“They’re making a political bet on the lives of the people they serve"

“They’re making a political bet on the lives of the people they serve,” said former Republican National Committee chairman Michael S. Steele, who has been sharply critical of former president Donald Trump and has formed an exploratory committee for a potential 2022 Maryland gubernatorial bid. “The party leadership has gone so far out on this limb that there they stand with a saw in their hand and they’re sawing it off.”…

“It is a bedrock conservative principle that — whenever possible — decisions should be made at the level of government closest to the people,” said Michael Steel, a longtime Republican strategist who was a top aide to former House speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). “A state-level mandate that overrides local school boards’ decisions seems to contradict that principle.”

Some current and former Republicans said they think a worsening covid-19 surge could eventually force governors to change course.

“I do think as this begins to take more and more of a toll, the political reality may begin to shift,” said Arkansas state Sen. Jim Hendren (I), a former GOP leader in the state legislature who this year left the party. “We are literally at a crisis.”