I've been following the progress of the coming government shutdown for more than two weeks now. If you're a regular reader you've probably seen a lot of these posts already but just to make the point:
- Ezra Klein: Democrats Should Shut Down the Government (and Damage the Economy) - Sep. 8
- Shutdown Chatter Growing Louder on the Left - Sep. 9
- Democrats Still Pushing Toward a Government Shutdown - Sep. 17
- House Passes Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown - Sep. 19
- Trump Agrees to Meet With Schumer Ahead of Looming Shutdown - Sep. 22
Those are just the ones I've written. Ed has one up this morning noting that Trump just canceled his plan to meet with Democrats.
Every one of those stories references major news outlets like the NY Times and Politico (and many others) and they all say the same thing. Let me summarize it for you with a few key quotes. First, they decided they really wanted this fight two weeks ago.
News: House Democrats had an angry caucus mtg this morning over government funding & a possible shutdown. Rank-and-file Dems want party leaders - especially Schumer - to be willing to shut down the government in order to get what they want on Obamacare & Medicaid
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) September 9, 2025
Democrats felt humiliated when Schumer caved during the last shutdown fight in March and they wanted a do-over. This time they vowed not to buckle. They were going to go all the way.
“They jammed us last time,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a top appropriator, said in an interview. “And I am encouraging my Republican friends who want to do appropriations to understand that that won’t work this time.”
But as the actual shutdown got closer it became clear that Democrats had no off ramp for this thing. Even if they shut down the government, they weren't going to get any of their demands met. There was literally no plan to win, only to lose more nobly this time. Seriously, that was the plan.
...under tremendous pressure from their base to show that they are willing to fight President Donald Trump, Democrats are flirting with a politically risky shutdown without a firm exit plan or even an idea of what victory might look like.
“We may not have the luxury of a victory scenario,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.). “I think what we’re trying to do is avoid things getting worse. I don’t think victory is in anyone’s hopes and dreams in this moment.”
The only thing Dems have going for them in this terrible plan is that they can pretty reliably count on the media to take their side in any fight with Trump. So today it's clear the talking points have gone out and they are all doing their best to spin up the idea that this whole thing is Trump's fault. In short, they are just outright lying.
We have 7 days to find a solution to stop a government shutdown, and Trump has yet to solidify a time to sit down and talk to Democrats.
— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) September 23, 2025
Democrats are trying to find a solution while Trump is busy rambling on Truth Social.
If the government shuts down, it is 100% his fault.
This is the plan. We'll just lie to people who don't read the news and hope for the best.
Senate Republicans voted against a plan to avoid a government shutdown and address the health care crisis they created.
— Senate Democrats (@dscc) September 23, 2025
If they refuse to act, millions of Americans will lose their health care and millions more will see their premiums skyrocket. pic.twitter.com/tfSoeaWGHA
If they can all repeat the same BS at the same time, maybe someone will believe it.
He wants a government shutdown. He could care less about what that means for regular people. Democrats want to extend vital tax credits that make a difference for millions of people. Trump simply doesn’t care. But I’ll tell you this–if billionaires’ tax credits were about to… https://t.co/D39WPpYIBw
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) September 23, 2025
It's just sad.
Democrats put forward a bill to keep the government funded AND keep health care costs low for 22 million Americans.
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) September 22, 2025
Republicans said, “nah.” and voted it down because Trump told them to.
We’re careening towards a shutdown because of their carelessness.
This man is utterly unhinged.
— U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen (@RepPettersen) September 23, 2025
TLDR: Trump wants a government shutdown. He'd rather hurt the American people than work with Democrats to find a way forward to fund critical services & stop health care costs from skyrocketing. pic.twitter.com/JNLoVgQILk
Dems are terribly shocked to discover that someone has manufactured this crisis!
The federal government will shut down on October 1. Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House.
— Senator Ben Ray Luján (@SenatorLujan) September 22, 2025
Republicans had every opportunity to keep the government open and address the looming health care affordability crisis. But they didn’t.
The last shutdown…
Blame Trump! Blame him for all the things!
President Trump is backing out of a meeting with Democratic leadership.
— Ami Bera, M.D. (@RepBera) September 23, 2025
The deadline to fund the government is one week from today.
If the government shuts down, President Trump and Congressional Republicans will be to blame.
No Kings!
This is delusional but you don’t have to read the whole thing.
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) September 23, 2025
Boils down to: he’s shutting down the government because he thinks he’s a king. pic.twitter.com/HKe7V3VISg
The House Minority Leader who pushed hard for the last shutdown and for this one says "the extremists want to shut down the government." He's right about that, just not in the way he means.
Trump Always Chickens Out.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) September 23, 2025
Donald Trump just cancelled a high stakes meeting in the Oval Office with myself and Leader Schumer.
The extremists want to shut down the government because they are unwilling to address the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating America.
They spent weeks building up to this and the whole plan was to lie to people's faces like this.
Try as he might to pin this on Democrats, the American people know better. President Trump wants a shutdown. pic.twitter.com/6EcZbB64o1
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) September 23, 2025
You can almost discern the talking points from how similar all of these reactions are.
BREAKING: Trump just backed out of his meeting on govt funding with Democratic leadership.
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) September 23, 2025
The govt shuts down in 7 days, but Trump & Republicans are refusing to even come to the table to prevent millions from losing health care.
If there is a shutdown, it will be on the GOP. pic.twitter.com/F0ILL9v87t
"Democrats are fighting for YOU!" No. No they're not. They're fighting because their loony base demands they fight, even if they have no plan to win.
Last time Republicans forced a shutdown, it cost our economy $11 billion.
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) September 22, 2025
Trump and Republicans are now threatening another shutdown that will stretch families in Oregon and across the country to the limit.
Democrats are fighting for YOU.
This is their plan and we're seeing it play out in real time. Lie and hope enough people believe it. And of course it absolutely will work for a lot of their voters because as long as Trump is on the other side of the equation, that's all they need to know.
I think Trump made a mistake agreeing to meet with Dems in the first place because this was always their game plan. If he held the meeting and rejected their demands they'd be saying the same things they are now. It would make no difference whatsoever. There was never any upside here.
Ultimately it won't matter because it's extremely unlikely anyone will care about this fight a year from now. All we're seeing is a desperate attempt by Democrats to convince their own base to support them even when they lose every fight. It really is pathetic to watch though.
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