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Like so many of Donald Trump's bad ideas, the first sign of trouble came in a tweet. Shortly before midnight (ET) on Sunday, the president published an all-caps missive that read, "We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. At the end of the 15 day period, we will make a decision as to which way we want to go!"

It was the first public sign that the Republican was prepared to retreat from the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. As of Monday, Trump apparently eyed March 31 as the day in which the federal response would change direction. A day later, he pointed to Easter, which this year falls on April 12.

Yesterday, the president sent a letter to governors, and while it didn't give a detailed timeline, the document said he intends to label different parts of the country as high risk, medium risk, or low risk. The idea, evidently, would be to use the labels as a guide: low-risk areas would ease their social-distancing measures and related efforts, while high-risk areas would not.

It's a deeply flawed plan, drafted for dubious reasons: Trump believes retreat will give the economy a boost, and the public-health consequences are a price he's prepared to pay.

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That's hopelessly misguided, and as Slate noted yesterday, even some in the president's party have been willing to say so.

The Donald TrumpFox News feedback loop has been on a terrifying kick this week about how you can't make the "cure" for the coronavirus pandemic (staying home so you don't get infected/infect others with a deadly respiratory virus) worse than the disease itself, because having too many people at home harms "the economy," and so everyone needs to "get back to work" at the end of a 15-day social distancing period, which Trump claims began last week. This is such a shortsighted reading of what's good for "the economy" that even hard-line Republicans are disagreeing with it.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), for example, explained, "There will be no normally functioning economy if our hospitals are overwhelmed and thousands of Americans of all ages, including our doctors and nurses, lay dying because we have failed to do what's necessary to stop the virus."

She didn't specifically reference the president, but given the context, she didn't have to.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) struck a similar note, arguing, "Try running an economy with major hospitals overflowing, doctors and nurses forced to stop treating some because they can't help all, and every moment of gut-wrenching medical chaos being played out in our living rooms, on TV, on social media, and shown all around the world. There is no functioning economy unless we control the virus."

But I was especially struck by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's (R) line:

"I've been asked if I had a reaction to the president's statements yesterday. I think we are aligned. We want to get this over with ASAP. We want people back at work. The frustration he has, I share it. Each day we can't move forward is frustrating. We're all in this together. The truth is that protecting people and protecting the economy are not mutually exclusive. In fact, one depends on the other. We save our economy by first saving lives. And we have to do it in that order."

It's not easy for a governor to adopt the opposite of Trump's line, while simultaneously saying he's "aligned" with Trump, but DeWine is no doubt aware of the president's capacity for criticism, and so it led him to adopt this carefully worded line.

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Even some Republicans aren't on board with Trump's retreat plan - MSNBC

Until they can shed the blinders that keep them chained to failed policies, they are a party doomed to repeat their mistakes.

As Congress nears completion on a $2.2 trillion stimulus plan to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus, Im tempted to suggest that were all socialists now. In the midst of an extreme crisis, weve all turned to the federal government as the one entity that is able to mitigate the damage.

Of course, admitting to all of that would be anathema to Republicans. But one of the marks of a healthy individual or organization is the ability to learn from mistakes. So it is at a moment like this that a healthy response from those on the right would be to re-examine the foundational principles that have crippled their ability to deal with the kind of crisis we face today.

It is becoming clear that that is not going to happen. Writing for The Federalist, Ben Weingarten lists the 5 paradigm shifts the Wuhan virus has revealed that Americans need (and yes, he gives himself away with the reference to the Wuhan virus).

1. Communist China is a global menace blah, blah, blah, blame China. Weve beenhearinga lot about that one.

2. Coronavirus Starkly Illustrates Globalisms Downsides pretending that walls and borders can stop a virus, Weingarten writes:

This series of events perfectly illustrates the downsides to the globalist agenda of open borders, global political institutions, and global economic integration at all costs. It perfectly illustrates the merits of an America First, nationalist agenda, including a focus on border control, national sovereignty, and eschewing of global institutions, as well as an economic independence combined with truly free, fair, and reciprocal trade.

3. We Must Establish Principles for Dealing with Crises this relates to the current conversation on the right about doing a cost-benefit analysis on lives lost vs. damage to the economy. Weingarten is merely saying that we should cost out how many lives were willing to put at risk in a crisis ahead of time.

