A16| Monday, November 16, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Biden Will Benefit From Trump’s Covid Work
Holman Jenkins contends that “It’s
Biden’s Virus Now” (Business World,
Nov. 11). From a policy standpoint, Mr.
Jenkins is correct: Come January, it
will be up to the Biden administration
to eradicate, or at least manage, the
coronavirus, a task that will doubtless
be aided by the vaccines developed un-
der President Trump’s unacknowledged
Operation Warp Speed.
From a political standpoint, how-
ever, Mr. Jenkins couldn’t be more
wrong—this will never be “Biden’s vi-
rus.” To the extent that Joe Biden’s ad-
ministration fails in its struggle against
the pandemic, Covid will remain Presi-
dent Trump’s virus and the Biden fail-
ure will be blamed on President
Trump’s letting the virus get out of
control. On the other hand, to the ex-
tent that the new administration suc-
ceeds in its efforts against the corona-
virus, the result will be portrayed as
the enlightened Biden team’s triumph
over the former administration’s in-
competence and “denial of science” in
the face of the Trump virus.
Most of us don’t care who gets the
credit, we just want the Covid situationameliorated so we can get back to nor-
mal. But in Washington, where politics
is everything, this will never be Biden’s
virus, it will always be Mr. Trump’s vi-
rus and hence a win/win for Mr. Biden.
MARKM.QUINN
Naperville, Ill.Mr. Jenkins nails it about the num-
ber and importance of undetected
Covid cases. The CDC in June con-
firmed that undetected Covid cases are
about 10 times greater than detected
cases. Given our 10 million detected
cases and adding ten times that for un-
detected cases, our likely immunity is
110 million people. Add this to another
50 million that develop an immunity by
next May plus 70 million vaccinations
by then and we’re at the level needed
for herd immunity according to “Na-
ture Communications.”
Herd immunity is the only way to
stop a virus. Fortunately, better treat-
ments have significantly reduced the
death rate. With Operation Warp Speed
vaccines we may get there even sooner.
EDKAHL
Woodside, Calif.LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
“Shouldn’t I have a desk
or something?”THE WALL STREET JOURNALLetters intended for publication
should be emailed to [email protected].
Please include your city, state and
telephone number. All letters are sub-
ject to editing, and unpublished letters
cannot be acknowledged.A Short History of Congressional Obstruction
William Galston sets forth policy
issues in “Where Biden and McCon-
nell Can Agree” (Politics & Ideas, Nov.
11) assuming that Republicans main-
tain a Senate majority and GOP votes
are needed to advance Joe Biden’s
agenda. Mr. Galston warns that if Sen.
Mitch McConnell fails to compromise,
he “risks opening his party to charges
of obstructionism—and losing the
support of moderate and independent
voters who deserted Mr. Trump.”
Republicans in Congress have been
typecast by news media as obstruc-
tionists since Ronald Reagan was
president. For a half-century before
the Reagan years, the GOP had so lit-
tle power in Congress that obstruc-
tion was rarely an option. The narra-
tive for the last four decades is that
Republicans are born obstructionists,
while Democrats are innately prone
to compromise and forward progress.
Democrats spent the last four years,especially the last two, doing every-
thing in their power to obstruct GOP
initiatives, but most journalists re-
ported that just-say-no Sen. McCon-
nell and obstinate President Trump
stood in the way of legislative
achievements. Consider, though, the
stimulus package that was stalled in
Congress before the election. Republi-
cans offered a $500 million package,
eventually upping it to $1.8 trillion.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused
to budge on a $2.2 trillion spending
demand. Was 82% of a GOP stimulus
loaf in October not better than no
loaf at all? Were Democrats blamed
by reporters for being obstruction-
ists? Of course not; ornery Sen.
McConnell was the culprit.
The only way for Republicans to
dodge the obstructionist label is to
become Democrats.
ADAMGRAHAM
Charleston, S.C.Philadelphia Puts an Ideology Ahead of Kids
Philadelphia’s banning of Catholic
Social Services’ foster care and adop-
tion services isn’t antireligious cru-
elty, it is antichild cruelty (“Philadel-
phia’s Antireligious Cruelty” by
Thomas Paul, Houses of Worship, Nov.
