Democrats need to move on from COVID-19 if they hope to avert disaster in November, according to research from a well-known Democratic firm.
Released one day before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a significant loosening of its mask guidance, the memo urges Democrats to talk about moving on from the virus — and how the party’s policies have made it safe to do so.
CDC EXPECTED TO DE-PRIORITIZE CASE COUNTS IN NEW COVID-19 GUIDELINES: REPORTS
“After two years that necessitated lockdowns, travel bans, school closures, mask mandates, and nearly a million deaths, nearly every American finally has the tools to protect themselves from this virus,” it reads. “It’s time for Democrats to take credit for ending the COVID crisis phase of the COVID war, point to important victories like vaccine distribution and providing economic stability to Americans, and fully enter the rebuilding phase that comes after.”
Impact Research, which was founded by President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign pollster, John Anzalone, compiled the memo. According to Punchbowl News, Biden is likely to talk about turning a corner on COVID-19 during Tuesday’s State of the Union address.
The new CDC guidance will reportedly consider a community’s number of cases, hospitalizations, and hospital capacity in its new recommendations, placing less emphasis on case counts alone. Under the new metrics, more than 70% of Americans will find themselves in an area where forced masking is not recommended.
The move drew praise from Anand Parekh, chief medical adviser at the Bipartisan Policy Center
“We have been anticipating that the CDC would broaden their consideration for indoor masking beyond just looking at caseloads to include hospitalizations,” he said. “Including hospital capacity makes sense.”
Parekh said promoting vaccines and boosters remains crucial and that measures such as improving surveillance, supporting global vaccination efforts, and securing resources for tests and therapeutics will help keep the disease in the rearview mirror.
The Impact Research memo includes five bullet points with advice for Democrats:
- Declare the crisis phase of COVID-19 over and push for feeling and acting more normal.
- Recognize that people are ‘worn out’ and feeling real harm from the yearslong restrictions and take their side.
- Acknowledge COVID-19 still exists and likely will for a long time.
- Don’t set “COVID zero” as the victory condition.
- Stop talking about restrictions and the unknown future ahead.
It also cites statistics finding that twice as many voters are concerned about COVID-19’s effect on the economy (49%) than about someone they know becoming infected (24%). Voters overwhelmingly said they were more worried about learning loss than about school children getting the disease.
Though the CDC’s updated guidance puts it more in line with public opinion, the Biden administration made the move far later than many states and cities.
After making much of bowing to public health experts and scientists during the 2020 campaign, Biden has been aggressive about new restrictions when cases rise and slow to move when they fall.
Most states with Republican governors resisted mask mandates before and during the omicron variant surge, yet even after Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., announced an end to forced masking, the White House stuck with the policy.
“The CDC is far behind,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a centrist Republican, told CNN earlier this month. Hogan noted there was “nearly universal bipartisan support” for easing past restrictions at a recent National Governors Association meeting.
Forced masking in schools may be the biggest sticking point. Legal battles have raged in Virginia, Florida, and other states that resisted the policy, but the new CDC guidance may help stem some of that debate.
“We have the tools needed so that COVID and the pandemic do not disrupt our daily lives,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday afternoon. “Today, more than half the country — 70% of Americans — live in areas where the CDC no longer recommends universal masking.”
Still, the Biden administration recently extended the COVID-19 public health emergency and is sticking with mask mandates on planes, buses, trains, and public transportation for now. Republicans from the beginning have been less willing to shut schools and businesses down, a strategy that crossed the aisle as the public settles with the virus and grows weary of collateral damage from restrictions.
Even the revised guidance places the CDC at some distance from Republican leaders who aggressively question the agency. Among them is Christina Pushaw, the top spokesperson for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky: “We want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing.”
A break… As in, mask mandates will come back with a vengeance after November, if you live in a Democrat run area.
Not in the free state of Florida ?
— Christina Pushaw #BuckTheCDC ?? (@ChristinaPushaw) February 25, 2022
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If voters continue to perceive Democrats as backing too many restrictions or too ready to reimpose them at a moment’s notice, that perception could still damage the party in the midterm elections.
“The more we talk about the threat of COVID and onerously restrict people’s lives because of it,” the Impact Research memo reads, “the more we turn them against us and show them we’re out of touch with their daily realities.”