4. The GOP Needs a Real Response for Democrats Games this one is basically an attempt to paint Republicans as victims who are being oppressed by those nasty Democrats.

Democrats will shamelessly use crises to cram their policies down our throats. Do Republicans have any answer to this?Have Republicans formulated a counter-response not only for that possibility, but for their own policies that cut in the opposite direction? Where is the GOP counter-agenda?

Weingarten actually has a point. For years now Ive been saying that, other than xenophobia and tax cuts for the wealthy, the entire Republican agenda has been to simply obstruct what Democrats propose. But notice that there is no attempt to suggest pragmatic options that might actually work. Everything is simply viewed through the lens of partisanship as a counter-agenda.

5. We Need to Get Our Fiscal House in Order the idea here is that, having just allocated trillions of dollars to deal with a pandemic, we need to do a better job of cutting federal spending. For Republicans, getting our fiscal house in order never has anything to do with the revenue side of the equation. So Weingarten didnt bother to mention the tax cut giveaway that already had the federal government bleeding red ink.

This is what passes for an analysis of our situation from conservatives. It is an attempt to take the failed policies of the past and simply dig deeper into the hole they created. That is discouraging, to say the least.

Until the Republican Party can shed the blinders that keep them chained to these failed policies, they are a party doomed to repeat their mistakes and then lie in order to avoid being held accountable.

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Republicans Are Learning All the Wrong Lessons From the Coronavirus Crisis - Washington Monthly

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) Senators have come to an agreement on the stimulus package to aid the American economy and people. But some lawmakers believe this shouldve been finished last weekend.

Senate Democrat and Republican leaders say they now agree on a $2 trillion emergency stimulus package.

Now, what we need to make sure is that the dollars that are appropriated and authorized actually get out to the communities in need as quickly as possible, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said.

Warner and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin say the bill will help keep Americans afloat due to the coronavirus.

It was hard getting there and sometimes the partisanship would fight for whatever they believed in, but what it ended up is we have a good bill right now, Manchin said.

The stimulus package provides direct payments to many Americans and emergency loans to small businesses and companies. But Senate Republicans believe this shouldve been passed days ago.

Theres really not vast differences here. The tweaking that was done I think was a political exercise, unfortunately, West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said.

Capito and Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey are frustrated by the process.

Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Are there things in there I dont like? Absolutely. I wouldve done this differently, Toomey said.

But Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine says the changes Democrats made to the bill are important.

The Senate bill that was on the table Sunday, would not have protected the lowest-income workers, would not have had the expansion for unemployment insurance to pick up everybody, Kaine said.

Once this is done, Senator Kaine says lawmakers may begin work on a fourth relief bill, if needed.

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Republicans and Democrats agree on $2 trillion stimulus plan, but some think it shouldve happened earlier - WAVY.com

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Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) caused a stir Monday night by going on Fox News and suggesting older people like him needed to take a chance with their lives in the name of reopening the economy during the coronavirus outbreak.

The man in charge of making that decision in Texas, though, has a very different take. As he confronts imposing even stricter measures for the Lone Star State, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) responded Tuesday to a question about Patricks comments.

I will base my decision as governor of the state of Texas on what physicians say, Abbott said. If the goal is to get the economy going, the best thing we can do to get the economy going is to get covid-19 behind us.

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President Trump has leaned hard into the idea of reopening the economy in recent days, but as has been noted, he only has so much power to do so. Its the governors who issue stay-at-home orders and decide what opens and what doesnt in their states.

Few of them are echoing Trump right now, which suggests that even if Trump decides he wants to reopen things on Tuesday, he set a target date of Easter, April 12 he wont be able to do it in any large measure.

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Another Republican governor, Marylands Larry Hogan, had some choice words for Trumps idea on Tuesday, referring to an imaginary clock.

We dont think that were going to be in any way ready to be out of this in five or six days, or whenever this 15 days is up from the time that they started this imaginary clock, Hogan said on CNN. Most people think that were weeks away from the peak, if not months.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R), whose state matches the description of less-affected areas that Trump has suggested could see reopenings in relatively short order, also indicated that shes looking at a longer time frame.

This situation is not going to be over in a week, said Noem, whose state has just over two dozen cases. We have another eight weeks until we see our peak infection rate.

She added, Any changes we make for how we conduct our daily lives have to be sustained.

