COVID-19 and Politics

Things are so vivid now that it's hard to believe our memories of events, and particularly the sequence of events, will fade. But they will. It's important to record a few things while they are fresh.

As news commentators occasionally point out, we are so focused on the news around COVID-19 and the economy that we sometimes forget it is an important election year. In the past week or so, some big events reminded us, most notably Bernie Sanders' withdrawal from the race and nearly immediate endorsement of Joe Biden. As Bernie pointed out, it is critical for Democrats to unite to defeat the most dangerous president in US history. Far different from his lukewarm endorsement of Hilary and his failure to strongly rally his base to support her in 2016. Hot on the heels of Sanders' endorsement, President Obama, who has stayed on the sidelines until the primary race was decided, came forward with full-throated support and a promise to campaign vigorously. Now we await Biden's selection of a running mate. He's promised it will be a woman...

Also in politics, Wisconsin voters came out in droves -- wearing masks and mindful of social distancing -- to express their opinions. The Democratic Wisconsin governor had ordered the primary delayed until June because of COVID-19, but the Republican-controlled legislature took it to the conservative Wisconsin supreme court, where the executive order was overturned. (Republicans understand very well that voter suppression is an important strategy for them.) In addition to choosing Joe Biden (no surprise), the voters resoundingly selected a "liberal" candidate for the Supreme Court and threw out the conservative incumbent. Let us hope that is a good sign for Wisconsin in November.

Meanwhile, we are seeing signs around the country that the outbreak COVID-19 might be peaking. Leaders are starting to discuss what a "reopening" might look like. Governors, mayors, and business leaders are stepping in to fill the vacuum at the top. On both the west and east coasts, governors are forming consortia to jointly plan strategies for gradually lifting social distancing restrictions and getting people back to work. In Minnesota, our governor is also working with other government and business leaders on a plan to gradually "reopen." Given the lack of a successful federal program for the level of testing necessary, Governor Walz says Minnesota will have to "go it alone" in creating an infrastructure for adequate diagnostic and immunity testing.

President Trump has been holding almost daily press briefings that resemble campaign rallies. He and his staff are busily rewriting history to laud his great success in managing the pandemic. He's been searching for scapegoats, and this week he settled on the World Health Organization (WHO). He announced withdrawal of our WHO funding while his administration investigates their "mismangement" of the crisis.

Although he declared a national emergency in March, President Trump chose not to impose any kind of nationwide stay-at-home order. He deliberately left it up to the governors to make those decisions (and shoulder the burden of responsibility and blame). But now that we're talking about reopening, Trump wants desperately to be in charge and take the credit. Earlier this week, he said he would order all the states to reopen and, when he got pushback that such an order would be unconstitutional, claimed that as president he has absolute authority. Later, he walked that back, saying he will meet with the governors and authorize them to make their plans for reopening their states. I could write for days about how poorly suited he is to be our country's leader in this crisis.

But this story of politics is mostly good news. We are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, and many highly competent leaders in state and local government, business, and public health are stepping up to plan an orderly, well-monitored return to work. On the flip side, those of us in the "high risk" category because of age and other ailments will still need to remain essentially under house arrest for the foreseeable future.