion of privacy.
The correct answer to the question of, “Are you vaccinated?” should be an unequivocable “None of your business.” Red state governors understand that the government has no place sending agents going door-to-door to snoop on citizens.
Last week South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) called on the state’s board of health to issue a directive to prevent state and local healthcare organizations from knocking on people’s doors to promote the vaccines.
“A South Carolinian’s decision to get vaccinated is a personal one for them to make and not the government’s,” McMaster said in a statement on Thursday.
McMaster went on to say, “Enticing, coercing, intimidating, mandating, or pressuring anyone to take the vaccine is a bad policy which will deteriorate the public’s trust and confidence in the State’s vaccination efforts.”
At least 16 states have limited or banned the use of vaccine passports either through executive orders or legislation. Some of the measures prevent local governments from issuing or requiring vaccine credentials, while others also discourage businesses from doing so.
Supporters say the rules, championed mostly by Republicans, protect individuals’ privacy and promote economic recovery.
In Texas, the new vaccine passport ban protects “individuals’ private medical information from the intrusive governmental and business-led mandates,” said the law’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, in a press release. “This legislation is a great example of striking a balance between our public health priorities, civil liberties, and economic freedoms.”
A government mandate that all Americans must get vaccinated in all circumstances is not being suggested by anyone in the mainstream. Such a blanket requirement would likely be unlawful and certainly unenforceable.
More ripples were created on the issue when Kathleen Sebelius, who served as Health secretary during the Obama administration, told The New York Times that she was in favor of mandates.
“I’m trying to restrain myself but I’ve kind of had it,” Sebelius told the Times in a story published Tuesday evening. “We’re going to tiptoe around mandates. It’s like, come on. I’m kind of over that.”
Some Democrats acknowledge that polarization around COVID-19 has become so severe that more assertive rhetoric from Biden on the issue risks a counter-reaction.
Dave “Mudcat” Saunders, a veteran Democratic strategist based in rural Virginia, told The Hill that “if Joe Biden were to come out and tell people to take the vaccine, it would only make these people around me more likely not to take it.”
Many fear that mandatory vaccines are on the way, the Biden administration continues to deny this but it’s yet to be seen whether they will cave to the pressure or not. In the meantime, though, if this is the path they’re going to pursue, they’re going to have a tough time convincing and increasingly skeptical and growing portion of the population to get the shot they’ve distrusted from the start.
Brett Kimball is a grassroots conservative activist and college student in Gaithersburg, MD. Catherine Mortensen contributed to this story.