Democrats had even more choice words for Trumps proposal, with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker saying Trump was not taking into account the true damage that this will do to our country if we see truly millions of people die. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Trumps off-the-cuff statements are really going to undermine our ability to protect people. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he and Trump are clearly operating under a different set of assumptions.

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) said: If you ask the American people to choose between public health and the economy, then its no contest. No American is going to say accelerate the economy at the cost of human life. Job one has to be save lives. That has to be the priority.

But plenty of Republicans also made their differences rather clear.

The truth is that protecting people and protecting the economy is not mutually exclusive, said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R). In fact, one depends upon the other. The fact is we save our economy by first saving lives, and we have to do it in that order.

DeWine added, When people are dying, when people dont feel safe, this economy is not coming back.

DeWine, though, maintained that he was generally aligned with Trump on coronavirus, and he wasnt the only one declining to completely distance himself from the president. Democratic Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she felt she understood Trumps inclination.

I am not interested in unnecessarily closing down businesses and taking jobs if we dont need to do that, said Brown, who issued tough restrictions on Monday. The goal of my executive order was to balance those competing demands. While I dont agree with what the president said and how he said it, I think thats what he was trying to say.

Brown added: When I was on the phone with him earlier this week, he clearly said that these difficult decisions are in the hands of governors. So I would expect that it to stay that way.

Thats the key takeaway. However much Trump wants to reopen the country, hell need governors to cooperate with that. The governors listed above represent five of the seven biggest states and more than 40 percent of the U.S. population, and theyre just the ones who have weighed in so far. Most of the other biggest states are also run by Democrats, who wouldnt be as inclined to align themselves with Trump on a controversial proposal.

As president, Trump can change the federal guidance, but its just that: guidance. Experts say he doesnt have many legal tools to override the precautions taken by state and local officials.

These governors also have to deal with problems on a more micro level and are more directly held responsible for what happens in their states. Any of them who would begin opening things up would put themselves in line for whatever criticism might follow from the fallout, and it would be much easier to readily quantify the effects of those decisions in their states particularly if they can be compared with other states that took tougher stances.

If Trump truly wants to set the ball in motion on this, hes got about 50 people he should be talking to about it. Right now, they seem pretty skeptical.

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Trump needs governors to reopen the economy. Even Republican ones aren't on board. - msnNOW

In 2016, Longwell opposed Trump in the Republican primaries but recognized the potency of his fear-and-anger platform. How could she not? It was as if he were working from Bermans playbook. During the campaign, Longwell happened to be the incoming board chair of the Log Cabin Republicans; she was the first woman to hold the post since the group was founded, in the late seventies, to advocate for gay and lesbian Republicans. The board felt intense pressure to endorse Trump, despite his selection of Mike Pence, an openly homophobic evangelical Christian, as his running mate. Longwell told me that she basically lay on the tracks to stop the group from backing Trump. Mostly, though, she watched the election unfold with dismay.

For me, the world changed in 2016, Longwell said. That summer, her first son was born. My wifes water broke the night of Melanias speech at the Convention, and a few nights later, after their sons birth, she watched on television at the hospital as Trump accepted the Republican nomination. I remember just how bad he made me feel, she said. Thats what I remember. I remember holding a new baby and feeling like this cant be whats happening. On Election Night, she was at a party in Washington, texting with another anti-Trump operative, Tim Miller, the former spokesperson for Jeb Bushs short-lived Presidential campaign. Hes going to win, Miller wrote to her. As the news sank in, she went outside and bummed a cigarette, although she no longer smoked.

Many people who opposed Trump in 2016 have their version of this story: the Election Night disbelief and shock, the litany of outrages that followed. But, unlike many others in Republican Washington, Longwell did not make her accommodations, political and moral, with the new President. When, on his second weekend in office, Trump issued an executive order banning entry into the U.S. for citizens of seven majority-Muslim nations, Longwell decided that Trump really was a danger to the country. I started thinking about: What can I do? she recalled. How can I get involved?

