Do Joe Biden and the Democrats Have a Covid Problem?

By David Corn  March 26, 2022

President Joe Biden speaks about Covid-19 vaccinations at a construction site in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, on October 7, 2021. Susan Walsh/AP

A few days ago, I walked into the pet store, and it felt different. Gone was the large plexiglass barrier that had separated customers and sales associates at the check-out counter. Was that a sign? Masks were still required, though the city's mask mandate was lifted. What’s safe and what’s not still seems a bit confusing. Covid-19 cases are down, yet the coronavirus is still infecting tens of thousands of Americans daily—including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton—and the death rate is 1,300 or so a day, about what it was a year ago. Even with the new BA.2 variant, which is far more transmissible than the other strains, gaining a foothold in the United States, we appear to be assuming there’s not that much to worry about anymore. Perhaps. Ali Mokdad, a leading epidemiologist, notes that Covid is transitioning from a pandemic phase to an endemic state. That’s progress. But I wonder two things: Are our hopes racing ahead of this welcomed change, and might President Joe Biden and the Democrats run into Covid political trouble if there’s a bounce-back before the midterm elections?

I will leave it to the scientific experts and epidemiologists to say whether we can prudently emerge from our Covid bunkers. The potential political pitfalls are more obvious. This week, the Biden White House announced it was “simply out” of money for the basics of its anti-Covid program: testing, treatment, and vaccines. The administration has money in the bank to pay for vaccinating children under 5 years old and to offer a second booster (or fourth) shot to people who are immunocompromised. But that’s it. The $1.9 trillion for Covid that was in the American Rescue Plan passed a year ago is basically gone. Not entirely—there’s $300 billion left—but that cash has been reserved for cities and states, and the $60 billion difference is slotted for emergency use by FEMA and other agencies.

The House tried to insert $15.6 billion in new Covid funds into a recent spending bill that included $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine. But the Covid money had to be stripped out to get the bill through Congress because Republicans insisted on using the money previously allocated for the states to offset this expenditure, and House Democrats from those areas protested. It was basically a Capitol Hill mess, which ended up with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi being upset with some of her own colleagues. A subsequent effort to approve the Covid funds separately could well be thwarted by GOP opposition in the Senate and assorted demands from Republican senators.

The White House has warned that without these funds, the US would be screwed if Covid takes a turn for the worse in the near future. One Biden administration official said, “Our scientific and medical experts have been clear that in the next couple of months, we could see Covid cases increase here in the US just as we're seeing cases rising abroad right now." This official remarked, "We are well less prepared without additional funding than we would be otherwise,” adding, "further inaction will leave us vastly unprepared and cost us more life.”

One possible problem: If public health experts determine it’s necessary for the general population to get that fourth shot, the vaccines might not be readily available and might not be free. Without more funds, the Biden administration cannot buy doses in advance. And if the United States doesn’t start placing orders now, it could lose its place in line and have trouble obtaining the vaccines if they are needed.

Maybe all will be fine. No new potent variant compelling another booster. No major spikes that once again overwhelm hospitals and require new mandates and a return to lockdowns. But if there’s a setback, who will be blamed? Biden, most likely. He’s the guy in charge. It won’t matter that his administration did a superb job distributing the vaccines originally and tamping down the pandemic. He will be judged for the problems of the moment.

That’s why it’s imperative for Biden—as a matter of politics and public health—to push hard for the new Covid funding and make clear that if these funds are blocked by Republicans, everyone knows that. He cannot let this issue be swallowed up by the convolutions of Congress or overshadowed by Vladimir Putin’s barbarous attack on Ukraine.

So far, such narrative-building has not been the strong suit of the Biden White House. Why don’t Americans have the universal pre-K, child care assistance, expanded Medicare coverage, climate change action, lower prescription drug prices, and other popular programs that were in Biden’s Build Back Better initiative? Most folks will probably say because Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema threw in monkey wrenches and the Dems couldn’t navigate their own disagreements. That’s not untrue, but another answer is, because the Republicans said no. Biden and the Democrats need to state it plainly: You want dental coverage in Medicare? It’s not there because of the Republicans. And in the event Covid intensifies in the months ahead and the US government is not fully prepared, they need to be able to say they did all they could to be ready but were blocked by the GOP.

