Muh Muh Muh My Corona (virus)

50 separate state governments, and three branches of a federal government needed to come together on anything.

In an election year where if you do everything "right" (WRT COVID-19), the other side can come back with what a shambles you made of the economy.

It's a recipe for failure on something like this.

You need WWII-like orders to get everybody on board for the "greater good" (as you did then), and even then there was resistance. In 1942 gas rationing violations were so common that night courts were set up to handle the number of violators caught.

"We're in the fight of our lives on two continents, and people are still arguing about gasoline!"

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

This is why the federal government needed to take charge from the git-go. Pardon then politically incorrect reference, but right now it's 50 chiefs, no Indians.

 

I'm wondering in what ways a divided federal government could "take charge" in a way that would not be construed as dictatorial or unconstitutional (as every other "take charge" measure seems to be) and would not be fought by state governors (depending on what "take charge" orders ruffled their feathers).

 

1) declare a national state of emergency
2) coherent guidelines for how to battle the pandemic
3) nationalize supply chains and negotiate deals to supply states with needed equipment
4) deploy HHS, Homeland Security, CDC and FEMA to support local efforts and coordinate the federal response
5) push Congress for relief funds to support states with the stipulation that in order to receive funds they have to follow federal guidelines

• Guidelines include shelter in place orders
• mask guidelines
• benchmarks for re-openings including flexibility for states that are seeing slower outbreaks
  
• guidelines for essential businesses to stay safe
• guidelines for schools
  
• penalties for states or localities who defy orders

6) be in constant communication with governors to react to changing conditions
7) have regular updates with as much information that is available based on medical advice
8) use the power of the Federal government to lock down borders and stick to it (not say you are banning flights from China but still allow thousands to come in)
9) tell the people the truth. None of this "it will just disappear" "we'll reopen by Easter" "this is another Democrat hoax."
10) make this a matter of national pride that we will beat this. Distribute patriotic masks. Patriotic propaganda saying there is nothing more American that giving the finger to a virus.

 

50 chiefs, no firefighters.

 

Just stop with this bullshit. No, there wasn't going to be a perfect approach to this, but we absolutely could have done it better and we could be doing it better now without being a dictatorship. President Trump has been more than willing to go around public opinion and now Congress when he feels like it. He's willing to do it for the economy, because that is his only shot at re-election, but he refuses to do it in response to the pandemic. That is on him.

Even without going that far, we could have had federally-run testing and contact tracing months ago. We could have a uniform approach to those two crucial elements to the fight against COVID. We just needed a president who wanted them. At first, he didn't want it because he saw that real numbers would threaten the economy. Now he doesn't want it because real numbers would make it even clearer what a horrible job he has done.

Instead of dumping most of the responsibility for dealing with COVID on the states, the federal government could have led the way. Production of supplies could have been increased in preparation for this in January, or at least February. The federal government could have helped in getting those supplies where they were needed instead of having the states bid against one another to get them.

Most importantly, we could have had a consistent message about taking this thing seriously from day one. Whether you want to admit it or not, President Trump's ridiculous claims that it was a hoax hurt our response. His refusal to wear a mask hurt our response. His dishonest and often confusing rhetoric hurt our response. His opposition to state shut-down orders hurt our response. When the protests were trying to force the economy to reopen, President Law and Order was with the protesters. He didn't have to order people to wear masks and practice social distancing. He just had to come out in support of those things and model them himself and many of the idiots refusing to go along would have gotten in line.

He could be on his way to re-election and we could be much better off in dealing with the pandemic. All he needed to do was his job. So please take this ridiculous implication that it couldn't have been better and stick it where the sun does not shine.

 

Your version was better than mine. The really funny part is President Trump would probably be well on his way to a second term if he had done all that. I don't think there is any way Biden could beat him if his response to the pandemic had even resembled competence.

 

Exactly. Just a modicum of leadership and competence and he could have owned the libs with all the winning.

 

relativism,

it's a thing like all the other things

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

The problem with that is that at no point since his election has he shown either.

 

It is what it is.