Iāve been traveling and checked out (thankfully) on 2025 political bullshit, but this gave me a thoughtā¦
What if the end game (and letās be frank, thereās no grand architect for the Dems on this) isnāt to negotiate an extension, itās to raise the profile of a FAILURE to negotiate an extension.
This is basically about the 2026 campaign-Dem voters hate their representatives, largely for being losers, and those representatives canāt do anything about that, even collectively.
What they can do is raise attention to GOP betrayals of their own voters (I.e., attempt to make those voters hate their party, too).
Whether itās a federal employees union or some other group calling for the end to the shutdown, at some point the Dems can throw up their hands, point to the pain their constituents are feeling and say āwe tried.ā In other words, this gives the Dems cover and more importantly, doesnāt actually fix the problems the GOP created.