Will Coronavirus Bring Politics to a Standstill?

1. Politics in the time of coronavirus

The nation is shutting down, its economy is grinding to a halt, but politics, so it seems, is still showing signs of vitality, perhaps even of growth.

President Trump has turned his almost-daily White House news briefing into a platform for deflecting criticism of his administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, topped with a dash of self-aggrandizing and of his signature attacks on political rivals and critics.

On the Democratic side, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders were forced into unknown territory, having to cancel their campaign rallies (more of a problem for Sanders, who uses them to energize thousands, than for Biden, known for his low-key events,) and to focus much of their messaging on public health issues.

In many ways, this should have been Bernie’s breakout moment.

As Americans hunker down in their homes, facing economic uncertainty and dealing with health-related anxieties, the focus has shifted to issues at the heart of Sanders’ campaign: providing universal healthcare and ensuring financial security to all. If there’s a time in which the Vermont Senator’s social-democratic message could resonate with voters, it’s now, when Americans feel vulnerable and, are looking to the government for solutions.

This is what Sanders tried to do in the one-on-one debate with Biden Sunday.

He touted his proposal for a single-payer healthcare system and upending the existing economic order as solutions for the coronavirus crisis engulfing America, framing the discussion over the pandemic in terms of social justice and class struggle.

But despite the favorable circumstances and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to market social democracy to a receptive audience, Sanders, by and large, blew the chance. As he went back time and again to the qualities of a healthcare system offering free access for all and of an economy in which the rich pay more in order to ensure that others can withstand testing times like these, Biden took a different approach. The former vice president skirted questions regarding the specifics of his plans, choosing, instead, a presidential tone, describing the battle against the spread of the coronavirus as a “war,” and putting off policy debates until this war is won.

Biden’s tactic turned out to be more effective. Pundits and TV studio commentators praised Biden for demonstrating leadership at a time of crisis and for coming across as reliable, thoughtful, and, well, presidential. And that may sum up Bernie’s political tragedy—at a time of crisis, people turn to a unifying figure, not an ideologue. And then, when the crisis is over, they forget about it all and shun revolutionary ideas in favor of the comfortable status quo.

2. Where do Jewish voters stand on the issues separating Sanders and Biden?

With no live audience, Sunday’s debate offered a rare opportunity to look at the policy differences between Biden and Sanders, many of which fall under the category of how far each candidate is willing to go to address issues of healthcare, income inequality, and climate change.

But where do Jewish voters stand on these issues?

Polling a small minority of Americans is difficult and costly. Getting into very specific questions in this type of polling is even harder, and that’s why we do not have clear numbers on where the community stands on the key issues of the Democratic primary race. But there a few clues:

It is clear that Bernie’s emphasis on healthcare as the burning issue facing Americans resonates well with Jewish voters.

A February 2020 Bend the Arc poll found that 84 percent of Jewish Americans view healthcare as their top priority or a “very important priority” when choosing the next president. Another poll, conducted in May 2019 by the Jewish Electorate Institute confirmed that Jewish voters’ top two priority issues are “protecting Medicare and Social Security” and “making quality affordable healthcare available to every American.” Now, does this mean Jewish voters necessarily prefer the Sanders Medicare for All program over Biden’s Obamacare fix? Not at all. But it should give a good indication of the fact that by making healthcare, and preserving entitlements, a major campaign issue, Sanders is in tune with the concerns of American Jewish voters.

What about gun control?

Here, the balance probably tips toward Biden. While both candidates currently share the same views on the need for immediate gun control measures, Sanders has had a problematic voting record on the issue, while Biden prides himself on actually passing gun laws that limited access to assault weapons. This is an issue Jewish voters care deeply about. 56 percent of Jewish voters, according to the Bend the Arc poll, see it as their single top priority, and in the Jewish Electorate Institute survey, 50 percent cite gun control as “one of the most important” issues they will vote on.  

When it comes to Sanders’ hallmark policy of raising taxes on the rich, there is no specific polling data about the community’s stance. According to J Street exit poll data, economic issues topped the list of Jewish concerns up to 2016, before healthcare and gun violence became the leading priorities. One could guess that Bernie’s higher taxes message would not resonate well with many Jewish Americans who belong to the upper-middle-class or are among the higher-earning Americans, but there is no real data on that.

And what about Sanders’ support for a massive climate change plan known as the “Green New Deal?” Polls indicate Jewish voters definitely care about the issue and could, potentially, support his aggressive approach.

All polls show that Jewish voters also place great importance on fighting anti-Semitism and racism. Both candidates have strong policies on the issue and both have pointed to Trump as an enabler of racism, but Biden is the one who launched his campaign with an ad highlighting the neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, describing it as his main motivation for entering the race.