# Why are Democrats being blamed for the shutdown? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 8, 2025, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788 "2025-10-08T17:11:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/281 "2025-11-10T03:23:39Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > that’s Dick Durbin’s job; he is, literally, the Democratic Whip. And Durbin is one of the yes votes, which is yet more indication that Schumer is either incapable of doing his job, or complicit. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/282 "2025-11-10T03:28:59Z")
At this point, if the Dems end their holdout with no concessions, people gotta ask was the shutdown for over a month worth it? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/283 "2025-11-10T03:39:10Z")
Yes, this. If they went through all this for nothing, the shutdown and suffering from it is something they have to answer for. It was one thing when they’re fighting for coverage for the poor, and dealing with a party that won’t negotiate, but if they’re going to give up on that anyway, they might as well have done that from the start and avoided all this. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/284 "2025-11-10T03:52:09Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Yes, this. If they went through all this for nothing, the shutdown and suffering from it is something they have to answer for. > > It was one thing when they’re fighting for coverage for the poor, and dealing with a party that won’t negotiate, but if they’re going to give up on that anyway, they might as well have done that from the start and avoided all this. Exactly. And some things have already been impacted significantly because of it it all. I am disgusted. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/285 "2025-11-10T03:58:03Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > At this point, if the Dems end their holdout with no concessions, people gotta ask was the shutdown for over a month worth it? That is true. But what if there are concessions? Dick Durban says that it will [”fully fund SNAP for the year ahead](https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/illinois-us-senators-split-over-tentative-deal-to-end-government-shutdown/3849489/). If he means until 9/30/26, that’s something. The Democrats could hold out the whole fiscal year and the GOP would not make big concessions. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/286 "2025-11-10T04:00:33Z")
The vote has passed 60-40. > **[Senators advance tentative deal to end the government shutdown](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senators-reach-tentative-deal-end-government-shutdown-rcna242401)** > > The deal, negotiated by a group of Democrats and GOP leaders, funds the government through Jan. 30. If it passes, it still needs to clear the House, which will likely take days. The Chicken Caucus is as follows; Catherine Cortez-Mastro (NV) Dick Durbin (IL) John Fetterman (P.A) Maggie Hassan (NH) Tim Kaine (VA) Angus King (ME) Jacky Rosen (NV) Jeanne Shaheen (NH) Shaheen and Durbin are retiring. None of the others are up for reelection until 2028. Fuck ‘em all. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/287 "2025-11-10T04:03:17Z")
Is it going to pass the House? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/288 "2025-11-10T04:04:33Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > . . . they might as well have done that from the start and avoided all this. Why? To keep the progressives from voting Green in 2028? If the Democrats caved quickly, progressives would blame the whole party. This way, they just blame 8 Democratic senators. This Democratic circular firing squad is a bit alarming. The shutdown negotiating strategy is hardly a matter of deep principle. Maybe Durbin is right and Schumer is wrong. But it is a technical strategy question. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/289 "2025-11-10T04:14:38Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I called my Senators and left messages I urge everyone opposed to a deal that gets nothing but empty promises to do the same. I’ve been calling and writing for weeks, and I’m proud to say my Senator, Tim Kaine, was one of the Democrats who finally came to their senses and went “heeeeeyyyy, wait a second. Maybe refusing to pay air traffic controllers actually _doesn’t_ do anything to get healthcare subsidies.” There’s a reason nobody on this board or elsewhere has explained how shutting down the government gets any yes votes on subsidies. It’s because any explanation either makes it Democrats’ fault or it exposes them as hypocrites. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > I don’t really understand who wins what with this. Is getting a vote on ACA subsidies all that bad? Nobody wins. The whole thing made no strategic sense from the start. The offer was on the table in the first week of this shutdown that they’d hold a vote on subsidies, which would of course fail, and for some reason that was not acceptable until our troops weren’t being paid and food stamps weren’t sent out. Suddenly it’s acceptable. > [@Smapti](#): > > Democrats are giving up in exchange for nothing and sending the message that taking the American people hostage by withholding SNAP benefits and cancelling flights is a valid way for Republicans to get what they want Democrats were the ones holding me hostage. They were the ones voting no on sending me back to work, which is wholly unrelated to healthcare, unless they got something for it. Either Democrats were opposed to me working _or_ Democrats wanted me at work but voted No anyway so they could use my pain as leverage for something unrelated to me. Y’know, like a hostage. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It sounds to me like Schumer and Democratic leadership are unwilling to endorse it, but are giving cover to the moderates Oh, sweet Jesus, come on now. Open your eyes, people. Schumer went into this without a plan just to score political points in an inside-the-beltway pissing contest, and it turns out, that wrecked the country. So the “moderates” (a.k.a., the ones who respect their civil duty more than their party) went around leadership. Schumer isn’t “giving cover.” He’s being mutinied. > [@Smapti](#): > > Shaheen and Durbin are retiring. None of the others are up for reelection until 2028. > > Fuck ‘em all. Aww, I’m sorry. Does my household going back to work ruin your inexplicable plans to someone procure healthcare subsidies? I guess bankrupting park rangers, air traffic controllers, and patent clerks was a bad plan after all, huh? Guess y’shoulda just voted for the CR from the get-go, huh? Who woulda thought?! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/290 "2025-11-10T04:15:22Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Democrats were the ones holding me hostage. Sorry, I didn’t realize it was Democrats who hold the presidency and the majority in both houses of Congress and in the Supreme Court. How silly of me. > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Does my household going back to work ruin your inexplicable plans to someone procure healthcare subsidies? IOW: “Fuck you, I got mine.” ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/291 "2025-11-10T04:16:42Z")
Sorry, I didn’t realize the bank robbers held jobs at the police, the district attorneys office, and the court. How silly of me. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/292 "2025-11-10T04:17:37Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Oh, sweet Jesus, come on now. Open your eyes, people. Schumer went into this without a plan just to score political points in an inside-the-beltway pissing contest, and it turns out, that wrecked the country. So the “moderates” (a.k.a., the ones who respect their civil duty more than their party) went around leadership. Schumer isn’t “giving cover.” He’s being mutinied. You are so very all-in on “this is entirely the Democrats’ fault,” aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/293 "2025-11-10T04:22:18Z")
> [@Palooka](#): > > Is it going to pass the House? First, Johnson has to convene the House. Doesn’t seem likely. > **[Mike Johnson In No Rush To Swear In Member Who Will Sign Epstein Petition](https://www.aol.com/articles/democrats-accuse-mike-johnson-stalling-185845746.html)** > > Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) will be the 218th signature on the Epstein files discharge petition once she's sworn in. > “Any delay in swearing in Representative-elect Grijalva unnecessarily deprives her constituents of representation and calls into question if the motive behind the delay is to further avoid the release of the Epstein files,” Rep. Katherine Clark (Mass.), the No. 2 Democrat in the House, complained in a letter to Johnson on Monday. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/294 "2025-11-10T04:22:56Z")
Just because you guys like an echo chamber doesn’t mean I’m going to let you have one. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that voting No on a clean CR makes it your fault. They voted No. They own that vote. Stop making “the devil made me do it” excuses for them. A guy punched his wife in the mouth and you guys are like “She’s in charge of the house. She’s supposed to keep it clean and keep him happy. And did you hear how lippy she was getting? Honestly, this is on both of them. Mostly her.” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/295 "2025-11-10T04:23:33Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Johnson has to convene the House. Doesn’t seem likely. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if he never convenes it again between now and the midterms. The kompromat Trump’s people are lording over him if he lets the Epstein files get out must be **damning.** ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/296 "2025-11-10T04:23:54Z")
Um how else would you figure a conservative would respond? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/297 "2025-11-10T04:31:33Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > IOW: “Fuck you, I got mine.” No, it’s “Fuck you for not realizing 40 days ago that mine has nothing to do with yours in any way, shape, or form, and by the way you claim to actually support me getting mine.” Good luck with that whole “getting yours” thing. Sorry a park ranger paying her mortgage (somehow) ruins that for you. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/298 "2025-11-10T04:38:02Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > No, it’s “Fuck you for not realizing 40 days ago that mine has nothing to do with yours in any way, shape, or form, and by the way you claim to actually support me getting mine.” Your health insurance premiums are gonna go up _too_, you sweet summer child. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/299 "2025-11-10T04:39:39Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Your health insurance premiums are gonna go up _too_, you sweet summer child. Just like they would have gone up without Democratic obstructionism a month ago. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788/300 "2025-11-10T04:49:48Z")
**Moderating:** @smapti, I need both you and @Chessic_Sense to quit it on personal attacks in P&E. > [@Smapti](#): > > > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > > > Does my household going back to work ruin your inexplicable plans to someone procure healthcare subsidies? > > IOW: “Fuck you, I got mine.” The above borders on a direct attack, while you can disagree with @Chessic_Sense’s POV, different people are going to have different priorities. @Chessic_Sense - your response to the above is once again (see my prior note about your argument with Stranger) is _also_ verging on a direct attack: > [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Sorry a park ranger paying her mortgage (somehow) ruins that for you. _Despite_ this being a second time me mentioning this to you, I’m not issuing a warning at this time, as in both it was a response to an attack. But no more of this even if you feel provoked - flag the poster, do NOT respond in kind. As always this applies to all posters in thread. Otherwise one or more of you should take it to the Pit, or create a more general Shutdown thread in the Pit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-democrats-being-blamed-for-the-shutdown/1023788.md?page=16)