In the fall of 2017, Longwell was invited to a session of the Meeting of the Concerned, a semi-secret group of disaffected Republicans that had started gathering every other Tuesday in a basement conference room near Capitol Hill. The Never Trumpers were hardly a real movement, less an organized cabal than a cable-news-savvy alliance. Among them were longtime Party operatives, such as Steve Schmidt and Rick Wilson, who became regulars on liberal-leaning TV shows, and public intellectuals, such as Eliot Cohen, a former Bush Administration official who now teaches at Johns Hopkins University, and Max Boot, of the Council on Foreign Relations, who stopped writing for the Wall Street Journals increasingly pro-Trump editorial page and went to the Washington Post. With the exception of Senator John McCain, most Republican elected officials already either supported Trump or kept their mouths shut about him. Inside the Administration, some had qualms about the President, but they soon were fired or marginalized, or quit. The official Party apparatus had been taken over by the President, and Republican lobbyists, consultants, political operatives, congressional staffers, right-wing media commentators, and government job seekers quickly identified where their interests lay.

Jerry Taylor, who helped found the Meeting of the Concerned and the Niskanen Center, the think tank that hosts it, told me about the first time Longwell showed up. Sarah didnt know anyone in the group, he said. She had never really travelled in those circles before. Many of the attendees were well-known denizens of Washingtons TV greenrooms, who bonded over their disillusionment with the Party and saw the election of Donald Trump as just the thin blue line between us and the abyss, as Taylor put it. Longwell wanted more than this talky self-styled resistance. She told me, Everybody was sitting around having a conversation that I had heard lots of versions of at that point, which is: What happened to the Republican Party? When Bill Kristol, a Republican pundit and the founder of The Weekly Standard, spoke up, Longwell recalled, she interrupted him: Why dont we do something about it? And he was kind of, like, Well, what would we do? And I was, like, I dont know, but youre famous. Youre Bill Kristol.

Kristol has been a leader of the hawkish neoconservative wing of the Party since arriving in Washington, as a member of the Reagan Administration. In 2016, he made a well-publicized attempt to recruit a last-ditch independent candidate to run against Trump. Having failed to find anyone of stature, Kristol settled on an obscure former C.I.A. officer and congressional staffer named Evan McMullin, whose candidacy never rose above the level of obscurity. After their initial meeting, Kristol and Longwell went out for coffee, and she urged him to take action again. They started brainstorming regularly at the Madison Hotel.

Then Mueller happened, Longwell said, and the idea for their group, Republicans for the Rule of Law, was born. Trumps firing of the F.B.I. director James Comey, in the spring of 2017, had set off the first major crisis of his Presidency, leading to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel. Longwell and Kristol decided that their group would try to insure that Trump did not fire Mueller or block the investigation; to do this they would pressure Republican officials in the capital. I did think someone needed to fight the fight within the Republican Party, that you cant just give up even though its a long shot against a Republican President, Kristol told me. Sarah agreed.

In February, 2018, as Trump was publicly attacking Mueller, Longwell set up Defending Democracy Together, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that could accept donations without having to disclose donors. Defending Democracy Together became the umbrella organization for Republicans for the Rule of Law and other like-minded projects that sought to combat Trumps policies. Longwell and Kristol worked his contacts and raised substantial sums of money, including from liberal donors such as Pierre Omidyar, the tech billionaire who funds the left-wing Web site the Intercept.

Starting that March, whenever Trump threatened Mueller or opened a new front in his fight against the Russia hoax, the group ran TV ads defending the investigation, many of them featuring quickly produced clips of news footage or Trumps latest tweet, with urgent pleas to members of Congress to stop the President. All told, before the Mueller investigation was over, Republicans for the Rule of Law had run more than a hundred ads, aimed at a narrow but important segment of persuadable Republicans in key states, seeking to convince Party leaders that even Trumps base would not go along with his firing of the special counsel. In the hope of getting directly to the President, Longwell also ran the ads in Washington on Fox News, which Trump watches addictively.

In 2018, at a session of the Meeting of the Concerned, Longwell met George Conway, the husband of Trumps White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway. A prominent conservative attorney, he had accepted, then declined, a senior position in Trumps Justice Department. Earlier that year, Conway had started tweeting his dismay about Trump, thus setting off a marital-political drama worthy of a reality-TV Presidency. Like Longwell, Conway was invited into the capitals Never Trump circle, but he, too, decided that the meetings were often frustrating exercises in therapy. He craved action. (Look, theres a lot of benefit just to catharsis, Jerry Taylor joked to me, especially given that the alternative is to become an alcoholic, which is easy to do in this town now.)

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The Trials of a Never Trump Republican - The New Yorker