In American politics, it can be hard to win a blame game, even if your argument is sound. The Republicans have become particularly good at deploying hypocritical spin and are hardly above casting fault for a problem they created or prevented from being solved. With the Democrats facing an uphill battle to retain control of Congress, Biden and his party cannot risk any possibility of a less-than-stellar response to a new Covid crisis. The prospect of a GOP-controlled House mounting a gazillion investigations (including 37 probes of Hunter Biden), smothering any more Biden programs, and even possibly electing Donald Trump as speaker ought to concentrate the collective mind of Democrats. They have no room for mistakes or miscalculations. Creating a clear fight over Covid funding is not only good and essential politics for Biden and the Democrats; it might also save lives.

Got anything to say about this item—or anything else? Email me at ourland@motherjones.com.

Dumbass Comment of the Week (Special Supreme Court Edition)

The entire contest this week could be devoted to Republican senators who questioned Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson at her confirmation hearing. In this staging of White Outrage Masterpiece Theater, Ted Cruz idiotically ranted about anti-racist books used at a private school where Jackson sits on the board. (One tweeter pointed out that the same books can be found in libraries at the schools attended by Cruz’s children, though I have not seen that confirmed.) Cruz, of course, was haranguing a Black woman to show off his anti-woke credentials. Convenient, eh? Josh Hawley, the 1/6 fist-pumper, smeared Jackson for purportedly going soft on people convicted of child porn charges. Lindsey Graham had hissy fits.

One of the stupidest moments came from Tom Cotton, who grilled Jackson on whether it would be a good thing to solve more murder cases. He began by asking if she knew the average sentence for a rape conviction. Jackson accurately pointed out that rape “is not a crime in the federal system,” in which she is currently an appellate judge. He shot back: 7.2 months. He demanded to know if she believed that was “too long or too short.” Jackson appropriately noted “that’s a policy question,” meaning it’s up to legislators to establish criminal penalties. Cotton then moved on to murders. Scowling all the way, Cotton declared that in 2020, “murders increased by the fastest rate ever in the United States.” (Side note: Who was president then?) He asked Jackson if she knew how many of those murders were solved. She didn’t. Fifty-four percent, Cotton said. Then he tossed this question at her: “Do you think we should catch and imprison more murderers or fewer murderers?”

What’s the point of this query? A federal judge has little to do with whether homicide detectives are nabbing killers. Was Cotton trying to make it seem as if the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court doesn’t care about crime? Was he strutting as a tough-on-crime guy as he preps for a possible 2024 run? Jackson replied, “It’s very important that people be held accountable for their crimes.” This exchange was just another piece of silly performative politics.

Jackson’s nomination inspired jackassery from outside the committee. One good example came from conservative activist and top Trumper Charlie Kirk: He declared Jackson "is what your country looks like on critical race theory." He added, “Your children and your grandchildren are going to have to take orders from people like her. And what's amazing is that she kind of has an attitude too.” Attitude? Like she’s uppity or something? Damn hard not to see this as racist. (Brett Kavanaugh displayed no attitude, right?)

Laura Ingraham, naturally, had to get into the action. She huffed that US senators should not vote to confirm a Supreme Court justice nominated by a president with a low approval rating and that to do so would violate their “sacred duty.”

Okay, you know where this is going. When the Senate confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett, what was Donald Trump’s approval rating? Forty-two percent. What is Joe Biden’s approval rating now? Forty-two percent.

Who wins this week? They’re all winners—or, at least, they all deserve a participation trophy for playing a part in this stupid show.

Honorable mention goes to Russian chess grandmaster Sergey Karjakin, who was suspended by the International Chess Federation for supporting Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will support my country in any situation without thinking for a second!” Karjakin said. Without thinking. Indeed.

The Mailbag

I heard from many fellow John le Carré fans this week after publishing my appreciation of his final novel. We are sharing our grief over his departure and the end of a wonderful line of books. Paul Hofheinz wrote in to share his reminiscences:

I’m a great fan, too, David. Thanks for writing this. I recently re-read Tinker, Tailor and the sequels. Which was an interesting experience. The first time I read them I was a kid and Smiley seemed like a dinosaur. Now it is so easy to feel his pain, his grief, and the immense pride in work well done that he uses to transcend it all. The books make much more sense with the gathering of years and the passing of time, and the nobility in somehow missing the grade—which Smiley personifies, a life well lived but a career thwarted by the mendacity around him. Well, I’m amazed that I understood any of it back when I was barely 20.