6). The longstanding legal standard
for foster-care placement and adop-
tion has always been “the best inter-
ests of the child.” Philadelphia and
other jurisdictions have turned this
legal standard on its head to promote
other values. The only criteria for the
placement of children should be a sta-
ble home in which the child has the
best chance of thriving. As Mr. Paul
rightly points out, there are plenty of
agencies willing to place children in
alternative-lifestyle homes.
If Catholic Social Services pro-
vides good, stable homes for children
in which they can thrive, that should
be the only criterion. If same-sex
couples can fulfill this responsibilityas well as heterosexual couples, that
doesn’t mandate that any given child
be placed with such a couple or a
same-sex-oriented individual. They
may be candidates to serve as foster
parents, but no one has a legal right
to have a child placed in his, her or
their home. Children shouldn’t be
used as pawns toward serving subor-
dinate objectives.
Society has taken a step forward
in attempting to eradicate discrimi-
nation against and the persecution
of individuals with a same-sex orien-
tation by protecting their legal
rights and affirming their human
dignity. Philadelphia has taken two
steps backward by confusing that
goal with acting in the best interests
of children.
REV.PHILLIPJ.BROWN,PSS
President-Rector
St. Mary’s Seminary & University
BaltimorePublic Workers Need to Face
The Private-Workers’ Music
“States, Cities Cut Retiree Health
Perks” (Business & Finance, Nov. 9)
lays out the grim economic reality
affecting state and city retiree health
plans. While this had been evident
for some time, it needed the Covid-
pandemic’s impact on state and city
finances to finally show that these
benefits offered to public-sector
members are no longer sustainable.
More than a generation ago the
private sector, for the most part, de-
cided to curtail such largess for its
employees, as well as to replace de-
fined-benefit pension plans with
those based on defined contribu-
tions. As painful as it was at the
time, the private workforce has
learned to adapt to the new benefits
landscape.
Now it is time for the public sec-
tor to catch up with economic reality.
RICHARDJ.PEARSE
Bethesda, Md.Pepper ...
And SaltThe World Bank Should Lead in Debt Relief
There was a stark omission in David
Malpass’s “To Cope With Covid, the
World’s Poor Need Debt Relief” (op-
ed, Nov. 5). While he is right in his ar-
gument that the world’s poorest coun-
tries urgently need debt relief from
creditors, it was stunning to see Mr.
Malpass fail to include the World Bank
as a creditor. Between now and the
end of 2021, the world’s poorest coun-
tries will owe $18.2 billion to the mul-
tilateral banks including the WorldBank and IMF. The aftershocks of
Covid-19 have been devastating for
many African countries who are being
forced to make impossible choices
over whether to pay off debt or invest
in fighting the pandemic and stabiliz-
ing their economies. As president of
the World Bank, Mr. Malpass rightly
advocates that the G-20 must do more
on debt relief, but the World Bank has
yet to take any steps to suspend debt-
service payments. By the World Bank’s
own estimates, the pandemic could re-
sult in 150 million more people falling
into extreme poverty. Mr. Malpass
knows that debt service relief is a vital
tool to help stem the pandemic’s im-
pact, but the bank still hasn’t used it.
TOMHART
North American Executive Director
ONE Campaign
WashingtonWhy Democrats Nearly Lost the House
D
emocrats nearly lost their majority in
the House on Nov. 3, and their post-
election recriminations show the rea-
son. They think their problem
was their packaging instead
of their policies.
Democrats have already
lost eight seats net and could
lose as many as 13 after the
counting ends. They lost two
in South Florida, at least two in California, and
here and there across the country in places
they had gained in 2018. They failed to pick up
seats in Texas, Ohio or Florida, which they had
targeted. We also count some 26 seats so far
that Democrats won with 52% of the vote or
less, despite a huge fund-raising advantage.
iii
The result may be the smallest House major-
ity since 1919, and it’s especially shocking as
Democrats reclaimed the White House. Joe Bi-
den leads Donald Trump in the national popular
vote by about 3.6%, while House Democratic
candidates are ahead by only 2.1% (a margin that
exaggerates the Democratic edge because more
Democratic seats were uncontested). House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi blamed the losses on Mr.
