David Axelrod said you should never waste a crisis. Democrats need to make Trump and McConnell pay DEARLY for this. Just absolutely BURN them to the ground.
This is actually politically perilous for the Republicans in another way as well. Not only would massive loss of American life in the wake of these budget cuts be very damaging politically to them beyond any normal level of political peril, the deaths would come disproportionately from their elderly voter base! I definitely would not want to be in their shoes right now.
Pining for a pandemic with the resulting 10s of millions of deaths, a Great Depression, or a giant comet strike in order to advance one’s political agenda is never a good look. Just my humble opinion.
How am I “pining” for it? It is happening. Trump and McConnell slashed the budget to prevent and fight it. These are facts. Why would we not nail them to the wall based on these facts? When a president takes the country into an unpopular war, or mishandles a natural disaster like Dubya did with Hurricane Katrina, opponents run against him on that basis. Same thing when a president puts kids in cages. That doesn’t mean I’m pining for kids to be put in cages! How is this any different?
…this talking point needs to die a horrible death. Kids in cages did start under Obama. It was bad policy. But Trump didn’t merely “inherit” the practice. Under Obama families were not separated, there were limits on how long they could be kept in detention, it was a completely different thing. Under Trump we don’t know how many children have been detained. We don’t know where many of them are, many have been separated from families and sent to other sides of the country. Its been a disaster. Invoking Obama here is a classic false equivalence.
…this talking point needs to die a horrible death. Kids in cages did start under Obama. It was bad policy. But Trump didn’t merely “inherit” the practice. Under Obama families were not separated, there were limits on how long they could be kept in detention, it was a completely different thing. Under Trump we don’t know how many children have been detained. We don’t know where many of them are, many have been separated from families and sent to other sides of the country. Its been a disaster. Invoking Obama here is a classic false equivalence.
I agree with the OP. Clearly the Corona Virus could become a very bad thing, resulting in millions of deaths worldwide. The current government does not inspire confidence, especially after Trump’s been merrily cutting CDC budgets. If the economy loses confidence and slows or crashes during this epidemic, it’s not unrealistic to think that Trump might lose the election, regardless of his opponent.
I was going to say that the Democrats shouldn’t bother to point out the government’s failings in disease control and economic control. On consideration, though, I don’t see why Democrats shouldn’t mention these issues. If there are millions of deaths in the US alone, and the economy hits the fan, it should be pointed out that Trump’s policies directly created the conditions for these things to happen. In fact, it should be hammered on.
Lambasting a dangerous fool for the harm he has caused the US and the world is hardly the same thing as hoping for a disaster and capitalizing on suffering. (I can almost hear the whispers, “Thoughts and Prayers” “It’s too soon”)
As grotesquely phrased as this is, there’s a sense in which it’s true. Coronavirus presents the first major not-self-inflicted crisis of Trump’s administration, in terms of what’s affecting the mainland US. (I know that’s a lot of qualifications, but this feels qualitatively different, here in the mainland, from things like the Puerto Rico disaster, or Iran’s attacks on US bases). Trump’s approach so far has been the epidemiological equivalent of a “Nailed it!” meme. He needs to be held accountable for what happens.
One factor that I’m wondering about: how popular, in a few months, will it be to go to enormous, closely-packed political rallies, and how will that affect his campaign and presidency?
Precisely! Very well put. I don’t know why the response to mass shootings didn’t occur to me as a great example. It’s always Republicans who want to push this notion that we shouldn’t apply politics to a situation that is fundamentally about a failing of government policy–and what is politics for if not that?
That’s a great question, a wrinkle I hadn’t thought of. Of course, this will affect our side too, especially if Bernie is the standardbearer.
But what was grotesque about my phrasing? :dubious:
It’s nonsensical to lay the blame for a virus that comes out of medieval era hygiene and sanitation in China on the US government. Watch some wet market videos and honestly ask yourself what the US has to do with that. Now, if our samples of smallpox ever breaks containment that could be blamed on the government.
Falling stock prices won’t cause a recession. But if the epidemic reduces consumer spending, or disrupts supply chains, that very well could.
Warren’s already been saying we need to start planning to avert the latter as much as possible, in addition to stopping the spread of the disease itself.
His people are bringing it back here, and ensuring its spread. This is happening because Trump has decimated his Administration of people with independent expertise, and has replaced them with toadies.
It is happening. Trump and McConnell slashed the budget to prevent and fight it. These are facts. Why would we not nail them to the wall based on these facts? When a president takes the country into an unpopular war, or mishandles a natural disaster like Dubya did with Hurricane Katrina, opponents run against him on that basis. Same thing when a president puts kids in cages. That doesn’t mean I’m pining for kids to be put in cages! How is this any different?