Comparing the two national conventions, the difference is clear: Democrats are the party of shutdowns, and Republicans are the party of normalcy.
In the first two days of their convention this week, Republicans have had some weird moments. For instance, I thought Kimberly Guilfoyle might burst into confetti at the end of her speech. But it’s been a blast compared to the freakish Zoom-quality, extreme social distancing of the Democrats’ affair.
Democrats were, of course, virtue signaling their superior grasp of “the science” by ensuring that everyone on camera was either alone or a notable 12 feet away from the next person, and, ideally, wearing masks. It ventured into the absurd when the nominee, Joe Biden, came on stage after his running mate Kamala Harris’s speech, only to halt shouting distance away, holding out his arms as an awkward air hug.
In contrast, Trump has appeared twice this week, physically, in-person, with groups of Americans and newly naturalized citizens to share their stories. They didn’t wear masks, and they weren’t 6 feet apart.
I know that intensely bothered the panel at CNN, but it was an important message for Trump to send: Come November, a return to normalcy is still an option.
Biden said it last week, just as his party’s convention wrapped up. “I would shut it down,” he said if he was advised to. “I would listen to the scientists.”
The former vice president no doubt believes that sounds like decisive action, and it does, but he’s got the wrong audience. The national media enjoy that kind of talk but for voters, it’s irritating, condescending, and more than a little terrifying.
A shutdown, for too many people, is not a pause. It’s game over. They don’t get to go back to their jobs and businesses. They don’t get to ride it out by working from home. The Democrats’ answer to that is to give these people more welfare, and they can roll the dice on that gamble if they want to. But I suspect restaurant owners and small business entrepreneurs didn’t get into their line of work because they would rather be home, sucking on the government’s teat.
One shutdown has devastated the economy, all for a virus that has so far been deadly for half of a tenth of a percent of the U.S. population. The conventions have made clear that Biden and the Democrats are ready to relive that nightmare all over again.
