San Diego City Wire

At some point, America will emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and resume life as we once knew it.

Kids will jump and run in parks, ballgames will be played, schools will resume classes and businesses will open their doors and welcome back customers and employees.

But not all of them will be able to do so, according to a San Diego car dealer. Mike Ruthenberg said long-term damage is being done by forcing many businesses to close.

Instead, he said, they should be allowed to open while following safety guidelines. Business owners don’t want to become infected with the coronavirus, nor do they wish it to happen to employees and customers.

But the government has taken that out of their hands. It has deemed some businesses essential, while forcing others to shut their doors.

“This is what happens when the government picks winners and losers,” said Ruthenberg, a supporter of the proposed Convention of States and executive vice president for Citizens for Self Governance. “And it’s devastating what’s happening to people.”

The COS is not looking to promote itself during this crisis, he said. But people may be interested in learning more about it and perhaps joining as they witness what is underway now.

“Our Constitution is being trampled,” he said.

Freedom of speech, guaranteed in the First Amendment, is being squelched, he claims. People who start Facebook pages advocating for an end to shutdowns and closures are seeing those pages removed.

Ruthenberg started such a page — ReOpen San Diego — and he has been attacked online. People have said they hope he gets COVID-19, he said.

He said he doesn’t deny the existence of the virus. But he said the widespread death and destruction that was forecast simply has not occurred. As of Monday morning, there were 71 deaths reported in San Diego County linked to the coronavirus, and 2,268 cases.

Shutting down the city and forcing people into their homes is not justified, Ruthenberg said.

“There’s no good evidence to keep this going,” he said.

Ruthenberg owns Branco Motors, which sells new and used vehicles. He cannot allow customers on his lot, but he can deliver new purchased vehicles.

“I would say my business is off by 75 percent,” he told the San Diego Record.

But many dealers have it much worse. They are not allowed under state law to make any sales. It’s the same with many other businesses he sees while driving or riding his bike around town.

“There will be impacts for years and years and years,” Ruthenberg said.

He said this has become worse than the economic pain felt during the Great Depression and World War II. There are 22 million Americans without jobs and the pain and fear is very real.

There are other issues that should be addressed. He said hospitals are not swamped with patients as officials feared. In fact, many are furloughing workers.

“It’s empty,” Ruthenberg said. “There’s nobody there.”

While the medical facilities brace for an onslaught of COVID-19 victims, one that has yet to happen, people who need treatment for heart disease, diabetes and other health concerns are being denied access to their doctors, he claims.

Ruthenberg said his mother, who is in her 80s, is in pain every day because she cannot get a pair of scheduled treatments. It just doesn’t make sense, he said.

The media has played a major role in this, in Ruthenberg’s view. It has repeated the story that people are in grave danger and most have believed it. Politicians don’t want to be accused of being insensitive to that, so they are going along, in his opinion.

“Bad news sells,” Ruthenberg said. “This is not a pandemic of biblical proportion. The standards they are holding us up to are unreasonable.”

He said he supports social distancing, washing your hands and using other precautions. But shutting down the country is a major overreach, in his view.

“We need to back off that, and the sooner the better,” Ruthenberg said. “We need common sense to prevail.”