I’m not a Republican, but I do share this part of a common Republican belief, so I think I’m qualified to post on it: Republicans tend to trust non-governmental institutions a lot more than Democrats. They’re more likely to think that churches and business and local organizations and individuals are going to figure things out.
In the extreme, this comes off as anti-authority, anti-intellectual, anti-science. And to some extent it is a self-fulfilling prophecy that if you elect people who claim government is ineffective, they are ideologically opposed to making government effective. But in many respects, they are right. There are a lot of problems that government is not a good solution to.
And even in this case, they were right about lots of things. The NBA, the Vegas resorts, the ski resorts, Broadway all shut down before a government edict. They were ahead of the curve!
WHO and CDC were telling us for weeks not to wear masks.
I do worry that in this particular case, those instincts may be disastrous. Slow moving problems and linear problems are well-suited to experimentation and decentralized solutions. Exponential problems are not. By the time a local church realizes things are a problem in their area, a bunch of their congregants are going to die.
The left thinks that Republicans are immoral people when they advocate for locking children in cages away from their parents for the crime of being brought to the USA.
Republicans think that Democrats are evil and anti-christ worshippers when they advocate for access to healthcare for all, or good education for all of the people, not just the wealthy.
But this isn’t some new Liberal power grab. Quarantines go back at least as far as the revolution. The government using its authority to enforce public health regulations has been one of its fundamental roles throughout history. The only reason it feels extreme is that its been so long since we had a severe health crisis like this, and that modern transportation means its hitting everywhere at once.
Actually no. Democrats hear a decree to stay home and think there must be some sense to it because epidemiologists and expert economists say that that is the best course of action.
On to the OP, I also wonder if there is a bit of blame avoidance either calculated or instinctive on the part of Republican politicians. The deaths caused by the Covid-19 are not directly caused by any policy action, they may be exacerbated by a failure to act but the direct cause is a natural phenomenon. On the other hand, economic hardship is a direct consequence of government enforced shutdown. So that can be laid at their feet. This is basically the trolley problem all over again. A million deaths on one side of the track and a million job losses on the other side. But to switch from the deaths to the job losses requires actively inflicting those losses.
ETA Disclaimer: the numbers above are poetic license and not meant to reflect actual predicted outcomes.
Ike (that’s General of the Armies, Columbia U. president, and POTUS Eisenhower) nailed it: “If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.” Sickening citizens by slashing environmental protections and medical services is not moral. Disenfranchisement of citizens and voter suppression is not moral. Ignoring physical reality is not moral.
Today’s GOP are indeed a gang of thugs as described by the leader they would now despise. Their current party leader said there are nice Nazis and Klansmen. Fuck that.
For republicans it’s now a matter of timing. If the country can somehow get to the point where coronavirus becomes old news, where there are fewer and fewer COVID -19 deaths and new cases, maybe, just maybe, the story fades.
They can then shift the focus back on the economy. Sure, it’s shitty now but they can have a debate if the focus goes back to opening up more of the economy and who gets the government handouts: brown people or white small business owners.
See, I get it. I disagree like hell, but I don’t think this is batshit crazy.
I do think that getting out in the streets, hoisting a confederate flag, and holding big signs saying Trump 2020 is kinda batshit, though.
But I think even some democrat-leaning voters are mildly skeptical of whether we really have to live weeks and months on-end locked in our basements and binging on Netflix.
You do remember that Pelosi negotiated with the White House on the stimulus bill, right? She cut McConnell out, but McConnell is the we do not negotiate guy, so he cut himself out.
This stuff writes itself. She cut him out but he did it himself.
Kinda like the bullshit hold up of that same stimulus bill, for partisan reason. Did she do that too?
I am more than willing to call out that partisan bullshit from both parties, are you? I somehow doubt it
I think we can all (here) agree that getting out in public to wave a flag is batshit. But let that shit slide, those are the Darwin award winners.
The bottom line is the goal posts have been moving the entire time. First it was flatten the curve, it’s pretty flat, now it’s we can’t let anyone contact this virus. The stay home order is simply unsustainable, we need a plan to get out from under that order.
Gov Abbott is green lighting people to go back to work on Friday (May 1st with all sorts of safety protocol. Masks, distancing, 25% capacity of restaurants etc ,but it is the right call.
Even with that done, I can almost guarantee that you see very little movement at first. Also the right call.
If there ever was an issue where the goals change it is a pandemic. Thanks to the lockdown an overwhelming situation in some states health care systems was avoided, and the bit about trying to prevent people from getting the virus follows if some who are not ready really do follow with a dismissal of the stay at home orders.
I think that the belief that if governments end stay home orders, that the economy will come roaring back is mostly incorrect.
On the margin, there are definitely some businesses that will be able to open up meaningfully, but a lot of them won’t, or won’t for very long.
Airlines were never forced to close, but air travel is down like 95% year over year. Restaurant reservations cratered before restaurants were forced to close.
Shutdown orders change things a little at the margin, but the primary reason for economic slowdown is the virus.
When I first delegate things to my supervisory staff and they don’t get done or they don’t get done how I want them done, my NEXT step is to do it myself or create a company wide policy that WILL get done.
So why would he, NOW, after he had to take steps because the “local” guys weren’t cutting the mustard, add them to some council that he would listen to?
Why would you expect a “slow recovery” when we will be doing nothing to curtail the spread of the virus? If we were ready to begin heavily testing and contact tracing, I’d agree with you, but it seems clear that if we open up without any of those precautions we will not see a “slow recovery” but rather a rapid boom in the number of sick people.
And if you believe people will follow these protocols once Trump and their governors tell them to reopen, I have beachfront property in Nebraska to sell you.
This really sounds like assuming that the current governor has no responsibility, just like the ones at higher levels than he. Your reply also makes it sound as if the “local” guys had the power to override what the Governor orders, he currently thinks that the the locals can’t and AFAIK many do agree that that is the case.
And by the way even right here in California where the state is still locked down, idiots flooded the beaches last weekend. I fear numbers will skyrocket in the next couple weeks.