Joe Biden is vetting Democrats to narrow the search for his vice presidential running mate.
A big curveball was thrown into that process.
And that’s because this Democrat governor is caught up in a big scandal that is bad news for 2020.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s status as a female governor of a key swing state made her an early favorite to secure the vice presidential nomination.
But Whitmer’s star dimmed after her totalitarian lockdown order stirred up massive opposition in Michigan.
Now the second shoe dropped.
Experts claim contact tracing will be key to states containing future outbreaks of the coronavirus.
Contact tracing entails state health departments hiring workers to track down the contacts of anyone infected with the coronavirus and then testing them and asking them to self-quarantine if they also test positive.
American health agencies have never performed this scale of work before and need to bring on tens of thousands of workers to perform this task.
Governor Whitmer moved ahead to fill that void by contracting with political campaign firm Great Lakes Community Engagement, and a voter contact platform called Every Action VAN.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services statement read:
As part of efforts to continue expanding COVID-19 testing and contact tracing of potentially exposed Michiganders, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) again expanded its testing criteria to include all essential workers still reporting to work in person, whether they have symptoms or not, and launched a large-scale effort with more than 2,000 volunteers to expand contact tracing capacity.
“Contact tracing is an essential public health tool and will help determine and limit the spread of COVID-19 in our state,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. “This effort is also giving Michiganders an important way to contribute to crisis response and we appreciate their willingness to step up for their communities, pitching in selflessly for work that will help us all.”
Contact tracing is a proven public health strategy that involves identifying those affected by COVID-19 and interviewing friends, families and others near that person about their contacts and symptoms. MDHHS is contracting with Great Lakes Community Engagement, a firm that specializes in outreach campaigns to engage citizens, and Every Action VAN, a voter/individual contact platform used by non-profits, to provide software to help organize remote phone banking and track information and contacts.
Critics contend Every Action VAN and Great Lakes Community Engagement are left-wing activist groups that will now be in charge of gathering data – including private medical data – from contacts of individuals infected with coronavirus.
These same critics believe turning over Michigan residents’ private medical data to hardcore leftwing ideologues is a scandal waiting to explode in Whitmer’s face.
And it could be what drives the final nail in the coffin for Gretchen Whitmer’s vice presidential hopes.
Great American Daily will keep you up to date on new developments in the 2020 Presidential Election.
