Aside from the slings and arrows thrown more sparingly than usual by President Trump, the nearly two-month-long coronavirus crisis has been largely free of the bitter partisan politics that have roiled our nation in recent years.
Until last week, that is.
Yes, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, perhaps unsurprisingly, went there even now, as families across the country have been reeling amid a steadily mounting Covid-19 death toll.
After offering desperately needed financial relief to small businesses, Congress began debating whether to fund states whose annual budgets have been decimated because of the coronavirus. McConnell’s pathetic response: Fund yourselves or declare bankruptcy, saying he would have no more “blue state bailouts.”
That clearly angered Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who for weeks had called on Congress to fund the states, noting that New York is staring down a historically high $10 billion to $15 billion gap in its budget. Without federal intervention, New York might be forced to cut 20 percent of aid for essential services like fire, police, hospitals and schools.
How to write your U.S. representative
Go to these websites to reach your local congressional representatives:
• U.S. Rep. Peter King, 2nd District, http://peteking.house.gov.
• U.S. Rep. Thomas Suozzi, 3rd District, http://suozzi.house.gov.
• U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice, 4th District, www.kathleenrice.house.gov.
• U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, www.schumer.senate.gov.
• U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, www.gillibrand.senate.gov.