I knew David Cornwell, slightly. He was a permanent fixture in North London, where he lived, and you could often see him walking on Hampstead Heath or eating out in the local restaurants with his wife. In Tinker, Tailor, he had a spy drive-by message board on a street where I lived as a student, Haverstock Hill. Which is not to brag, just to say that the books were so spectacular it was hard to think of him as a normal guy, having dinner out. And I am proud that I had a “hi, how are you, Sir” relationship with him, though we never had a conversation any deeper than that. Unless you count the books, which have informed my life and shaped my world view more than I realized. I’ll miss him, too.

Barbara Boudreau emailed:

Great article, David! Like you, I've also read everything he wrote, but had a really tough slog through The Perfect Spy. That one grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go. I had a hard time not to cry. Heading to my indy bookstore (Port Book & News in Port Angeles, Washington) now for Silverview.

Ann P. White emailed:

Thank you for your excellent review of John le Carré's prolific pen. I first encountered le Carré a few months ago in the two chapters of Silverview that Harper’s magazine carried, and knew I wanted more. I have since steadily ordered book after book from the library, devouring them with pleasure. I'm currently half way through Agent Running in the Field, and see echoes of the Ukraine-Soviet conflict on every page... Yes, he knew how to write a sentence. 

Marshall Chrostowski wrote:

Thank you for such a fine review of Cornwell's body of fiction and especially for your review of Silverview, a book on my shelf and soon to be read with appreciation. I too have read nearly all his books and was much saddened by his passing. But at 85, I too will pass and briefly be missed by family and a few friends.

Marshall, I hope there is still time for you to finish your final masterpiece.

Paul Roden wanted to share an idea:

It is clear to me that unless the Russian people rise up and refuse to send their men to fight, make the armaments, and stop sending the ammunition to the Ukrainian battlefield, this war will not end. There are more ordinary Russian citizens than there are police, FSB, and Army troops. Putin can't put everyone in jail or conscript all the protestors and send them to fight in Ukraine.

We need an "Arab Spring" uprising to stop Putin. Already Belarus citizens blockaded a rail track to stop ammunition from being delivered to the front. Two thousand unarmed Ukrainians have protested the kidnapping of their Mayor in Mariupol. Other Ukrainians have blocked the road to a nuclear power plant. And 3,000 Russian Marines refused to disembark from their ship off the coast from Mariupol.

There are 1,200 embassies and consulates in Russia. We need to send the information translated into Russian about the Ukraine War and how to organize a civil resistance to it via smuggling in diplomatic pouches with thumb drives, DVDs, CDs of video, audio, photos, text, pamphlets, monographs etc. And then this stuff gets clandestinely dropped in libraries, bookstores, cafes, bars, restaurants, stores and shops all over Russia . Ordinary citizens could also attach this to balloons or small drones with packets of sunflower seeds...

Khomeni used cassette tapes to spark the Iranian overthrow of the Shah. Tunisians and Egyptians used parallel battery powered repeaters for cellphone messages. We have the Web, diplomatic pouches, balloons, and small drones. Putin won't know what hit him. He can't deal with nonviolent resistance. He can't imprison or nuke everybody, even in his own country. Nonviolent revolution is the only way for Russians to stop the war. Escalation will only lead to WWIII. Less casualties and more cost effective than a game of Russian Roulette. 

I understand the impulse here. For decades during the Cold War, the United States tried to penetrate the Soviet bloc with both propaganda and accurate information. (Sometimes the two can be the same.) It was tough business, for it is indeed hard to nudge change within a totalitarian system. Look at Cuba, North Korea, and China. From what I know, it seems that people within Russia, to a degree, can get some accurate information about the war, if they are motivated to do so. The issue is that many (most?) are not. Check out this dispatch from St. Petersburg that shows the troubling lack of interest or concern over the war. The Arab Spring exploded not because it was generated from the outside, but because enough people within these nations became fed up with autocratic and kleptocratic regimes and were willing to take risks. (Ditto for the Iranian revolution.) We should do all we can to transmit accurate information about the war in Ukraine (and everything else) to all parts of the world—though I am certain that the Russians would shut down the use of consulates and diplomatic facilities pretty damn quick if they were part of such an operation. But I don’t believe an external operation will trigger change. It needs to come from within.

