Brooks: Democrats Have Tried to 'Get the Issue' on COVID Relief Rather Than Solve Problem - GOP Wrongly Thinks It's 'Normal' Circumstance

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks stated that Republicans have incorrectly treated coronavirus relief “as a normal fiscal circumstance, where it’s important to save money and be fiscally responsible” and Democrats “have played this more politically, compromised less, tried to get the issue more than solve the problem.”

Brooks said, “I think, on the larger issue, the Republicans probably have this one wrong. They’re treating this as a normal fiscal circumstance, where it’s important to save money and be fiscally responsible. And they point out that hundreds of billions of dollars of the last CARES package have not been spent yet. But the fact is, this is not normal circumstances. Most economists, even Republican economists, say, this is an extraordinary circumstance. At least 63 million Americans are in serious trouble. There’s hunger in this country. This is a time to be spending money out the door just to provide a cushion under people in places — in circumstances they can’t control. So, I give the intellectual fault to the Republicans.”

He continued, “I give the political fault to the Democrats. From the beginning, they have played this more politically, compromised less, tried to get the issue more than solve the problem.”

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