Trump’s ability to turn out Republicans, but the
results show that Mr. Biden is more popular
than are House Democrats.
Democrats are now brawling over the reason,
with progressives and swing-state Members
blaming each other. Progressives refuse to take
any responsibility. A post-election memo from
the left-wing Justice Democrats warned Demo-
crats against retreating from their positions on
culture or economics, claiming that their agenda
drove turnout. It quoted a New York Times arti-
cle saying, “the key is to link racism and class
conflict.”
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
blamed her defeated colleagues for not know-
ing how to run smart digital campaigns and
how to sell progressive policies. She told CNN
the problem is a weak party operation that
needs to become “stronger and more resilient
to Republican attacks.” She isn’t backing down
from the Green New Deal or cutting funds for
police, though GOP ads hammered Democrats
on both issues in swing districts.
Swing-state Members are more realistic in
that they recognize the damage from GOP ads
that attacked Democrats for socialism, defund-
ing the police, raising taxes and eliminating oil
and gas drilling. But these Democrats also seem
to think it comes down to packaging.
“We need to not ever use the word ‘socialist’
or ‘socialism’ ever again,” Virginia Rep. Abigail
Spanberger told her colleagues in a meeting af-
ter the election. “We lost good members because
of that.” She won her seat with 50.9%.
But the socialist charge
worked because in its policy
essence it was true. House
Democrats turned sharply
leftward in the last two years
as they indulged progressive
priorities across the policy
spectrum. They voted for huge new tax in-
creases, vast new spending, a gradual end to
fossil fuels, and the most radical labor agenda
since 1935.
The House didn’t vote to defund the police,
but Member after Member indulged Black
Lives Matter, which does want police budgets
slashed. Max Rose, the Democrat from Staten
Island, joined a BLM march that featured in a
Republican attack ad. He lost.
The problem isn’t the Democratic message;
it’s the reality of their program. You can dis-
guise your policies by not calling them “social-
ist,” but voters will still eventually figure out
what those policies mean in practice. They
know the Green New Deal means more expen-
sive energy and an end to fracking. They know
Mrs. Pelosi refused Mr. Trump’s offer of even
$1.8 trillion in Covid relief as too little.
They also know that Senate Democrats
talked openly about ending the legislative fili-
buster, and that House and Senate Democrats
advocated packing the Supreme Court. No
wonder they elected more Republicans in the
House and Senate as a check on these policies.
iii
If Democrats ignore this lesson, they’ll set
themselves up for further losses in 2022. Mrs.
Pelosi rules with an iron fist, but even she will
find it hard to navigate her divided caucus with
a narrow majority. Centrists will want to show
their independence from the left. Yet if Mrs.
Pelosi moves too far in the swing-seat direction,
the progressives may not go along.
Mrs. Pelosi might have to make concessions
to Republicans to pass some bills. Perhaps she
can consult former Republican Speaker John
Boehner for advice, since the progressives
could become the equivalent of the GOP Free-
dom Caucus of 2011 and 2012.
Meanwhile, GOP gains in state legislative
races mean that Republicans might gain sev-
eral seats from the reapportionment of House
districts in 2021. GOP strongholds will gain
seats, while New York could lose two and Cali-
fornia could lose one. If Democrats want to
hold the House in 2022, they will have to learn
the right policy lessons from 2020.The problem is
their policies, not
their marketing.
Rush for the Afghan Exits?
P
resident Trump has at least two months
left in office, and he can use it for good
or ill. One decision we hope he avoids,
for the sake of the country and his own legacy,
is a last-minute, rushed withdrawal of U.S.
troops from Afghanistan.
It’s no secret that Mr. Trump wants to preside
over troop withdrawals by Jan. 20 if not by
Christmas—in Afghanistan and maybe else-
where. The President thinks this is an unfinished
part of his 2016 campaign pledge to stop “endless
wars,” and he’s been frustrated that his advisers
have sometimes opposed his attempts.
“We should have the small remaining num-
ber of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in
Afghanistan home by Christmas!” Mr. Trump
tweeted on Oct. 7. His national-security adviser
qualified that tweet as aspirational, but after
the election the President fired Defense Secre-
tary Mark Esper, who had warned about a with-
drawal at this time.
