Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has emerged as the keystone of our nation’s capitol.

Amid a pandemic threat that has caused the nation’s worst crisis since 9/11 coupled with fiscal/economic challenges that are already the equal of the Great Recession, McConnell has been nothing short of “magnificent.”

That description came from former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who went on in his interview with me last week to call McConnell, “one of the most important Senate leaders in American history.”

Gingrich is right.

The complexity of our time, the depth of partisan rancor and the intensity of media glare will help secure McConnell’s legacy as among the most talented legislators in our nation’s history.

They called LBJ the “Master of the Senate.” In times of crisis. it’s comforting to have a leader every bit LBJ’s equal at work for the country, the Constitution and the Republican Party.

We are witnessing Leader McConnell at his finest hour.

Some say authoritarian governments are better able to manage a crisis like coronavirus than a democracy. But I say, not so fast.

The Founders wisely provided for emergency powers when needed, and both the president and governors have used these. We have institutions such as the Federal Reserve able to take quick action when needed.

But beyond that, our democracy depends on the virtue of the people. Benjamin Franklin stated what the founders understood when he said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.”

The jury is still out on whether people get this. We still have far too many people, especially young people, out and about, ignoring social distancing. People are still hoarding sanitizer, masks, and toilet paper.

Yes, we need everything medical science can bring to the table but, more than that, we need the American people to step up their sense of civic virtue.

Hugh Hewitt and Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly discuss the situation on the USS Theodore Roosevelt amidst the coronavirus outbreak.

The coronavirus forced a resolution of Israel’s polarizing, paralyzing political stalemate. Benny Gantz, the former army chief-of-staff who fought Prime Minister Netanyahu to a virtual tie in three national elections in the course of a year, finally accepted his rival’s invitation to join “an emergency national unity government” to fight the pandemic.

To do so, Gantz had to split with the left-leaning elements of his Blue-and-White Party. Now this isn’t a betrayal—it’s a demonstration of putting patriotism above party. Netanyahu also agreed to concessions—after 18 more months in the top job, Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister will also step down and enable his new partner to become Prime Minister for the next eighteen months. The clearest winner in all this is the nation of Israel, which sends a message to her American friends about the importance of coalition and compromise, especially in times of peril.

Townhall Review – April 4, 2020

Hugh Hewitt talks with retired Admiral James Stavridis about the effects the Coronavirus has on military readiness.

Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson talk with David Harsanyi of National Review about how the private sector is stepping up to help with the Coronavirus crisis.

Chris Stigall and China expert Gordon Chang talk about the mysteries and conspiracy theories related to the origin of the Coronavirus in China.

Hugh Hewitt talks with Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton about the timing of the U.S. response to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Hugh Hewitt talks with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell about the efforts to get the aid package through Congress.

Hugh Hewitt talks with Ohio Attorney General David Yost about that state’s efforts to get approval from the FDA for a process to sanitize masks for reuse.

Steve Cortes and Brit Hume talk about media bias as it relates to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Sebastian Gorka talks with Mike Lindell about his company’s retooling to make medical masks instead of pillows.

The coronavirus crisis has already exacted a significant toll on our country, with lost lives and lost livelihoods. Our economy is basically shut down, with millions joining the ranks of the unemployed each week.

I know that all Americans, like me, are eager to get back to life as usual. But this coronavirus crisis is one that will not end on our own timing. And we will need both grace and patience to carry us through.

We will not be able to restart our economy until the worst of the public health crisis has passed. It will be hard to convince people to eat out, shop at the mall, attend a sporting event or take that trip to Europe until they believe it is safe to do so.

So that means—as hard as it is—we wait at home for this crisis to end. With the confidence that this, too, shall pass.

Hugh Hewitt invites Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to talk about the relief package he helped pass to keep the American economy from crumbling amidst the coronavirus.