Political Wire

Pandemic Tests Limits of How Much Debt U.S. Can Bear

March 19, 2020 at 11:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The coronavirus pandemic is about to test the bounds of how much debt the U.S. government can bear,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Even before the crisis hit, the U.S. was on track to increase its budget deficit to nearly $1 trillion in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. It was already up to $625 billion in the five months since the current fiscal year began Oct. 1.”

“Now analysts say the deficit will soar well past the record $1.5 trillion hit in 2009, when the U.S. reeled through two years of financial crisis and recession.”

DeSantis Finally Shuts Down Florida for Spring Breakers

March 19, 2020 at 11:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told Fox & Friends that he’s putting an end to spring break revelry in his state with the coronavirus pandemic growing in the country.

Said DeSantis: “The message I think for spring breakers is the party is over in Florida. You’re not going to be able to congregate on any beach in the state. Many of the hot spots that people like to go to, whether it’s Miami beach, Fort Lauderdale and Clearwater Beach are closed entirely for the time being… We would tell those folks maybe come back next year when things are better, but that is not what we’re looking for.”

Tulsi Gabbard Drops Out and Endorses Biden

March 19, 2020 at 10:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) announced that she will suspend her Democratic presidential campaign and endorsed Joe Biden.

White House Sidelines Top Public Health Agency

March 19, 2020 at 10:38 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As the United States enters a critical phase in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s leading public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, appears to be on the sidelines, with its public messages increasingly disrupted or overtaken by the White House,” the Washington Post reports.

“Neither CDC Director Robert Redfield nor Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director who has played key roles in CDC’s emergency responses stretching back two decades, including the 2009 influenza pandemic, have appeared behind the podium during White House coronavirus task force briefings for more than a week.”

Sanders Snaps at Reporter Over Dropping Out of Race

March 19, 2020 at 10:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

First Read notes Sen. Bernie Sanders snapped at a reporter when asked about his timeframe for reassessing his presidential campaign.

Said Sanders: “Stop with this. I’m dealing with a fucking worldwide crisis. You know? We’re dealing with it and you’re asking me these questions… I’m trying to do my best to make sure we don’t have an economic meltdown and that people don’t die. Is that enough to keep you busy for today?”

Trump Already Undermining His New Strategy on Virus

March 19, 2020 at 10:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

CNN: “Only days after dismissing the coronavirus threat as a distraction, he’s now assumed the title of a resolute war time president fighting an ‘invisible enemy’ while promising to rally the nation behind him in pursuit of ‘total victory.'”

“Trump’s new posture is in response to a crisis that is worsening by the hour and appears to be partly designed to cover up the administration’s failures in distributing testing kits that have might help authorities slow the virus’ advance.”

“And it is already being undermined by his own actions. He’s casting doubt over whether he will actually implement a move to invoke the Defense Production Act — that he signed on Wednesday and that gives him authority to order industry to work towards homeland defense and national goals. In this case, it could speed the production of badly needed ventilators, masks and other supplies for hospital workers.”

New York Times: How Trump undermined his own experts.

GOP Senator Warned Audience Three Weeks Ago

March 19, 2020 at 9:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NPR obtained a secret recording of Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) warning a private audience three weeks ago about how the coronavirus would have dire effects on the United States.

He said that the data he was shown indicated that the virus would be like the 1918 Spanish flu and warned the corporate attendees to stop travel to Europe and other places and take other precautions.

Sherrod Brown Worried Trump Will Try to Delay Election

March 19, 2020 at 9:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) told the Columbus Dispatch that he is worried President Trump will use Ohio’s decision to delay its Tuesday primary due to the coronavirus outbreak as a precedent to ask for the November election to be postponed.

Said Brown: “My concern is that in the age of Trump that other governors might think, or that the president might ask, for a delay in the November election based on something, perhaps this, perhaps something else.”

What Americans Are Doing Now Is Beautiful

March 19, 2020 at 9:37 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Garrett Graff: “The worry and unease about COVID-19 feels so inescapable that Americans can easily miss the sheer beauty of what is unfolding across the country right now. Yes, we are approaching errands that were routine just a week ago—to the hardware store or the grocery store—with the same wariness that we might bring to an Arctic exploration. Yet if we take a step back from the panic-buying of toilet paper, the response to COVID-19 should stand as one of the most beautiful moments in our country’s long history—a moment of shared, galvanizing national spirit that has existed in perhaps only in a handful of epochal years before, like 1776, 1861, 1933, and 1941, and, in modern times, after 9/11.”

