Well, yeah. It’s an obvious fact, so that’s why it’s succinct. You’d need more words to respond because words are what it takes to spin, contort and twist facts to suit a narrative. The only one they’ve got is this one:
I mean, that’s pretty much the Democrats’ entire defense. They vote against a clean CR, then say “sorry I have to hurt you like that. Republicans won’t negotiate so they’re making us do this.” There’s nothing wrong with the CR as-is, so by any objective measure, it should pass. And there’s nothing in the CR that prevents healthcare subsidies from being passed in a separate bill. So why vote against the CR? Because as said in another thread on this:
That’s the real reason. The whole point isn’t to get healthcare. It’s to make the Republicans concede something, anything, to the minority party. That’s the actual goal. If healthcare were already passed, then the shutdown would’ve just been about something else. Some veterans funding. Some DOGE reversal. Whatever.
And if the point of the shutdown is to assert minority power, then nobody can plausibly suggest that the majority party is the cause of it. The only possible retort is the above “they made me do it,” which an honest person ought to reject immediately.
We can go ‘round and ‘round about the merits of the shutdown, but it’s intellectually dishonest, and reflective of a partisan mindset, to deny that the Democrats are the ones doing the shuttering.