Giving His Party the Willies

(Photo by Dallas Morning News)

Willie Brown is a partisan grey eminence of the Democratic Party, but that doesn't stop him from making political assessments that his colleagues don't want to hear. [bold added]

In the case of the pandemic, our best interests are twofold: our physical health and our economic health.

So far, Democrats give the impression they hold our health in highest regard. Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and our own Gavin Newsom have been the party’s most vocal supporters of a stay-at-home strategy.

Republicans, of course, are taking their cue from President Trump and presenting themselves as the champions of the economy. The sooner the full reopening, the better....

The question is, which side will voters be on come November?

My bet is on the reopening.

People are concerned about their health, but their fear of not making the rent or mortgage is much more tangible and immediate.

We Democrats try to assure people that we can have a shutdown and still help them with the rent.

But the public doesn’t see it. Those $1,200 stimulus payments are already a distant memory.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s push for a $3 trillion spending package, much of which would help city and state governments cope with the pandemic, is great public policy. But unless your paycheck comes from the government, you probably don’t care that much about state and local budgets.

You care about the rent.

IMHO, Willie Brown is probably right about Republican success in November, but a second wave of infection could make him wrong.

By the way, the Chronicle headline writer took liberties with the text by converting Willie Brown's "economic health" into the more value-laden "Wealth". Indeed, the Chronicle is just reinforcing the readership's beliefs that Republicans choose filthy lucre over health and safety, and it's not the worst misrepresentation we've ever seen.