I listened to the podcast version of this article over the weekend. The GOP is failing to govern because they don’t know how to in a pandemic. And failed to learn the lessons of 1929 - they’re afraid of spending. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/8/17/21368234/trump-republicans-covid-19-2020-democrats-senate-relief-stimulus-polls

When the Great Depression hit in 1929, conservatives went right to their austerity playbook and inflicted a decade of pain on the country. They were still refusing to spend in the election of 1932, when they were wiped out by FDR. FDR stood for ‘not austerity’ but nothing else.

Funny thing about the Election of 1932, no one knew what FDR stood for, if anything. It’s not clear FDR knew what FDR stood for. But people knew extreme austerity was not a winning play.

Here we are again. What does Biden stand for? Does it matter as long as it’s not austerity?

I’m not saying Biden is FDR (and not saying he’s NOT FDR, we have no idea) but his entire campaign is not those guys and not austerity and, in bad economic conditions, history has awarded that stance warmly.

Austerity is never a winning campaign issue. ‘We’re going to take stuff away’ isn’t something people vote for. That’s why the GOP platform is lampshaded with so much other... garbage issues.

In the election of 2020, the garbage doesn’t have as much sway. It’s austerity or not.