Holcomb Has Nothing to Gain by Lifting Stay-at-Home Order, Everything to Lose

An absence of conservative political pressure on Governor Eric Holcomb to re-open the Hoosier state for business means Indiana workers and businesses are set to endure more pain in the weeks ahead, according to WIBC producer and host Rob Kendall.

“As long as Holcomb can convince the people that they are potentially going to die – and 50% of the voters apparently believe that – nothing will change,” Kendall told the Hammer and Nigel Show Tuesday. “He has no political convictions beyond ‘stay in office,’ and he genuinely believes that those who are upset with him over the extended shutdown and are protesting will still vote for him anyway because what choice do they have?”

A poll conducted by Indy Politics and Change Research from April 10-13 showed 63 percent of likely voters approved of how Holcomb was addressing COVID-19, 23 percent disapproved and 12 percent were either neutral or had no opinion.

The poll also showed Hoosiers are very concerned about the pandemic, with a majority, 58 percent, saying they have very serious concerns about the coronavirus disease and only 17 percent saying they have minor concerns or no concerns at all.

Kendall noted that the polls demonstrate the only real political risk for Holcomb is to lift the stay-at-home order now, which could ultimately lead to criticism from voters if the pandemic worsens as a result.

“And people are insulted by the idea that we’re so stupid that we can’t do this responsibly and practice social distancing, masks, hand washing, etc., so we need the state forcing us to stay at home for our own good,” Kendall said.

Even if the state begins to ease restrictions, restaurants, which employ thousands of workers and contribute millions of dollars in taxes to the Hoosier economy, will be unable to cover their overhead due to the implementation of reduced seating capacity guidelines.

“Basically, restaurants will have an arbitrary limit of 50% max seating capacity, so you can’t make enough money to offset your costs,” explained Kendall. “That’s why business owners and patrons should be free to do whatever they want. If you can be right next to someone in an aisle at Walmart, there’s no reason you can’t be next to them in a restaurant.”

Click below to hear Hammer and Nigel’s full segment with Robbie Kendall.

https://omny.fm/shows/hammer-and-nigel-show/rob-kendall-talks-re-opening-indiana