October 25, 2020

Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson Wants You to Wear a Mask

Former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) discusses his assignment to head the NRA's program to bolster school security with armed guards in 2012.Jay Mallin/Zumapress.org

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Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, called on more people to start wearing masks in his state. The statement comes as Arkansas faces a staggering uptick in positive test results and deaths from COVID-19.

“Primarily, it’s [the] individual responsibility of our citizens to do what is necessary and pull together,” Hutchinson said on CBS News’ Face the Nation. “Increase usage of masks.”

In July, Hutchinson signed an executive order requiring face coverings in the state. Arkansas has been one of only a handful of red states to implement such mandates, as the Trump White House continues to politicize the issue of wearing masks in order to curb the spread of the virus.

 

 

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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