Jerry Peace had this to share:

Robert Reich used a word this morning that resonates: bleakness. Liars are not called out; they infest Congress, celebrating irrational mob violence as legitimate political discourse. The Klan and their silly sheets used to scurry around in the dark; now the racist homophobes enable and are enabled by their legislative and media brethren, promote and are promoted by those sane self-righteous authoritarians, exalt and are exalted by grifter ex-president. Intentional ignorance is worshiped and, even worse, force fed to our children and grandchildren. The old, mossy fascist argument against democracy has infected Congress and tsunamied into state legislatures. Does one leave, succumb, or fight? All are bleak.  

Whoa, Jerry. Don’t give up, man. There is much bleakness, and we are bombarded every day with plenty of signs that our species is incapable of contending with the problems that threaten our very existence. And many of our fellow homo sapiens live in dire and painful conditions, facing daily deprivation. But except for our modern ability to destroy the entire world (literally), things have always been something of a mess. Human history is a tale of woe dotted with the occasional attempts to find a better path. Those of us who realize this are called to action, to fight against the mess. And to do that, you need to find a way to escape the bleakness once in a while. Play music. Eat good food. Hang with friends. Read a book. There’s always apple pie. In the end, the mess—stupidity, violence, greed, hate—may win out. I’m not generally an optimist when it comes to assessing the human condition. But at the least, make it harder for the assholes. That’s all I got.

Leonard Wolf wrote in with a bit of self-promotion:

Now that you have written about the Clash Kyiv cover, how about plugging an unknown's song on the Russian aggression that also applies to all evildoers? You might remember I'm a subscriber and 

longtime fan too.

Okay, Leonard, I admire your moxie...Here’s a video of his song about the Ukraine war, “Tired of It.” Great vocals from Sarah Hambridge.

MoxieCam™

Sometimes Moxie is a natural poser.

Read Recent Issues of Our Land

March 22, 2022: John le Carré’s farewell gift to us; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Emergency Edition); the former Kremlin official who spoke out; a disappointing Suspicion;“Kyiv Calling”; and more.

March 19, 2022: How Trump and his crew boost Putin’s disinformation; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Candace Owens, Jesse Waters, Lara Logan, Herschel Walker, Elon Musk, and others); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

March 15, 2022: Tucker Carlson, Vladimir Putin, and me; why you should watch Severance; and more.

March 12, 2002: Putin, Ukraine, nuclear war, and Trump; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Madison Cawthorn, again!); the Mailbag, MoxieCam™; and more.

March 8, 2022: The progressive dilemma in Ukraine; rehabbing West Side Story; does Inventing Anna target or celebrate Instagram culture?; and more.

March 5, 2022: Once again, Merrick Garland should tell us if the DOJ is investigating Trump for his attempted coup; Dumbass Comment of the Week (winner: Ben Shapiro); masks and freedoms, the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

March 1, 2022: From CPAC to Ukraine—how the right went from wrong to crazy; rebranding this newsletter; and more.

February 26, 2022: How we let Ukraine—and the world—down; Dumbass Comment of the Week (Special Useful Idiots Edition); the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

February 23, 2022: Yoko Ono (finally?) gets the credit she deserves; a Trump-Russia fantasy; The Slow Hustle takes on the hard case of a Baltimore cop-killing; and more.

February 19, 2022: A masterclass in both-sidesism from Washington Post columnist Matt Bai; Dumbass Comment of the Week; the Mailbag; MoxieCam™; and more.

February 15, 2022: Why is John Fogerty serenading Trump crony Steve Wynn?; can Trump be barred from running for president because he flushed documents down the toilet?; The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window doesn’t know if she’s in a parody or not; Elvis Costello tells us to listen to Ian Prowse; and more.

Got suggestions, comments, complaints, tips related to any of the above, or anything else? Email me at ourland@motherjones.com.