Jim Jordan is actually claiming Democrats want to ban music and smiling

Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted Tuesday that he thinks a left-wing ban on music, dancing, and smiling is just around the corner — and that’s just one of many lies he’s spread recently about coronavirus precautions.

Retweeting a Fox News story about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommending that people avoid singing, loud music, and alcohol at their family Thanksgiving gatherings, Jordan added his own fearmongering commentary.

“Can’t sing, can’t dance, can’t play loud music,” he tweeted. “What’s next? No smiling?”

Jordan failed to acknowledge in his tweet that a precautionary recommendation is not a mandate.

On Monday, Jordan retweeted the House Judiciary GOP’s official Twitter page criticizing Oregon’s Democratic governor, Kate Brown.

The tweet took issue with a recent statement by Brown that homeowners could call the police if extremely large and rowdy Thanksgiving celebrations occurred in their neighborhoods, violating local ordinances.

“Oregon’s Governor: -Snitch on your neighbor’s Thanksgiving dinner. -Don’t worry about the rioting and looting in Portland,” the original tweet read.

There is no evidence to indicate that Brown recommended individuals go out of their way to investigate attendance numbers at neighbors’ Thanksgiving dinners.

On Sunday, Jordan falsely claimed that Democrats expect Americans to “celebrate Thanksgiving alone outside.”

“Democrats attend birthday parties indoors,” he tweeted. “But expect you to celebrate Thanksgiving alone outside. Americans are tired of the hypocrisy.”

Official CDC guidelines state that the safest holiday celebration is one with only members of your own household.

However, the CDC also offers numerous suggestions to mitigate the risk if a host should expand attendance to other individuals who do not live in the home, including wearing face masks, frequent handwashing, and social distancing.

The CDC does indicate that a small outdoor gathering of friends and family is safer than a large indoor gathering.

As for state and local restrictions about size and location of celebrations, these vary geographically across the United States.

Contrary to Jordan’s fear tactics, no state mandates that Americans spend Thanksgiving alone, though some states have restricted gatherings to 10 people or fewer.

Jordan has also promoted other lies on social media in recent days surrounding lockdown guidelines.

“In Pennsylvania, you have to wear a mask in your home,” he tweeted Thursday. “In Vermont, you don’t. Because government won’t let you have people over.”

But Pennsylvania’s restrictions say no such thing. According to the Pennsylvania Health Department, the state requires, as many others do, masks in indoor public places and masks outdoors when around strangers from outside your household and when social distancing can’t be maintained.

It recently implemented new mask requirements state that clarify that masks should be worn inside the home on occasion — only when visitors from outside the home are in attendance.

As for Vermont, due to a surge in cases, the governor has implemented an executive order prohibiting gatherings indoor or outdoor with those from outside your family.

But there are numerous exceptions. For instance, according to the Vermont Department of Health, those who live by themselves are permitted to gather with those in another household, and fitness activities while masked and socially distanced are permitted with one person outside your household.

And of course, the Department of Health cautions, domestic violence is always a sufficient reason to welcome someone into your home from another household.

“People can take in and shelter those from another household who are living in a dangerous, unhealthy or otherwise unsafe situation,” the health department’s website cautions.

Jordan also made false claims about his own home state of Ohio, complaining on Twitter Wednesday that “Ohio is making people be home by 10 p.m.”

But Ohio’s statewide curfew, which extends from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., is more nuanced than Jordan lets on.

It in fact states that individuals can get food and drink, groceries, cleaning supplies, and other necessities after curfew, as well as pick up prescriptions or go to the doctor of the hospital.

They can also go to work after hours, which includes volunteer work. And after curfew, residents are also permitted to care for a friend or pet in another household, or access social or government services.

Jordan’s COVID clamor clearly has no basis in reality, but that hasn’t stopped him from promoting his lies.

And he’s not the only GOP lawmaker who’s telling outright falsehoods about coronavirus precautions.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) retweeted a Babylon Bee headline Tuesday saying, “Nation That Revolted Over Three-Pence Tax on Tea Now ‘Pretty Cool’ With Government Locking Everyone in Their Homes.”

She commented, “When satire news becomes real news. Wake up America!”

It unclear why Green conflates coronavirus precautions with being literally locked inside one’s house.

And Ted Cruz has been on a Twitter rampage this week, complaining of the “vicious authoritarianism” of “today’s Left” and claiming Democrats are “willing to destroy restaurants, bars, small businesses, [and] lives.”

He also tweeted claiming without evidence that Democrats want to take Thanksgiving and Christmas away.

“Twitter Leftists are losing their minds that we’re not willing to give up Thanksgiving. Wait till they find out we won’t give up Christmas either,” tweeted Cruz, posting a meme with a photo of a turkey captioned, “Come and take it.”

It was a play on a common Texas slogan that derives from the Texas Revolution, which was intended to incite uprisings.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.