This is an opinion column.

On Thursday, Alabama’s governor took to Twitter to answer questions from the public.

It did not go well.

Kay Ivey was one of 13 governors across the country that took part in a Twitter-sponsored event called #AskTheGov. What followed was a gubernatorial failure of technology Alabama hasn’t seen since Robert Bentley sent his wife Dianne text messages he meant for his love interest, Rebekah. At least, Ivey didn’t use any rose emojis in her online Q&A.

Anyone with a Twitter account could ask Ivey whatever was near their hearts. That’s asking for trouble even in normal times, but maybe the most revealing thing from this social media experiment was how substantive and consistent those questions were, mostly focusing on two topics.

First, why hadn’t Ivey issued a statewide order to shelter in place?

Second, would the state finally expand Medicaid?

These are legitimate questions that deserve answers. Alabama has stubbornly refused to expand the Medicaid program, turning away billions of federal dollars for healthcare in Alabama and leaving more than 200,000 working Alabamians stuck in the coverage gap, making too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance.

Meanwhile, Alabama is one of a dwindling handful of states that have not given a shelter-in-place order, and Ivey has previously said giving one now would cost jobs.

The questions directed at the governor were, for the most part, respectful and direct.

Her answers were insipid and evasive.

“Has this virus brought you any closer to changing your mind about expanding Medicaid? If not, can you explain to us why?” @JonTew asked.

Ivey answered with the sort of inexact boilerplate you might get from a fortune cookie.

“All health care options are being considered & evaluated to ensure the safety & wellbeing of the people of Alabama,” she replied.

When it came to the shelter-in-place question, Ivey wasn’t any more helpful or reassuring, even as some on Twitter begged her to give the statewide order.

“Each state has to weigh their own set of factors,” Ivey wrote. “I’m in communication with local, state & federal officials on a daily basis. We are taking a measured approach to keep Alabamians healthy, safe & working, wherever possible.”

The blowback on Twitter was fierce. Some attacked her for not answering any of the questions. Others asked how and when Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth would take over her office. I’d encourage you to peruse them yourself here.

In normal times, a trainwreck like this would be cause to fire her press officer, but too many people on her staff had to know this would be such a disaster to blame just one. To hold anyone accountable, you’d have to send home everyone in the office, including the governor herself.

It’s this simple: If you don’t have answers, don’t agree to a Q&A.

But the most frightening thing to consider is that the same people who agreed to let Ivey play Answer Time on Twitter are the same people who are making decisions about our response to the coronavirus.

Ivey was an accidental governor who ascended to the office after the last failure went sex-crazy for his senior political advisor and was forced to quit. This path to the governor’s mansion won her the highest approval ratings of any governor in America. She benefited from a lower standard, and unfortunately for Alabama, a lower standard is what we got.

This is what happens when a governor refuses to interview with the press during her campaign.

This is what happens when you have a governor who campaigned by hiding from the public.

This is what happens when a governor ducks debates, both with her opponents in the Republican primary and her Democratic challenger in the general election.

This is what happens when a governor says she didn’t have time for such things — even when her calendar showed she had as much free time on the job as some folks have when they’re retired.

Gov. Ivey couldn’t answer anyone’s questions then.

Why did anyone expect her to have answers now?

Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group.

You can follow his work on his Facebook page, The War on Dumb. And on Twitter. And on Instagram.

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