How the coronavirus could change our politics

The coronavirus pandemic has been unprecedented in its scope and duration, as has our response to it. The economy stands still while millions of people file for unemployment, our healthcare system is working overtime to prevent an exhaustion of resources, and our lawmakers are struggling to find ways to provide immediate relief while minimizing long-term damage.

All of this has required a kind of political and economic flexibility that has the potential to change the way we think about and address future crises. And it has, in some ways, accelerated the political realignment we first noticed in 2016 with the election of President Trump.

On one side, we have the populist Right, whose most vocal representative in Congress is probably freshman Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri. Since his first day in office, Hawley has advocated for an end to free-market dogma, elitism, and overseas commitments that bind us too closely to China. Heretofore seen as overzealous and even outlandish, Hawley now looks like one of the most reasonable guys in the room: Congress’s $2.2 trillion relief package is proof that the government can do more to help and represent the struggling working class, and China’s continued manipulation and repression throughout this pandemic will surely increase skepticism towards the communist regime in the halls of Congress, if not in the national media.