Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Whitewashes Her Authoritarian Lockdowns With Whopper About Seed Sale Ban
Michigan’s Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer tried to do damage control on her Covid-19 track record by pretending she didn’t ban the sale of seeds and gardening tools during the beginning of her authoritarian lockdowns in 2020.
“There were moments where we, you know, had to make some decisions that, in retrospect, don’t make a lot of sense, right?” Whitmer told CNN’s Chris Wallace this week. “If you went into the hardware store, if you go to the hardware store, we didn’t want people, you know, all congregating around the gardening supplies. People said, ‘Oh, she’s outlawed seeds.’”
Whitmer tried to couch her false characterization of the order by begrudgingly admitting it “maybe was a little more than we needed to do.” Her confession, however, was far from apologetic and failed to capture the damage she did to her state.
Whitmer then pretended her order banning the sale of seeds in big stores was justified because “it was February in Michigan, no one was planting anyway,” but Whitmer didn’t even announce the restrictions on goods in the gardening section until April 9, 2020.
At the beginning of what the Old Farmer’s Almanac called “the earliest spring in over 100 years,” Whitmer called for all “garden centers and plant nurseries” in stores with 50,000 square feet or more to be closed off “by cordoning them off, placing signs in aisles, posting prominent signs, removing goods from shelves, or other appropriate means.”
“If you’re not buying food or medicine or other essential items, you should not be going to the store,” Whitmer said at a press conference on the day she signed the order.
Landscaping, lawncare, tree service, irrigation, and other outdoor maintenance companies were also told to stop operating and advertising any goods that are “not groceries, medical supplies, or items that are necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, and basic operation of residences” within five days of the enactment of the order.
Days after Whitmer’s order hit the books, garden centers and plant aisles all across the state were roped off to prevent the public from purchasing food-growing supplies, including seeds.
By April 15, 2020, the fake fact-checkers at Politifact committed to running interference on behalf of Whitmer, whom they eagerly said could be “a potential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden,” by rating claims that the Democrat banned the sale of seeds as completely “false.”
Politifact’s source? A document from the governor’s office that reassured the public “the order does not prohibit homeowners from tending to their own yards as they see fit.”
That clarification meant nothing to the Michiganders preparing to plant their gardens or those who needed new supplies to keep up with the changing seasons. They were still prohibited from going to big stores and purchasing the outdoor tools necessary for growing food and tending a home.
To put it simply, Whitmer didn’t just force deadly lockdowns that wrecked her constituents’ mental health. She also kept the people in her state from buying goods for an activity that is linked to physical and mental health benefits.
Now Whitmer wants the public to buy her confession that her team went over the top on lockdowns. Not only is it three years too late, but it’s also clearly a cop-out.
Whiter is not sorry for locking up her state, wreaking havoc on the economy, and subjecting her constituents to the worst government-induced mental health crisis in history. If she were, she wouldn’t lie about stopping her state from selling and buying seeds at stores based on arbitrary square footage.
She also wouldn’t be boasting that she “listened to the best experts in the world” as justification for her mistakes.
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and co-producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @jordanboydtx.
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