Varney: Return to coronavirus lockdowns? That depends on politics

Seven months ago, Europe locked down. Now there's a new surge in coronavirus cases and severe restrictions are coming back. What will we do here?

The daily case count is rising. Will we go back to the stay-at-home days of April? The answer depends heavily on politics.

On one side, President Trump wants to loosen restrictions. At the state level, Republicans have been leaders in opening up their economies. And they have been reluctant to reimpose restrictions as the caseload rises.

Joe Biden goes the other way. He's talked of a national mask mandate. And he won't rule out a new lockdown. Democratic-run states have not opened up like their Republican counterparts. Some have imposed new restrictions. In California, you can only eat your Thanksgiving dinner outdoors. New York has imposed new travel restrictions.

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Clearly, there's a political split: open up vs. close down.

But there's something else that is clouding the picture. In Europe, and especially in America, we are seeing virus lockdown fatigue. Simply put, after seven months, many people have had enough. They are unwilling to continue sacrificing their personal and economic freedom.

European governments are desperately trying to avoid the draconian measures of the past because they know they'll meet resistance. And they know it would bring on another economic catastrophe.

So think about that when our political leaders here figure out how to address the second wave. Can you imagine the reaction in America if there were another stay-at-home order?

In this respect, Trump has the advantage. Americans love their freedoms.

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Adapted from Stuart Varney's "My Take" monologue on "Varney & Co." on Oct. 26, 2020.