Mask Mandate? Not In South Dakota

Joe Biden has mused about imposing a national mask mandate if and when he takes office. There is no possible constitutional basis on which he could make such an order, yet his intention is taken seriously by many, and most, perhaps cowed, have not pushed back. There is at least one state, however, where unconstitutional orders emanating from a Biden White House will not be obeyed: South Dakota.

President-elect Joe Biden has floated a nationwide lockdown and mask mandate in response to surging coronavirus cases across the country.

But even if he follows through and orders all Americans to stay at home and cover their faces when in public, don’t expect to see those mandates enforced in South Dakota.

The office of Gov. Kristi Noem said in a statement to the Argus Leader Friday that the first-term governor, who’s risen to stardom in the Republican party for her hands-off approach to managing the pandemic, has no intention of using state resources to enforce any federal COVID-19 orders.

“It’s a good day for freedom. Joe Biden realizes that the president doesn’t have the authority to institute a mask mandate,” said Ian Fury, communications specialist for Noem. “For that matter, neither does Governor Noem, which is why she has provided her citizens with the full scope of the science and trusted them to make the best decisions for themselves and their loved-ones.”
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Noem reiterated her position on lockdowns Thursday on social media when she said they don’t effectively stop the spread of COVID-19 but have negative effects on businesses and the overall economy.

“We already know that lockdowns don’t stop the spread of the virus. However, they destroy small businesses and jobs, and they make it difficult for families to put food on the table,” she wrote.

It is nice to see that someone still recognizes constitutional limits on government power.

Meanwhile, South Dakota is prospering:


The more recent of the above “tweets” is on Parler, the free speech alternative to Twitter. Governor Noem has been on Parler for five days and currently has 139,000 followers there. She is on MeWe too, the free speech alternative to Facebook.

I’ve joined Parler, at JHinderaker, but haven’t yet invested the time to figure out some technical issues. But, given the way Twitter and Facebook joined the Biden campaign, I think the time has come to move on.

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