Republicans for Recession
How can you tell that the GOP has accepted Biden is the duly elected president? They’re trying to destroy the economy.
Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images
Do congressional Republicans want to prolong the recession to hurt President-elect Joe Biden?
Four years ago, I might have judged any such conclusion to be too cynical. But after watching Republican officeholders denigrate face masks during a deadly pandemic and parrot President Donald Trump’s deluded claim that he won reelection on November 3, I no longer consider a pro-recession GOP to stand outside the realm of possibility.
The occasion for this speculation is the last-minute Covid-19 stimulus deal that Congress has cobbled together for the holiday season. Bowing to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, congressional Democrats are preparing to sign on to a stimulus package of nearly $900 billion that excludes the Democrats’ proposed aid to state and local governments ($436 billion in the House-passed Heroes Act, $160 billion in a subsequent bipartisan package). In exchange, McConnell has withdrawn his wildly irresponsible liability shield proposal for businesses that fail to protect workers adequately from Covid-19.