I don't mean to reduce the painful death to politics, but death in this country has been reduced to a game. So imagine 2020 as a baseball game.
AlternativeFacts are down by 5 points and the bases are loaded. The pitcher throws the first pitch.. which happened in January 2020 Trump found out about the virus and had ample opportunities to Consider a National Strategy, Ramp up PPE and testing to provide hospitals a buffer and build a team to be able to contain it communicating with private business and state and local leaders. Ultimately any concern that gives most people anxiety in this country has crossed a threshold and it was left “States Rights” and a public health crisis turned into a Circus Tent that caught fire.
Strike 1: January 21, 2020 0 Deaths
“We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
The Fastball left an imprint on the catcher's hands. The pitcher pitches the 2nd pitch which takes us back to the beginning of March, already weeks too late, states like California had stopped waiting for anything of value to come from the federal government. When things were still cordial with the Nation and we turn to the unmistakable voice of Lester Holt showing the initial spread and horror as well as the responses in countries like China, South Korea and Italy. The mask mandates and countries core organization came from a central source and curves had flattened. This was the opportunity to if not federally shut down due to the economy to at least push masks and social distancing onto your fans. This was not the sentiment of a winner.
Strike 2: April 3, 2020, 7,090 deaths
“It’s going to be, really, a voluntary thing. You can do it. You don’t have to do it. I’m choosing not to do it, but some people may want to do it, and that’s OK. It may be good. Probably will. They’re making a recommendation. It’s only a recommendation.”
Masks were never mandated Nationally. Large scale misinformation campaigns, conspiracy theories, and public health data were delivered through a political filter. Words like “Exponential growth” and “Capacity” never grasped the Executive Branch rhetoric and we watched 50 states depend on 50 governors to make individual mandates starting with Jay Inslee in Washington and Gavin Newsome in California. In April, as a result of a varied geographical response to shutting down businesses, the United States hit 14.7% Unemployment which brought back memories of the Great Depression. The Only thing President Trump could rely on to reelection is the economy which was in free fall.
Strike 3: May 7th, 2020 76,000 Deaths
“And Texas is opening up, and a lot of places are opening up. And we want to do it, and I’m not sure that we even have a choice. I think we have to do it. You know, we — this country can’t stay closed and locked down for years. Somebody could say, “Let’s keep it closed for a couple of years.”
When you prioritize the economy over health you start playing a game in which health and the economy are now decoupled. What was so crucially missed was that the best shot at saving the economy was a national response very early on. A mix of testing, supplies, and contact tracing would have saved us from an economic halt and the despair that was to follow in the months of May, June, July, and now August. If Anything the president could have just played golf and deferred to the scientific consensus, if not common sense at this point. Golf was played.
But Imagine the United States where experts were not shunned for using big words and looking serious. It is intimidating to hear about the stuff we never had to deal with as a society but man this one required a united set of states in defeating this virus. What an opportunity it was to win the support of Democrats, and when I say support, we would be the libs that got owned we would have to admit just following the lead of most European countries would have been enough.
This was that easy at so many stages of the game. Being about 9 innings into 2020 it becomes more and more clear that this was in fact T-ball. The last 100,000 deaths are seeming more and more untimely and unnecessary. It didn't have to be so contentious and the country had an opportunity to unify around basic science. Had this not been such a game tens of thousands of lives would have been saved, lockdowns would not have to be extended, and the very last of our goodwill as a world leader would have been spared. This would have all but sealed #45 as a 2 Term president and the Liberals would be crying on election night. Liberals would have to be forced to admit that Trump was smart, decisive, and earned his post in the oval office. He would continue to call himself a Genius on Twitter.
Again, the left would be obligated to put politics aside for a minute. This man could have done nothing but defer to the celebrated Dr. Anthony Fauci and the election would have been all but sealed. As we get closer to 200,000 deaths and the election in less than 90 days…The left dodged a bullet, as there would not have been an easier matter to get 328 million people on the same page.
