Party-Line Vote on COVID-19 Stimulus Bill

Information from this article (Washington Post).

This evening, the Senate failed to pass a coronavirus stimulus package to address monetary loss for businesses, lost wages, and layoffs. Even though the senators promise to work "around the clock" to pass legislation, I wonder about how the public perceives the party-line vote on this bill. The virus-- and its economic ramifications-- are a "common enemy." Democrats voted against the bill in part because they believed that it was "tilted too far in favor of corporations." To what extent is passing the "procedural hurdle" of the vote, as Politico called it, as soon as possible more important than the details of the package itself? If the Democrats continue to resist passing the package, will it reflect poorly on them? It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming day(s).

I also wanted to consider the idea of a "common enemy" and its implications on congressional actions and partisanship more broadly. I immediately think to the Senate's unanimous approval of the Secure and Trusted Telecommunications Networks Act. This bill bans using federal dollars to purchase from telecom companies that are perceived threats, such as Huawei. Huawei supplies are used in "some of the most under-served areas," a point which may sway some Democrats to vote against the bill. However, the bill's unanimous passage is symbolic of rallying against the common enemy of a national and economic security threat.