Four hours of chaos, violence, and destruction at Capitol on Jan. 6 instigated by Donald Trump and hundreds of Republican elected officials who aided him in sowing doubt about the integrity of the election will cost the nation—just in monetary terms—more than $30 million. That includes attempting to address the trauma for all the Capitol Hill workers made victims, for restoring and repairing physical damage done to the buildings and the art and fixtures in them, and for the increase in security the presence of seditionists still in the complex requires. That's $7.5 million per hour. It makes the $1.9 trillion President Biden is asking to clean up 12 months of pandemic disaster foisted on the nation by Trump and those same derelict Republican lawmakers look like a bargain.
That's not going to stop those derelict Republicans, like Sen. Marsha Blackburn, from tweeting stupendously stupid attacks complaining about the price tag for saving the nation. Or House Republicans from spouting elementary school-level taunts like: "If this package was clearly about crushing the virus, then why is less than 9 percent of all total spending actually used to put shots in people's arms?" Because that's how many arms there are to put shots in? Congressional Republicans are intent on pretending like none of this money is going to actually help people if for no other reason than to convince each other that they should go against overwhelming public opinion and oppose the bill.
It's increasingly irrational, this blind opposition to a hugely popular bill that will provide real, critical ongoing relief to millions of people—all the stuff that Republican lawmakers are studiously avoiding. Direct payments, monthly checks for families with young children, continued boosts to unemployment checks, and yes, shots in arms. As well as funding for state, local, and tribal governments and more funding for schools. There's funding for industries that have been particularly hard hit—which means jobs—and more funding for more small businesses, particularly those that have been left out so far. Which also means jobs. And yes, $160 billion for putting vaccines in peoples arms—and the testing and contact tracing and the logistical support needed to accomplish all of this. Which also means jobs.
If you ask Republican mayors about it, they'll tell you they want that money. All of it they can get. "The need is real and it's not just in Democratic-core communities," said Bryan Barnett, the Republican mayor of Rochester Hills, Michigan. His city has lost "millions and millions" in tax revenue because of the pandemic. "This isn't because of some gross mismanagement or some bad contracts that were signed or historic deficits. This is about addressing the needs of a global pandemic that are really (for) the same constituents they serve in D.C. that we're serving here at the local level." Another, GOP Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, said: "I'm just scratching my head trying to figure out why this would be a partisan issue, because what we're talking about is COVID relief, which should be a nonpartisan issue." He pointed to the twice-weekly food distributions the city holds for about 1,500 families every event. The city has seen decreasing federal funding to help feed his people, he said. "These aren't bells and whistles we're talking about. These are the essentials of life and the essentials of keeping families together and keeping them housed and fed."
"I'm a one-issue voter," said David Holt, Republican mayor of Oklahoma City. "If it's good for cities, and especially for Oklahoma City, I'm going to be supportive. The $350 billion for cities and states is a no-brainer to me, regardless of your political party." Back to Mayor Barneet in Rochester Hills: "The people in my community, they don't relate this to McConnell versus Schumer. They relate this to the Ram's Horn restaurant and the ownership that they know personally and the wait staff that they know personally. It's the dry cleaner that they go to every Monday morning. That's what it's like in the frontlines in America."
Plenty of Republican governors have similar sentiments. "Now what overrides everything else is the covid problem and how we get vaccine out,” Ohio's GOP Gov. Mike DeWine told The Washington Post. "You find governors are very, very focused on this, and the White House is very focused on this. It's an area where ideological differences are virtually insignificant." Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson agreed. "There's not a more bipartisan issue than vaccine distribution. … The dialogue has been consistent, it has been helpful, it has been all working together on the same team to get this project done and covid behind us." West Virginia's Republican Gov. Jim Justice was clear in a briefing earlier this month when he endorsed Biden's plan over the $600 billion Republican senators were advocating for. "I don't think that America can go wrong being too high, I really don't … I think, today, America's got to go to the higher number.”
Not that Biden is getting that kind of support from every Republican. Alaska's Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who calls Trump "the best president for Alaska since statehood," is miffed that Biden isn't on the phone to him every day. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is also miffed that Biden hasn't crafted a response plan tailored to his own state. "I was at the inauguration and heard the speech firsthand about working together and unity," Burgum said. "And the first couple of weeks has been a barrage of executive orders that have had a direct impact on our economy, our communities, our schools." The Post did not follow up with a question about what specifically any of Biden's orders—which have not include lockdowns, mask mandates (outside of federal buildings), or school closures—had such a direct impact on his state's economy. That's the kind of hyperbole that demands some fact-checking.
Meanwhile, the administration continues weekly coronavirus response calls, something former Vice President Mike Pence used to lead. Now it's led by Jeff Zients, Biden's coronavirus response coordinator who is actually doing real work on the coronavirus response and not using the calls just to make himself useful. The calls are now held by teleconference rather than video, and "are more businesslike and streamlined, 45 minutes rather than up to two hours." Which of course some Republican governors—Burgum—are bitching about because they are not getting brownie points for showing up. "On a video call, every governor is like, 'If we're not on the call, they're going to see we're not. We need to be on the meeting and interact with the other governors and the Cabinet.’" In other words, "I'm important. Make this about me."
Unfortunately, the House and Senate Republican conferences are full of Burgums who are more interested in messaging than in actually working with Biden and Democrats to get us out of the mess they helped Trump create. They'll prove that in the House Friday or Saturday, when they are likely to be unanimous in opposing the relief bill when it comes to the floor, and in the Senate next week.