What is perfectly obvious by now is the fact that unvaccinated Republicans have been the main driver of the delta variant that is now forcing the rest of the country to overcompensate for the risk they pose to everyone else.

New polling on mask mandates—now necessary precisely because of Republican voters—shows once again that it’s the rest of us who are stepping up to bear the burden of protection while Republicans lag behind. At the same time, the data show what a dismal minority of people GOP governors and House Republicans are angling to thrill with their depraved war on mask mandates.

The new Axios-Ipsos poll released Tuesday reaffirmed what other polls have found: The bulk of Americans support science-based mask mandates in order to protect themselves and their loved ones from contracting COVID-19 and further spreading it among the U.S. population. 

In terms of mask mandates in schools, fully 69% of respondents support their local districts requiring universal in-school masking among students, teachers, and administrators. The partisan breakdown was 92% support among Democrats, 67% support among independents, and 44% support among Republicans. Less than one-third of respondents, 30%, opposed in-school mask mandates. 

A similar partisan dynamic played out on the question of state and local governments requiring masking in public areas, which drew 64% support overall. The vast majority of Democrats (88%) supported such mandates while less than half of Republicans (40%) favored them.

But perhaps the most interesting stat politically is the fact that just one-third of Americans support state laws blocking local officials from requiring masks, such as those enacted by GOP Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas. Overall, 66% oppose laws that tie the hands of local officials, and fully 77% oppose defunding local governments and school districts that institute mask mandates, as DeSantis has threatened to do. 

Last week, I argued that by railing against masks and medical experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci, House Republicans were decidedly not focused on a 50-plus-1 strategy.

What the new data makes clear is that House Republicans and many GOP governors are explicitly putting the lives of their constituents at risk in pursuit of the votes of just one-third of Americans. It is just maniacally sick.