Federalism Hits Its Peak During Virus
The coronavirus didn’t come with a set of instructions. There’s no contingency plan, no precedent, no lessons learned from past administrations. For once, history can’t teach us how to cope. It can only remind us who we are. And maybe, in a crisis like this one, that’s the most important thing of all.
The coronavirus didn’t come with a set of instructions. There’s no contingency plan, no precedent, no lessons learned from past administrations. For once, history can’t teach us how to cope. It can only remind us who we are. And maybe, in a crisis like this one, that’s the most important thing of all.
No one can prepare a president for tragedy. When people look back at Donald Trump, and how he handled this catastrophe, everyone will have their own opinions. He’s a unique leader facing a unique problem — but his solutions, they will realize, were fundamentally American. After years of looking to the federal government for every answer, he reminded the country how it was supposed to work. He is the head of the executive branch, true. But in a nation of 50 different states with different needs, he knew there was only one answer to a disaster this complex: federalism.
Local control and decentralization are quaint ideas to a lot of politicians. For Democrats and even some Republicans, national emergencies are the one time when massive government expansion isn’t just expected — but accepted. So imagine people’s surprise when President Trump, facing an unprecedented challenge with tens of thousands of casualties, takes the less traveled road. Instead of centralizing power, he’s returning it to the states. For once, the Wall Street Journal's Christopher DeMuth notes with wonder, an administration “seems intent on keeping the crisis from generating a permanent expansion of federal and executive powers.” And, in so doing, is “upending one of the most durable patterns of American politics.”
Trump, DeMuth declares, is “rewriting the book on emergencies.” He’s deferred decisions on closures, testing, treatment to local officials. He’s deregulated decisions on medicine, health care, and interstate commerce. “But mainly, he has given pride of place to federalism and private enterprise — lauding the patriotism and proficiency of our fantastic governors and mayors, our incredible business leaders and genius companies, our heroic doctors and nurses and orderlies, and our tremendous truckers. By shouting out many of them by name and documenting their deeds on a daily basis, he has vivified the American way in action (once reluctantly aroused).”
If people question why he hasn’t issued nationwide orders, he responds simply that the states are all dealing with varying levels of infection and should be empowered to respond appropriately. Together, it’s all resulted in a bifurcation of the states that we haven’t seen in decades. Even Republicans haven’t been immune to the temptations of power-grabbing and expansion. After 9/11, America witnessed a massive growth of government when President George Bush added huge agencies with extraordinary authority. Now obviously, there were some problems that needed to be addressed federally, but this president is pushing the responsibility — along with resources — back to the states and allowing them to craft a response that fits their community.
Of course, as Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) pointed out on “Washington Watch,” that doesn’t mean people appreciate it. “I have to say,” she agreed, “President Trump is going a good job.” But unfortunately, she sighed, “He can’t win.” “On one hand, Democrats and liberals will say, ‘Oh, you need a federal response, you need a federal testing program, you need a federal program to distribute ventilators.’ And, they were complaining, complaining, complaining. I heard this non-stop. And then when the president does say he wants to do something, then it’s, ‘Oh, he wants to be a king…’” People who want to hate him, she argued, are going to hate him no matter what he does.
And what he’s doing, Lesko agrees, is giving our country the chance to be creative and create more competition. “There’s a lot of innovation going on,” she said, because of this deregulation. “My Democratic colleagues think government is answer for everything. I haven’t found one thing — except maybe law enforcement and the military — that the government is better [at] than the private sector. So I’m glad that President Trump and his administration are taking this tactic.”
It’s a refreshing change from the heavy, one-size-fits-all approach of past presidents. And who knows? America may emerge from this privatized, decentralized response more economically stable than we did in past crises. Because, although we’ve had this historic infusion of funding, pushing this back to the states means we won’t be creating new entities that require money in the future. So when this crisis passes, there’s a good chance the increased spending will too. Either way, DeMuth insists, it will “be a great blessing” that, for once, a catastrophe of this magnitude was “managed and subdued with vigorous localism.” It proves that government can provide leadership and still “stay within its constitutional rails.”
Originally published here.
Breaking China: One Path to Payback
“What can we do about it?” The question, John Demers said, was about China. It was 2018, and he, along with then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, were sitting around the table with members of the FBI. The intelligence community was tracking a widescale campaign of intellectual theft and other economic espionage from the communist regime. China had been attacking the United States from within, and the Justice Department was ready to do something about it.
