Desperate to resurrect the vice presidential prospects of Michigan's far-left Governor Gretchen Whitmer, on Thursday afternoon, MSNBC host and DNC puppet Katy Tur cheered the Democrat's latest partisan stunt: "Michigan took a unique step towards combating racism. The state’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, signed an executive order declaring racism a public health crisis."
Following that glowing introduction of the unhinged policy, a soundbite ran of Whitmer elaborating on her attempt at ultra-wokeness:
Implicit bias is simply an unconscious preference that exists in each one of us, and as public servants, we have a duty to understand how those tendencies impact our actions and the lives of others. The training is required for both existing employees and must be completed within 60 days for newly hired employees. This is not alleging that people are racist. It's recognizing that everyone has biases from where we grew up or how we were raised. It's just a fact.
After an unprecedented move like this, you think somebody from Whitmer’s circle would get a tough question about it, like, why is this a health crisis? Why is this taking priority over your crumbling economy? But Tur was never going to ask those kinds of questions. Instead, she brought on Michigan’s Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist for a softball chat that sought to justify the nakedly political action: "How do you combat this if racism is a public health crisis and studies have shown that being black can be detrimental to your health in terms of the treatment you get and the food availability to you, how do you make it -- how do you combat it? How do you make it better?"
How is that a real question? She didn't bother to challenge the premise, she just doubled down on the assumption that America is inherently racist.
Of course, such a softball interview had to come back to the media’s favorite topic, Biden’s VP pick. Tur was eager to lobby for Whitmer:
NBC News is reporting that Governor Whitmer is still in serious consideration for Joe Biden's vice presidential pick. Have you had a conversation with the Governor about what would happen if she decides to or if she is chosen to run with Vice President Biden?
This question was of course meant to allow the Lieutenant Governor to fawn over his boss, which was exactly what he did:
It's true, but what's a big deal right now is the things we have been focused on. So while we are certainly supportive of the Vice President, we're supportive of the change we know he'll bring to Washington regardless of his running mate, we're focused on dealing with the racial disparities and COVID-19 and health care overall, so with that, I think that shows the leader Gretchen Whitmer is. She's focused on the task at hand always. If that task is at a higher level than vice president, she'll be ready for that, too.
Whitmer's hackish behavior only makes her more of a hero to her fellow Democratic Party hacks at MSNBC.
Dunkin Donuts brought this Whitmer-for-vice-president ad to viewers, go tell them how you feel about that.
Read the full transcript to learn more.
MSNBC’s Live
8-6-20
2:42 PM
KATY TUR: Michigan took a unique step towards combating racism. The state’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, signed an executive order declaring racism a public health crisis.
GRETCHEN WHITMER: Implicit bias is simply an unconscious preference that exists in each one of us, and as public servants, we have a duty to understand how those tendencies impact our actions and the lives of others. The training is required for both existing employees and must be completed within 60 days for newly hired employees. This is not alleging that people are racist. It's recognizing that everyone has biases from where we grew up or how we were raised. It's just a fact.
TUR: Whitmer directed state agencies to make equity for all Michiganders the goal, noting the ongoing coronavirus pandemic devastating impact on communities of color. She's also mandating the creation of a black leadership advisory council to elevate black voices across the state. With me now is Lieutenant Governor of Michigan, Garlin Gilchrist. Mr. Lieutenant Governor, always good to see you. How do you -- how do you combat this if racism is a public health crisis and studies have shown that being black can be detrimental to your health in terms of the treatment you get and the food availability to you, how do you make it -- how do you combat it? How do you make it better?
GARLIN GILCHRIST: Well, first off, thank you for having me back on the show. It's always good to be with you. And this is an important opportunity. This declaration of racism as a public health crisis means that we will have every state agency and department available to us to collect the data and information to understand how policies and programs can have an impact. There are state resources that can be made available to deal with inequities in access to food. We have seen in the covid-19 pandemic that we have needed to put in extra work and investment to ensure that communities of color and the black community in particular has access to primary care physicians, and they previously did not have that before, which has led to poorer health outcomes over generations. With this public health declaration, we can look at everything from housing to education to economic opportunity to environmental justice, to address all of the ways that racism has hindered opportunity, growth, and frankly life for people of color.
TUR: How much money is being put into this?
GILCHRIST: So that's a determination we're going to make based on the data that we find, but right now, we're starting with data collection because it's difficult to address a problem that you're not truly measuring or understanding. This information is available, and one of the things that I'm looking forward to is our state leaders who are excited to dive in and understand the role they can play to deal with this, so we'll be coming out with that information pretty soon.
TUR: Because this is an executive order, if there is a leadership change, are you concerned that this is not an action that will continue past Governor Whitmer's term or potentially if she's chosen for vp, a Governor Gilchrist's term?
GILCHRIST: Well, this is about us using the tools we have at our disposal right now. The people of Michigan voted for Governor Whitmer and I in 2018 and they gave us the tool of executive action to be able to address the problems that are confronting our state. And so we are using those tools to say that this is a priority for this administration. A priority for the state of Michigan in this moment, and frankly, it needs to be a priority for the state of Michigan going forward. I would like to see some national leadership on this. I would like to see a national agenda that is responsive to the public health crisis that is racism. We certainly have not and will not see that from the Trump administration. And that's why we need a change in the federal government as well.
TUR: You guys just held a primary, not mostly, but a primarily largely by mail. How do you feel it went?
GILCHRIST: Well, elections can be complicated, but what I'm really excited about is that we seem to have seen near record turnout in Michigan. People largely chose to vote by mail and vote safely. Our election administrators at the local level stepped up and did as best they could to count those ballots thanks to their being staffed up and volunteers, the secretary of state has put in a lot of effort. I think we learned a lot of lessons that we're going to need to double down on for the November election, but what's clear is that voting by mail is safe, it's secure. It's not something to be afraid of or to malign the way the president has chosen to do time and time again in Michigan and in other states. It's how we need to vote during this pandemic, and frankly, we need more federal resources to make sure more people can do it.
TUR: Well, some of the ballots didn't make it to voters in time. Are you troubleshooting that for November? Are you going to be able to fix that?
GILCHRIST: Absolutely. We're looking into this, and there are some changes that the Michigan legislature can do to help with this problem. In Michigan, unlike other states, mail-in ballots have to be received by the time the polls close on election day, that Tuesday at 8:00 P.M. The legislature has an opportunity to dress that so that ballots only have to be postmarked by election day to make sure everyone's votes are counted. It is our goal, our leadership in Michigan, we want to make sure every person has a right and an opportunity to cast a ballot in whatever way makes sense for them. We're encouraging them to do so by mail, and the Michigan legislature has an opportunity to make it easier and more accessible to more people.
TUR: NBC News is reporting that Governor Whitmer is still in serious consideration for Joe Biden's vice presidential pick. Have you had a conversation with the Governor about what would happen if she decides to or if she is chosen to run with Vice President Biden?
GILCHRIST: We have a lot to talk about, and so this is not something that we have spent much time talking about. I know she's a fantastic public servant.
TUR: This is a big deal that could happen in the next week or two, though.
GILCHRIST: It's true, but what's a big deal right now is the things we have been focused on. So while we are certainly supportive of the vice president, we're supportive of the change we know he'll bring to Washington regardless of his running mate, we're focused on dealing with the racial disparities and covid-19 and health care overall, so with that, I think that shows the leader Gretchen Whitmer is. She's focused on the task at hand always. If that task is at a higher level than vice president, she'll be ready for that, too.
