In politics, you’re either on-message or you’re losing. Let’s get to it.
On Message title
Welcome to On Message, a weekly look at where the battle lines are drawn and who is winning the war of words.
This week… You Don’t See that Everyday.
When the COVID-19 vaccine first came available, both President Joe Biden and Governor Spencer Cox set the goal to have 70 percent of the adult population vaccinated by the 4th of July.
Of course, the vaccine itself became a politically divisive issue that had some people believing everything from it contained a microscopic government tracking device to a way to kill off large segments of the population.
Nothing can be easy in 2021.
So, with many on the political right joining general skeptics in deciding to not get vaccinated… that 70 percent number seemed out of reach.
Nationally, we came up short.
But, in Utah, just as the holiday weekend came to a close, Governor Cox announced that we had, in fact, hit the 70 percent goal.
That’s great news.
In a Twitter thread from Governor Cox’s official account, he outlined the complex math that got us to the threshold.
But, it turns out, I’ve been right all along in my position that “math is hard.”
In a news release July 12th, the Governor announced that, upon further review, there was a “mistake in the way they had counted federal doses,” and Utah had come close but not quite hit the goal. We got to 67 percent.
The governor’s statement went on to say, “From the beginning we have emphasized the importance of building trust with the citizens of our state. Trust consists of two things: competence and ethical behavior. While we came up short as a result of simple human error, I’m happy to report that there is no evidence of any ethical breaches in this mistake.”
Two things jump out to me: First, an apology from an elected official is so rare this was… jarring. But jarring in a refreshing way.
And second, it strikes me as really savvy communication strategy.
To the first point: Governor Cox gets a win here because people are fatigued by political spin. To see an elected official step up and say he got something wrong, particularly before being caught by the media or some other group, shows a commitment to accountability that will play very well, particularly here in Utah.
To the second point: the governor not only strengthens his “honest guy” bonafides, he gets to draw attention to the need to have more people get vaccinated. He shows he is still making this a top issue, even as the drought and water restrictions start to take the headlines away from the pandemic.
All that aside, who really is going to blame the governor for not hitting the goal? is 67 percent so much worse than 70?
And we should ask ourselves, what is the government’s proper role in this vaccine effort, anyway?
I’d say it is to:
- Create a safe and effective vaccine as quickly as possible. Check.
- Make smart decisions about prioritizing vaccines for healthcare workers, teachers, the elderly and the most vulnerable. Check And…
- Distribute them so they become widely available as soon as possible.
That’s it. End of list.
Whether or not people take advantage of the vaccine doesn’t strike me as something we can hold elected officials responsible for – at least when they are actively encouraging people to get vaccinated.
I suppose if they are discouraging it, that’s another story.
So, kudos to the governor for clarifying the misleading story line and for reconfirming his commitment to being accurate and transparent.
I guarantee his response to this small mathematical error turns into a bigger win for him politically than hitting the 70 percent goal ever could have.
That’s it for this week.
More On Message in the next issue of the Utah Political Underground.
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