The result, Sessions told me on “Washington Watch,” was a project called the China Initiative. Despite being excused as attorney general six days after it launched, the Alabama senator’s taskforce is alive and thriving — and one of the few nationwide efforts already in place to take on the country responsible for the global pandemic.
Since its inception, Politico points out, “the project has targeted a host of Chinese government officials.” Most recently, in February, it charged four members of China’s military with hacking and stealing more than 145 million Americans’ information. “This was an organized and remarkably brazen criminal heist of sensitive information,” Sessions’s successor, William Barr, pointed out at the time. It was a powerful sign that China was taking advantage of America and violating the law long before the coronavirus. And yet, Sessions lamented, “very little action had been taken against the Chinese” up until his initiative.
Now, in just two years, the bureau says that more than a thousand cases are being investigated against China all over America. “And my view, fundamentally,” Sessions insisted, “is that we need to say [our current relationship with the regime] is over. The pandemic and the way they’ve handled the [truth] about the virus is a Sputnik moment. It’s a moment when everybody in America, [as] we saw [when] the Russians [were] moving forward with the satellites for the first time, [has] to wake up. It’s time to understand the nature of this regime and start slamming the door on what they’re doing, stand up to them, and not allow them to take advantage of the United States.”
If America and the rest of the world had had just three more weeks of warning — instead of this stream of Chinese lies, cover-up, and propaganda — thousands of people would be alive.
“[W]e cannot let them wriggle off the hook,” Senator Sessions insisted. “My experience is that when you talk to China, catch them red-handed on something, they deny it. You mentioned it again, they deny it. You mention it again, they deny it and then attack you… And then, finally, the world gets tired and goes away. But this one is too big. It cannot go away. We’ve got to bring the truth out. We need to take off the rose-colored glasses and to reestablish and reset our relationship with China… Many of us [had] hoped that they would moderate as they got wealthier and more educated. But they haven’t. [They’re] more brutal than ever.”
Drawing on his vast years of experience in Congress and at the helm of the Justice Department, Sessions created his own roadmap for confronting China called “Betting on America.” And it’s not just a legal or diplomatic approach, but a practical, everyday American response. It calls for things like a select committee for investigation, a “Buy American” policy on medicine, supplies, and equipment, an end to funding for China and its accomplices, and other measures.
But ordinary citizens have a part to play too, he points out. When consumers see “Made in China” on the label, “they absolutely do need to look for alternatives… There are a lot of things that we can do,” he assured listeners. “I really believe it’s a historic moment for us to look with clarity at the nature of this regime that’s become the second greatest economy in the world.”
Originally published here.
Texas Keeps a Re-open Mind
Part of what makes the coronavirus so challenging is just how different every state is. Some have been brought to their knees by infections, others are chomping at the bit to get back to normal. No one envies the job of these governors who have to weigh the risk of personal safety with the benefits of reopening the economy. But as unique as each region is, there is one thing they all have in common — and that’s the importance, in all of this, of religious freedom.
In Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott (R) is joining the first wave of re-openings, he made sure to stress how important our freedom is at this time. As one of the few states that issued comprehensive religious liberty guidance, he wants every locality to know that it’s the government’s job to protect this fundamental right, even as they go about ensuring the public health.
As part of the latest overhaul to his executive order on religious liberty, Governor Abbott did open the door to in-person church services but stressed that houses of worship must continue to help slow the spread of the virus. “Texas is a big state and the transmission rate of COVID-19 varies in different communities.” It’s important, he noted to pay attention to your local community. “Houses of worship should conduct as many of their activities as possible remotely. Services that houses of worship cannot conduct remotely should be conducted in accordance with guidance from the White House and the [CDC].”
As churches begin the planning process for re-opening their doors, the state outlines a basic list of safety protocol. As congregations in the country mourn the loss of pastors and choir members, even for states like Texas — where deaths have been lower than most — vigilance is key. Continuing with the creative solutions that churches have implemented is still the best solution for now, Abbott urges. “For example, a church could hold "drive-in” style services. Or because Executive Order GA 16 permits drive-thrus to provide goods and services, a house of worship may, according to their faith practices, provide communion or a blessing through a similar drive-up service.“
Texans have big hearts, the governor said. So love your neighbor by taking their safety seriously. For more information on religious freedom in the age of coronavirus, check out FRC’s new issue brief here.
Originally published here.
This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.
