US Democrats Make Case for Gov’t Role in Coronavirus Response

By Staff, Agencies

US Democrats are enthusiastically embracing the idea of a robust role for government in American life, abandoning concerns they might alienate the relatively narrow slice of independent voters. Instead, they argue, the pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show voters how government can play a positive role in responding to a global health crisis and economic slowdown.

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has gone from backing a balanced budget a quarter-century ago to supporting trillions of dollars in emergency spending. He and other Democrats have proposed a new public health corps and a national infrastructure plan reminiscent of New Deal programs. Biden has also urged US President Donald Trump to use war powers to direct how banks disperse federal small-business loans.

Democratic calls for further government intervention will likely intensify Friday when April unemployment numbers are released that could rival those reported during the Great Depression.

"The American people need their government," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said recently. "They need their government to act strongly, boldly and wisely."

Biden, limited to virtual campaign events because of the coronavirus threat, has hammered Trump repeatedly for deflecting pandemic responsibilities to the states and private sector. In one notable attack, Biden paraphrased a letter from President Abraham Lincoln to a laggard Union general during the Civil War: "If you don’t want to use the army, may I borrow it?"

The dynamics set up key contrasts for voters going into the November election.

Meanwhile, many Republicans, notably Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, are starting to resist Democratic calls for additional aid. The GOP is especially split on how much help to give struggling state and city governments.