# A coronavirus pandemic provides a HUGE opportunity for Democrats **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 28, 2020, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630 "2020-02-28T02:49:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/1 "2020-02-28T02:49:39Z")
> **[Trump administration budget cuts could become a major problem as coronavirus...](https://fortune.com/2020/02/26/coronavirus-covid-19-cdc-budget-cuts-us-trump/)** > > Several global health units of the U.S. government have faced budget crises—or shut down completely. > [@](#): > > The Trump administration recently requested $2.5 billion in emergency funds to prepare the U.S. for a possible widespread outbreak of coronavirus. Critics, though, are pointing out that money might not be necessary if the administration hadn’t spent the past two years largely dismantling government units that were designed to protect against pandemics. > The cuts started in 2018, as the White House focused on eliminating funding to Obama-era disease security programs. In March of that year, Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer, whose job it was to lead the U.S. response in the event of a pandemic, abruptly left the administration and his global health security team was disbanded. > That same year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was forced to slash its efforts to prevent global disease outbreak by 80% as its funding for the program began to run out. The agency, at the time, opted to focus on 10 priority countries and scale back in others, including China 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. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/2 "2020-02-28T02:59:43Z")
You really want to paint liberals as hoping for a horrible disaster don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/3 "2020-02-28T03:01:13Z")
While we’re at it, let’s root for a recession too. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/4 "2020-02-28T03:08:24Z")
I think it is biblically ironic that it may take a plague to rid us of Trump’s. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/5 "2020-02-28T03:27:42Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/6 "2020-02-28T05:21:08Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/7 "2020-02-28T06:22:54Z")
The event has to actually happen for there to be any real powder behind the bullet you want to take Trump down with. All the examples you used? They weren’t hypotheticals. And the kids in cages thing? That actually started under Obama. Democrats just didn’t care until Trump became president and inherited the practice. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/8 "2020-02-28T08:28:14Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > And the kids in cages thing? That actually started under Obama. Democrats just didn’t care until Trump became president and inherited the practice. …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. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/9 "2020-02-28T08:36:33Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > And the kids in cages thing? That actually started under Obama. Democrats just didn’t care until Trump became president and inherited the practice. …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. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/10 "2020-02-28T08:36:34Z")
I didn’t know this started under Obama, but if families were not separated, it’s not really “kids in cages”. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/11 "2020-02-28T08:58:01Z")
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”) Trump owns this mess. Make him pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/12 "2020-02-28T10:34:46Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/13 "2020-02-28T10:50:08Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > While we’re at it, let’s root for a recession too. Be careful what you wish for: > [@](#): > > Financial markets suffered a sixth day of losses on Thursday, as traders dumped shares on fears that the spread of coronavirus will hobble the global economy. > > In the US, the Dow Jones plunged nearly 1,200 points to lose 4.4%. It was the sharpest points-drop in history. > > The S&P 500 ended 4.4% lower, while the Nasdaq dropped 4.6%. > > Earlier, London’s FTSE 100 finished 3.5% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 led Asian losses, falling more than 2%. > > The string of declines has pushed indexes in Europe and the US down more than 10% from their recent highs - sending them into so-called “correction” territory. > [Dow falls more than 4% amid coronavirus stock rout - BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51664652) ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/14 "2020-02-28T11:02:02Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > 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”) 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? > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > 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? 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: ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/15 "2020-02-28T11:37:22Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > 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”) > > Trump owns this mess. Make him pay for it. 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. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/16 "2020-02-28T11:52:55Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > 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. No one is saying that (as I suspect you know). What people are saying, justifiably, is that Trump’s evisceration of the CDC and various health care agencies can only make matters worse. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/17 "2020-02-28T12:16:04Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > No one is saying that (as I suspect you know). > > What people are saying, justifiably, is that Trump’s evisceration of the CDC and various health care agencies can only make matters worse. So Trump eviscerated the CDC? By cutting its budget by how much? Surely you have a cite. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/18 "2020-02-28T12:35:18Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Be careful what you wish for: 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. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/19 "2020-02-28T12:59:12Z")
Here’s something to hang around Trump’s neck: his State Department [overruled the CDC and flew coronavirus-infected Americans home from Japan](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/coronavirus-diamond-princess-cruise-americans/2020/02/20/b6f54cae-5279-11ea-b119-4faabac6674f_story.html), where they’d been quarantined aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship which had turned into a petri dish for the virus. And it gets worse:[here’s how a different group of Americans, this group returning from Wuhan, China, was handled](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/27/us-workers-without-protective-gear-assisted-coronavirus-evacuees-hhs-whistleblower-says/): > [@](#): > > Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services sent more than a dozen workers to receive the first Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, without proper training for infection control or appropriate protective gear, according to a whistleblower complaint. > > The workers did not show symptoms of infection and were not tested for the virus, according to lawyers for the whistleblower, a senior HHS official based in Washington who oversees workers at the Administration for Children and Families, a unit within HHS. And: > [@](#): > > About 14 personnel from the Administration for Children and Families, or ACF, were sent to March Air Force base in Riverside County, Calif., and another team of about 13 ACF personnel were sent to Travis Air Force in Solano County, Calif., according to the complaint and the whistleblower’s lawyer, Ari Wilkenfeld. In Solano County this week, the first U.S. patient was confirmed to be infected with coronavirus who did not travel to a region where it is spreading or have known contact with someone diagnosed with the disease. 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. Speaking of which, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, [has been told to stop speaking with the public before clearing it with Mike Pence](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/wh-moves-to-screen-scientists-statements-on-coronavirus), a man who, as governor of Indiana, [had to pray about it awhile before responding to Indiana’s biggest HIV outbreak](https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/26/21155286/mike-pence-coronavirus-response-hiv), giving it room to keep spreading. And Pence [just added Mnuchin and Kudlow to his coronavirus response team](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/mnuchin-kudlow-join-coronavirus-task-force-pence-announces-2020-02-27). Clearly the important thing here is to keep the stock market safe from the coronavirus. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630/20 "2020-02-28T13:14:04Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > So Trump eviscerated the CDC? By cutting its budget by how much? Surely you have a cite. Shirley you are being disingenuous. [Cite](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/05/19/nearly-700-vacancies-at-cdc-because-of-trump-administration-hiring-freeze/). [Cite](https://fortune.com/2020/02/26/coronavirus-covid-19-cdc-budget-cuts-us-trump/). [Cite](https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-cuts-programs-responsible-for-fighting-coronavirus-2020-2). ETA: I said “evisceration of the CDC and\* various health care agencies\*” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-coronavirus-pandemic-provides-a-huge-opportunity-for-democrats/848630.md?page=2)