America’s response to the coronavirus has been horrifically bungled. It has been so horrifically bungled it actually makes the Chinese government’s response, or at least certain aspects of it, look reasonable by comparison. The Chinese government’s decision to downplay the extent of the problem and fail to take early actions has been mirrored by Western governments, as has the subsequent panic and lockdown implementations. At least there was no censorship or cover up in the West, and that is significant. But while the Chinese government implemented contact tracing and quarantine facilities like other Asian countries and restricted lockdowns to the hardest hit areas, America and Europe have opted for prolonged nationwide lockdowns without taking any of these types of containment measures.

Democrats are right to highlight Trump’s failures to prepare for the outbreak or mobilize resources and provide support and leadership at the federal level, and these have been appalling failures on his part. But Democrats’ failures have been equally appalling, if not worse, by opting for prolonged shutdowns costing millions of jobs without making any efforts on their part to contain the spread of the virus. The decision by Democrats to politicize this and spread fear and hysteria has been reckless and irresponsible and has done far more harm than good. The political dialogue on this can be summed up in the following way: Trump wants to reopen the economy and do nothing to contain the spread of the virus, while Democratic governors and mayors want to keep the economy closed and do nothing to contain the spread of the virus, putting millions out of work while the death toll continues to rise.

I usually side with Democrats on political issues and strongly oppose Trump and the far-right. But in this case, Trump and the Republicans have the upper hand. While reopening the economy without any containment measures is reckless and irresponsible, the shutdown simply cannot continue, and it has done more harm than good. The Democrats’ insistence on prolonging it rather than implementing containment measures like Asian countries and taking measures to allow businesses to reopen is even more reckless and irresponsible than Trump’s position. Rather than work with businesses to let them take measures to slow the spread of the virus and keep operating, Democrats insist on measures that will keep costing millions of jobs per week, which could cost them heavily with working class voters who have born the brunt of these losses.

There have been protests and rallies across the country against the shutdown and calling for the economy to reopen. These rallies have been organized by far-right groups and Democrats have been happy to dismiss them as political stunts that only reflect the view of a radical fringe group. This really does demonstrate just how ignorant and elitist Democrats have become. Their insistence on seeing this as a political issue rather than an economic issue pertaining to peoples’ livelihoods shows how little empathy there is on the left. While it may be true that the organizers and many of the participants of these rallies are right-wing extremists, they are voicing legitimate grievances held across the political spectrum. These rallies are a further case of the far-right tapping into working class discontent to boost their support. Their message is one that will resonate with the millions who have lost their jobs and businesses and the millions more who may follow. At a time when Democrats have already lost much support from the white-working class, they are alienating this demographic even further.

The position of Trump and the far-right shifts the blame for the bad economy and job losses onto the Democrats. Trump will be able to argue that he fought to protect jobs while the Democrats took them away by insisting on a prolonged economic shutdown. It may be nothing more than a political stunt, but it is a valid argument too. Since the Democrats, particularly mayors and governors, have insisted on shutting down the economy for a prolonged period of time while failing to do their part to take sensible measures to contain the virus, the blame for the economic fallout does fall largely on them. This is something that could cost the Democrats heavily come November.

It is not just with the white-working class where Democrats could suffer, but with working class minorities too. Working class black and Hispanic communities have been particularly hard hit both by the job losses and the virus itself. These are groups that already feel neglected and abandoned by political parties and the impacts of the shutdown and the failure to help their communities cope with and contain the spread of the virus will only amplify those feelings. Inner city neighborhoods have proven particularly susceptible to the spread of the virus and available data suggests a majority of coronavirus deaths have occurred in these communities. Most cases have occurred in cities with large working class minority populations: New York, Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, etc. In New York, a majority of cases have been concentrated in inner city neighborhoods, particularly in Queens and the Bronx. In Chicago, they have been heavily concentrated on the South and West Sides and other inner city neighborhoods. These types of communities are particularly prone to the spread of the virus because of their population density. Living conditions are more cramped and crowded and it is more common to have extended families living together or large groups sharing the same residence for financial reasons, meaning people who get sick have no way to isolate themselves and keep from infecting vulnerable members of their households.

The failure to implement proper containment measures such as contact tracing and quarantine facilities so people who cannot safely isolate at home do not spread the virus to other people in their households has allowed the coronavirus to ravage poor inner city communities. The failure to redistribute testing kits to the communities that need them the most and keep residents informed when cases have occurred in their apartment buildings is a further sign of neglect for minority communities. The responsibility to implement these measures ultimately falls on state and local governments, meaning the blame for this neglect falls largely on Democratic governors and mayors. They cannot blame the White House for their own failures to make proper use of the resources at their disposal and do their part to contain the spread of the virus in vulnerable communities. While many on the left have been happy to highlight the racial and economic disparities highlighted by the coronavirus outbreak, they have done little or nothing to address these disparities or take measures to compensate and help those adversely effected by these disparities. This failure is also something that could hurt Democrats in November and depress voter turnout amongst minorities.

Trump’s failure at the federal level to make advance preparations and lead a national response and ensure proper supplies does not excuse the failure of state and local governments to make their own preparations and do their part. The Democrats were given an important opportunity to not only highlight Trump’s failures and ineptitude as commander-in-chief but to step up and demonstrate that they are the better party to lead the country. They have blown and squandered that. The fact of the matter is the Hong Kong government was just as poorly prepared for the outbreak and just as ill equipped as its U.S. counterparts. But it has still successfully kept things under control without any shutdowns or stay-at-home orders. If U.S. states had chosen to implement a different set of measures in March the situation could have worked out very differently, rather than deteriorating to where it is now. If they had followed the lead of places like Hong Kong and most cities on the Mainland and used quarantine facilities and contact tracing while allowing businesses to change the way they operate to help slow the spread of the virus while remaining open, many of those 42,000 people would still be alive and many of those 22 million people would still have jobs. So many absurd excuses have been made for why this approach was not tenable in America and Europe, many of which emphasize a lack of available testing. But this was no different in China, and in fact, the state of New York managed to acquire enough testing kits to test more people per capita than South Korea. It simply failed to make effective use of its resources or get them to the places that needed them the most out of sheer incompetence and neglect.

Democrats have only solidified their image as an elitist party that does not care about the plight of working people. A party of wealthy white liberals who preach a message of social justice, equality and compassion for underprivileged minorities but at the end of the day only care about their own, personal self-interest. A party that, just like the Republicans, puts partisanship ahead of leadership and governance. The only hope for Democrats is if Joe Biden can distance himself from the appalling failures of other Democrats. Fortunately, a recent op-ed Biden published in the New York Times suggests he understands the shutdown cannot continue and that he supports stronger action to contain the virus and work with businesses so that they can safely re-open and take measures on their own to slow the spread of the virus. If Democrats want any hope of defeating Trump and the Republicans in November, it is important for more to speak out against the failures of others in their party and chart their own course, rather than play a game of politics with the White House that they are likely to lose as millions continue to lose their jobs and businesses.