The common sense view of the Republicans’ “demand” would be that this is grandstanding for fall election advantage now that they don’t have majority status and thus feel they don’t have to share responsibility.

It seems to me there is a willed ignorance in their contradictory claims that Gov. Janet Mills is both tyrannically closing the border while weakly issuing emergency orders that are constitutionally unenforceable — throwing dirt to see what sticks.

Let’s face it: we are having to deal with a pandemic virus with, as yet, inadequate testing and complicated by the fact that a lot of people are infected without having symptoms and may be spreadingit broadly to vulnerable people. The infection hasn’t reached a significant peak yet in the state, so it is still a growing threat to uninfected communities that could decimate health care systems and places where people congregate for work or community.

The governor’s plan is completely in sync with what is going on in surrounding states and Canadian provinces in addressing the particulars of the situation in Maine.

If the Republicans are to get any political benefit from this, they need to pander to public concerns about damage resulting from the state’s policies without being constrained by responsibility for their own proposals — which could have very bad consequences if they were really adopted. Since they won’t be, there is really no risk, see?

Clever.

Philip Keith, Farmington