Then last week Mr. Trump’s choice for acting
Secretary of Defense, Christopher Miller, sent
a memo to U.S. forces that, among other things,
said “Ending wars requires compromise and
partnership. We met the challenge; we gave it
our all. Now it’s time to come home.” A retired
Army colonel, Douglas Macgregor, is an adviser
to Mr. Miller and has been pushing for a com-
plete withdrawal from Afghanistan.
That’s bad advice, and the timing makes it
worse. The U.S. has about 4,500 troops left in
Afghanistan, which was the number Mr. Trump
agreed to earlier this year based on the recom-
mendation by the commander in the field.
That’s the minimum required for the mission
of supporting Afghan forces against the Tali-
ban, and intelligence and counterterror opera-
tions against al Qaeda and Islamic State.
Mr. Trump is considering a cut to 2,
troops within weeks, which is better than zero
but not much better. That might be sustainable
if done in gradual fashion in consultation with
allies and the Afghan government. But if it’s
rushed to meet Mr. Trump’s political deadline,
it will demoralize the Afghans, who are doing
the fighting and the dying.
Mr. Trump can take credit for reducing the
U.S. footprint and inducing the Taliban to nego-
tiate with the Afghan government. But the Tali-
ban haven’t lived up to their promise to reduce
the violence, which is getting worse. If they see
Mr. Trump withdraw further, they will have
even less incentive to negotiate in good faith.
A complete withdrawal all but guarantees a Tal-
iban-ISIS assault on Kabul, and a 1975 Saigon-
style defeat and humiliation is possible. That
would betray the blood and treasure the U.S.
has spent for 19 years.
That can’t be the legacy Mr. Trump wants,
and he won’t be able to blame it on his succes-
sor if Joe Biden becomes President on Jan. 20.
Mr. Trump will have made the fateful decision
to abandon the field. American troops in Af-
ghanistan protect U.S. national interests against
the revival of a terror sanctuary. The only bene-
ficiaries of a U.S. withdrawal now would be the
Taliban, Iran and Islamic terrorists.Newsom’s Covid Laundry
C
alifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom has been
caught violating his own social-distancing
rules by attending a birthday party at a
Napa Valley restaurant with a dozen or so
friends—even as some two million in his state are
unemployed thanks to his strict virus rules.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday
that on Nov. 6 Mr. Newsom celebrated a politi-
cal adviser’s 50th birthday with at least a dozen
people from more than three households at the
famous French Laundry restaurant (typical din-
ner: $350 excluding wine).
Last month the Governor issued rules limit-
ing attendance at all private gatherings, even
those outdoors, to three households. People
were also required to maintain at least six feet
of distance from different households at all
times. Oh, and no shouting, chanting or singing.
Good luck muting the kids at Christmas.
New rules on Friday also say people
shouldn’t play loud music or wind instruments
indoors, which could potentially spread virus
droplets. So Californians will have to celebrate
a literal Silent Night this Christmas.
We don’t know if Mr. Newsom and his friends
sang “Happy Birthday,” but his outdoor get-to-
gether doesn’t seem especially risky even
though it showed poor leadership. The Governor
said Friday that while his family “followed the
restaurant’s health protocols and took safety
precautions, we should have modeled better be-
havior and not joined the dinner.”
Nobody should begrudge the Governor for
celebrating a birthday with friends. The prob-
lem is that he and many politicians require
the hoi polloi to follow strict virus rules that
they don’t abide by themselves. Then they
threaten lockdowns as punishment if the lit-
tle people don’t comply.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser trav-
eled to Delaware to celebrate Joe Biden’s elec-
tion victory even as she told her residents not
to travel to other states. Chicago Mayor Lori
Lightfoot is saying that people must “cancel tra-
ditional Thanksgiving plans,” and invite no
guests, even as she joined a street party cele-
brating Mr. Biden’s apparent victory and spoke
with a bullhorn.
No wonder so many Americans ignore politi-
cians and other elites who lecture them about
wearing masks and following Covid-19 rules as
a moral duty.REVIEW & OUTLOOK
OPINION