Montana has gone from one of the best states to control Covid to one of the very worst. I imagine lots of non-Montanans will think “Yeah they’re a red state, what do you expect,” so I want to run through what actually happened:

1. In March, MT was one of the fastest states to respond to Covid. Our Democratic Governor, Steve Bullock, shut everything down without apology or hesitation. The virus spread briefly but by late April had virtually disappeared.

2. Of course the virus had disappeared because the state had shut down biz, instituted a 14-day quarantine for visitors, etc. The system had worked. By late April/May, Bullock and his team began limited reopening, maintaining out of state quarantine and limited capacity for biz.

3. But then came June. Summer. Tourism season. Tourism is big business in MT. And, as if by magic, Bullock decided that Montana was all good! No more out of state quarantine required, businesses back to 75% capacity, even as Montana entered its busiest season.

4. And as he threw open the floodgates, Bullock simultaneously boasted that MT would not be going backwards in its opening, no more lockdown, no matter what. Do you see what’s wrong with this picture?

5. Imagine a doctor saying “After you’re done with this course of medicine, we won’t give it to you again, even if it could save your life.” Hmmm.

6. Bars and restaurants became packed. Populations in some MT towns exploded with tourists. And predictably cases in MT began to climb.

7. Now I want to stress that this does not mean tourists are singularly responsible for the spread. It’s not “dirty outsiders.” The problem is that when you drop all precautions and restrictions to visitors, the message is clear: well, back to normal!

8. “How serious could it be with all these people flooding in? Why should I wear a mask and stay home if the bars are all packed?”

9. And as the cases continued to climb, Bullock doubled down on his new stance: The cases going up where everyone’s fault but his. He shouldn’t have to tell us to be careful, we should just be careful. “Don’t make me do another lockdown!”

10. Never mind the fact that the initial state response is what stopped the spread and that states with a strong response by the state government have also managed to stop the spread. It was the job of regular Montanans to fix this (and to help his senate bid, too, by the way).

11. It’s hard to stress to a non-Montanan how disheartening and offensive Bullock’s responses have been. He eventually instituted a belated mask mandate but grudgingly and with his usual “Look what you made me do” demeanor.

12. And here we are! Cases are literally out of control and our governor continues to wag his finger at us and ask why we all can’t just behave. Don’t we know how disappointed we’re making him?

13. And of course it’s true if everyone “was more careful” the virus would go away, but if everyone just never broke the law we wouldn’t need laws, too. You can’t manage a pandemic by asking everyone to just be careful. You need a state/federal response.

14. I’ve just come from Vermont, where we traveled to safely quarantine with family for a while, and they have their cases almost entirely under control. It’s not because the people there are better, it’s because the state (led by its Republican governor) did something.

15. What could Bullock have done? Maintained the 14-day quarantine for visitors for a starter. It’s a no brained. Not only does it literally stop the spread but it communicates seriousness. It would have hurt tourism, but I think he could embrace that...

16. ...stress that he’s doing it because Montana is more important than tourism. Stress that he’s protecting us. “This summer, Montana is for Montanans.” Make being safe a point of pride.

17. But Bullock’s underlying posture is as much a problem as the specific actions. By adopting a “I really really don’t want to have to do anything” position, Bullock has undermined anything he could do. He has made taking necessary precautions a sign of failure.

18. To do what must be done, by his logic, would be wrong, weak, a sign of failure. “Don’t make me do another 14-day quarantine!” But that’s not something to be squeamish about, it’s something that might need to be done. He’s boxed himself in.

19. In an attempt to appear strong by having defeated the virus he has let the virus take over. By trying to appease the handful of people who didn’t like the restrictions he has undermined his own leadership and will probably STILL have to enact restrictions.

20. The point is, none of this is because we’re a red state or because of virus fatigue or because of the virus itself, it’s because our Governor and his team abandoned us. They gave up and then said that to help us more would be unacceptable. And here we are.

21. It’s impossible for me to see how this has helped Bullock woo anti-quarantine republicans who probably still view him as a dumb Lib and I know more than a few Democrats who have been disgusted with him because of this. So....bipartisanship!