“We are witnessing people everywhere, acting mostly independently but all together, shutting our country down—a move that ensures millions will face a massive, incalculable economic hit—to give the weakest among us a better chance against the novel coronavirus. We are each sacrificing our daily routines—our gyms and coffee shops and offices—to keep health-care professionals from becoming overwhelmed.”

A Coronavirus Recession Could Doom Trump’s Reelection

March 19, 2020 at 9:33 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Alan Abramowitz: “Based on the results of presidential elections since World War II with running incumbents, a president with an upside-down approval rating and an economy in recession would have little chance of winning a second term in the White House. If President Trump’s net approval rating remains where it is now or declines further, and if the recession is severe, with real GDP shrinking by three points or more in the second quarter, the result could well be a defeat of landslide proportions.”

“A few caveats are in order here. Voters may not hold an incumbent president responsible for a recession brought on by an unforeseeable disaster like the coronavirus pandemic — although they may hold him responsible for the government’s response to the pandemic, which is a story that is still being written.”

Treasury Bill Yields Turn Negative

March 19, 2020 at 9:04 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Financial Times: “U.S. Treasury bill yields dipped below zero while longer-dated government debt yields rose on Wednesday in a sign of frightened investors flocking to more easily traded securities during the global market tumult.”

The GOP Is a Danger to America

March 19, 2020 at 9:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Stuart Stevens: “Don’t just blame President Trump. Blame me — and all the other Republicans who aided and abetted and, yes, benefited from protecting a political party that has become dangerous to America. Some of us knew better.”

“But we built this moment. And then we looked the other way.”

“Many of us heard a warning sound we chose to ignore, like that rattle in your car you hear but figure will go away. Now we’re broken down, with plenty of time to think about what should have been done.”

Quote of the Day

March 19, 2020 at 8:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I’m shaking with rage. We were told if we had symptoms to refrain from going to the Capitol on Monday. Senator Brandon Beach knew he was exhibiting symptoms since MARCH THE 10TH! I have an elderly hospice patient at home. He irresponsibly stayed all day at the Capitol on Monday and exposed all of us.”

— Georgia state Rep. Scot Turner (R), on Facebook, after a fellow lawmaker took part in a special session despite showing symptoms of coronavirus.

All Georgia Lawmakers Asked to Self-Quarantine

March 19, 2020 at 8:47 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“All of Georgia’s state lawmakers were urged Wednesday to self-isolate themselves for weeks after a state senator who participated in a Monday vote disclosed he tested positive for the disease caused by coronavirus,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“State Sen. Brandon Beach (R) said he was screened for the disease Saturday when he sought medical attention for a cough and mild fever, but that the test results didn’t arrive until Wednesday. In between, the Alpharetta Republican said he felt healthy enough to join dozens of legislators, staff members and reporters for a one-day special legislative session at the Capitol to grant Gov. Brian Kemp broad powers to respond to the pandemic.”

Stock Futures Falter Despite Central Banks’ Action

March 19, 2020 at 8:37 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“U.S. stock futures dropped on Thursday, deepening the market turmoil even as the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank introduced fresh measures to protect the global economy from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

GOP Lawmaker Plays Down the ‘Beer Virus’

March 19, 2020 at 8:25 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Don Young (R-AK) told a gathering of senior citizens last week that dangers posed by the coronavirus pandemic — the “beer virus,” he called it — have been overblown due to media-fueled hysteria, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

Said Young: “They call it the coronavirus. I call it the beer virus. How do you like that? It attacks us senior citizens. I’m one of you. I still say we have to as a nation and state go forth with everyday activities.”

Trump Pushes Forward with Trade War

March 19, 2020 at 7:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Despite the coronavirus pandemic, unprecedented lockdowns and fears of a global economic meltdown, U.S. President Trump is still waging his tariff-hiking trade war.”

“Just one day after G7 leaders — including Trump — said they remained ‘committed to the stability of the global economy’ and pledged to ‘coordinate measures and do whatever it takes’ to safeguard economic growth, Washington confirmed it was pressing ahead with tariff hikes on European aircraft to 15 percent, up from 10 percent, starting Wednesday.”

Bloomberg: “For weeks, President Trump has privately rejected proposals from advisers and businesses to cut China tariffs. Companies were hoping to convince him and amped up their call for relief. [On Wednesday], he finally slashed their hopes: ‘There’s no reason to do that.’”

Pandemic Exposed U.S. Vulnerability to Biowarfare

March 19, 2020 at 7:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “As the response to the outbreak from governments at all levels has shown, the U.S. was completely unprepared for a slowly creeping pandemic — let alone a biological attack that would overwhelm it all at once.”

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