She Opposed the Mandates & Lockdowns Before She Was For Them

Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds Issues Statement Saying She Always Rejected Them Despite Three Executive Orders Ordering Them

Yesterday I came across an article by writer/reporter Jack Phillips of The Epoch Times. The article reports on the apparent growing pushback on the possible reinstitution of mask, closure, and lockdown mandates. Mr. Phillips opens his article with a statement by Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds “Not on my watch”

STL Head Explosion

I read the statement…and then my head exploded. Knowing Reynolds’ words flew in the face of easily verifiable facts, I became so agitated that I had to get up from my desk. There I am, talking to myself, stunned by the audacity of the woman. I knew I had to write to the writer. Yet I also knew that I needed to step away from the computer. When I’ve had a head explosion like yesterday’s? That’s the worst time for me to tickle the keyboard.

I got into my gym clothes, put on my Nikes. In less than ten minutes I’m on the treadmill, ear plugs in, walking back together my exploded head.

---

Without further ado, here in its entirety is my Sep 1 email to Mr. Jack Phillips:

Dear Mr. Phillips:

Thank you for your article of 31 Aug 2023 covering Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ recent statement on the Subject. Your article alerted readers to the Governor’s Aug 30 statement published on the Iowa State Government’s website. In that statement, the Governor says the following:

“Since news broke of COVID-19 restrictions being re-instated at some colleges and businesses across the U.S., concerned Iowans have been calling my office asking whether the same could happen here. My answer—not on my watch. In Iowa, government respects the people it serves and fights to protect their rights. I rejected the mandates and lockdowns of 2020, and my position has not changed.” (Bold/italics added)

Governor Reynolds “rejected” the mandates and lockdowns of 2020? She did? Her position has remained the same? It has??

Given the facts, perhaps as a follow up to your article, you could contact the Governor’s office and ask that she define “rejected.”

Could it be the Governor has forgotten her “orders?” On March 17, 2020, Governor Reynolds issued her first “Public Health Disaster Emergency.” Following her long list of “whereas’s”, she ordered the following:

• Restaurants and bars: Closed to the “general public”

• Fitness centers/health clubs, spas, aquatic centers: Closed

• Theaters/performance centers: Closed

• Casinos/gaming facilities: Closed

• Churches: Closed

• Social, community, spiritual, religious, recreational, leisure, and sporting gatherings and events of more than 10 people, including but not limited to parades, festivals, conventions, and fundraisers: Prohibited.

• Senior citizen and adult daycare centers: Closed

• Salons/barbershops: Closed

A few weeks later on April 6, 2020, she doubles down. In this second proclamation, the Governor extended the timeline and expanded what she now says she “rejected.” To add insult, she also formally called on law enforcement to “assist in the enforcement of these ‘mitigation efforts’.” To wit:

“To encourage further social distancing and mitigation efforts, the proclamation orders additional closures effective at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7th until Thursday, April 30th”: (Highlight and underline added)

 Malls

 Tobacco or vaping stores

 Toy, gaming, music, instrument, movie, or adult entertainment stores

 Social and fraternal clubs, including those at golf courses

 Bingo halls, bowling alleys, pool halls, arcades, and amusement parks

 Museums, libraries, aquariums, and zoos

 Race tracks and speedway.

 Roller or ice skating rinks and skate parks

 Outdoor or indoor playgrounds or children’s play centers

 Campgrounds

Now, really?

Should we afford the Governor the benefit of the doubt? That she “rejected” “mandates and lockdowns” all the way through Mar 16, 2020? Then changed her mind? Hence, rejecting them before implementing them? Should we resist the impulse to accrue to the Governor a little bit of gaslighting in her August 30, 2023 statement? Will she insist that businesses she ordered closed and the behaviors she prohibited* – to be enforced by law enforcement – weren’t “mandated” “lockdowns?” That they were instead “mitigation efforts” as spelled out in her “orders?” That all this merely carried the weight of suggestion? This…so that she can now say that she “rejected” mandates and lockdowns?

*************************

At best – at best – this PR stunt strains credulity. Especially when simple searches can recall those pesky things called facts. On the record.

At worst? At worst, why, some might suggest it describes a woman whose actual status rhymes with “fire.”

Maybe the Governor needs a chance to explain herself, including her definition of “rejected”. I can just hear her now, “I did oppose the lockdowns before I didn’t.” I daresay that would make for some really great reading, Mr. Phillips, should you decide to pursue it.

In the meantime, some of us who rejected all the unlawful nonsense, who were never fooled by any of these fools, who never cooperated and gave up all – remain unfooled – even when the likes of a Kim Reynolds attempts to rewrite history – with her face hanging out.

I have attached both of Governor Reynolds’ “mitigation effort” orders for you here.

Best regards,

*“Prohibited behaviors” such as getting one’s hair cut?

---

I did attach in PDF format the actual Executive Orders for Mr. Phillips. I left this email at that, omitting a reference to Reynolds third Executive Order issued in November 2020 ordering face masks. Apparently, when she did this, Governor Reynolds did express openly her reluctance to issue this (unlawful) medical intervention. Ah, that’s nice.

Did she have these reservations in Mar and Apr 2020? She might have, but as of yet, I can find no record of her saying, “No one wants to do this. I don't want to do this” prior to her ordering those shutdowns.

Then there’s this. Albert Bourla in Washington, D.C. this past February (not Feb 2022 as the video timestamp says in error) to meet with the Republican Governors Association (RGA). By this time, Governor Reynolds has been elected unanimously as its new chairwoman.

So. Reynolds is the new big cheese of the RGA. Did she attend the Feb 2023 meeting at the Conrad Hilton attended by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla? As new big cheese, she would have to be there, yes? If so, on what basis would she and other Republican governors justify meeting with Albert Bourla? Does Reynolds not know at this point the carnage caused by Pfizer’s junk?? Is there a record somewhere of her saying with regard to this secret meeting, “No one wants to do this. I don't want to do this”?

---

I’ll stop now. I feel another head explosion coming on. Before signing off, I just want to ask: If Governor Reynolds really did — behind the scenes — reject mandates and lockdowns before she ordered them, then why not admit that in this most recent, official statement? Why not say something like, “I never felt right now about issuing those orders, but I did because I was lied to. I was wrong then and I vow that as long as I’m governor, none of this will ever again happen ‘on my watch.’”

No. Instead she makes a statement absent this kind of context, which results, unfortunately for her, in a flat-out lie.

But we’re used to that now, aren’t we?