This pandemic is laying bare long standing problems with how our government works. Two things which are exacerbating the crisis and (rightfully) getting a lot of negative attention are just the most recent examples of really common things that happen in government.

First, McConnell blocking the stimulus package. Yes he’s the one doing it, but he’s doing it because a majority of his caucus oppose it. If Senate GOP supported $2000 relief checks, it would get to the floor. This is standard Hastert Rule/Cartel theory stuff.

McConnell can’t bring the bill to the floor because if it got a vote it would pass with a majority of Republicans voting against. “Don’t force your members to take uncomfortable votes” and “Don’t let your party get rolled” are pretty much rules 1 and 2 for party leaders.

McConnell is a cynical ass, but the here the cynical part isn’t his refusal to being the bill to the floor, it’s his pretending to support it all the while. All in all, the problem isn’t McConnell, it’s his caucus.

Second, vaccine distribution. Federal government is being absentee on the issue, forcing states to handle it themselves without ponying up any money. While this doesn’t technically fit the definition, pretty much this is just another unfunded mandate.

Typically an unfunded mandate is something federal law requires states to do without federal $, and there are several hundred of them in law. But vaccine distribution is every bit as necessary as carrying out federal law. And until the latest spending bill there has been zero...

federal spending for it because the Trump admin and Senate GOP has blocked it. This whole pandemic has been a textbook example of what happens when a national issue is delegated to the states without any federal guidance or $. Vaccine distribution is a continuation of that.

What’s going on in government is not new or unusual; this is just how our government works. What’s new is the scope of the problem and the amount of attention being paid to old dysfunctions in our system.