Politics of the Pandemic
By Braden Hertz
During the coronavirus pandemic, the issue of when the federal government should step in to support a state or leave the decisions to the state governments has come up many times. Many people and politicians on the left argue that “extreme” Federalism is necessary to combat the current lack of leadership in the Trump administration. Many on the right, however, argue that the states should control the response to the pandemic, as the federal government has no legal right to shut down states on its own authority. There is a legal question at the moment: whether a state governor even has the authority to close down a state for all but essential services. Protesters are arguing that governors of individual states like Michigan do not have the right to close their states. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this as many of the protestors are using language accusing governors of being “Nazis.”
“During this crisis, politicization is running rampant exactly when it should not.”
During this crisis, politicization is running rampant exactly when it should not. The media is focusing heavily on protesters, which is an important factor in this pandemic and the debate about opening up; however, most Americans are not so furious about the lockdown orders even though they might be opposed to them. The American public is tired of the constant fighting. Americans want to open the economy but they want to open the economy safely. That is extremely important to Americans, opening up safely. Rural America looks to those in power, Republicans, and Democrats as being incompetent, so they look for a strong figure in government and someone who is also angry at this establishment, President Trump. Much of urban America is supportive of a national lockdown. The way that a leader must appeal to all Americans during this time is to take the position of starting to open the economy safely.