The coronavirus pandemic has been unprecedented in its scope and duration, as has our response to it. The economy stands still while millions of people file for unemployment, our healthcare system is working overtime to prevent an exhaustion of resources, and our lawmakers are struggling to find ways to provide immediate relief while minimizing long-term damage.
All of this has required a kind of political and economic flexibility that has the potential to change the way we think about and address future crises. And it has, in some ways, accelerated the political realignment we first noticed in 2016 with the election of President Trump.
On one side, we have the populist Right, whose most vocal representative in Congress is probably freshman Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri. Since his first day in office, Hawley has advocated for an end to free-market dogma, elitism, and overseas commitments that bind us too closely to China. Heretofore seen as overzealous and even outlandish, Hawley now looks like one of the most reasonable guys in the room: Congress’s $2.2 trillion relief package is proof that the government can do more to help and represent the struggling working class, and China’s continued manipulation and repression throughout this pandemic will surely increase skepticism towards the communist regime in the halls of Congress, if not in the national media.
But this doesn’t mean national populism will win over the GOP completely, though it certainly has gained additional ground over the past few months. There is also a chance that the measures our governments have taken to contain the coronavirus and its economic effects could backfire in the same way massive bailouts and stimulus packages fueled the Tea Party’s rise amid the Great Recession.
There is already a growing frustration among many members of the GOP who argue Congress’s $2.2 trillion package was a pork-filled, corporation-driven, political agenda disguised as relief. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, tried to block House passage for this reason, and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley resigned from Boeing’s board.
Right now, people are willing to dismiss these fiscal concerns as unnecessary gripes. But in 2024, Massie and Haley could have a much larger platform — especially if the Democrats continue to insert wasteful spending into Congress’s subsequent relief packages and the economic pain that many are experiencing right now continues.
It is also worth noting that the extreme steps our local and state governments have rightly taken to flatten the curve — business, school, and church closures and the enforcement thereof — could create increase wariness towards the government interventions that the populist Right favors. Americans are naturally individualistic and independent, and the longer the government’s demands last, the more jealous the citizenry will likely become of its liberties.
A lot of this depends on November’s election. If Trump wins, nationalist populism could stand an even greater chance of success. But if he loses and a Democrat takes the White House, the limited government talking points that defined the GOP’s opposition to former President Barack Obama might just reappear.
Keep in mind: We’re still in the beginning stage of our national response to the coronavirus. Much more must be done to contain and defeat this pandemic, which means a lot more could change between now and November, both politically and economically. But what we do know is this: The temporary solutions we’ve implemented will have permanent consequences — for worse or for better.
