Originally posted October 18th, 2025

‘A Plague o’ Both Your Houses’” 

Few elected officials enter a government shutdown with their reputations intact. Nothing boosts reknown like failing one’s responsibilities.

Margin of Error – 3.8% 

We are now two weeks into the US government shutdown. Polls say 58% of voters blame Trump and Republicans for the shutdown. Another 54% of voters say Democrats in Congress are to blame, reports Jim Geraghty in NRO.

According to the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, “at least three-quarters of Americans believe each deserves at least a “moderate” share of blame, underscoring that no one is successfully evading responsibility.”

The Winner Is …

Jim Geraghty gives kudos to Democrats.

The percentage that blames the GOP side is a whole four percentage points higher than the side that blames you, in a survey that has a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points.

Zero Winners

Taxpayers don’t save money during a shutdown.

While estimates vary widely, evidence suggests that shutdowns tend to cost – not save – money for several reasons. For one, putting contingency plans in place has a real cost. In addition, many user fees and other charges are not collected during a shutdown, and federal contractors sometimes include premiums in their bids to account for uncertainty in being paid.

While many federal employees are forced to be idle during a shutdown, they have historically received and are now guaranteed back pay, negating much of those potential savings. OMB official estimates of the 2013 government shutdown found that $2.5 billion in pay and benefits were paid to furloughed employees for hours not worked during the shutdown, as well as roughly $10 million in penalty interest payments and lost fee collections.

If government shutdowns are such bad news for everyone in Washington, most Americans wonder why Senate Democrats refuse to vote for a continuing resolution that would keep the government open.

Chuck Schumer and company have gotten into the bad habit of believing that the mainstream media will always portray them as the heroes and Republicans as the villains, ensuring that Democrats can do whatever they want and rest assured the public will always think worse of the GOP. But in these circumstances, the Democrats are self-evidently the side that is keeping the government closed, as CNN’s Jake Tapper felt compelled to point out to Democratic House minority whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts:

Jake TAPPER (CNN) to Katharine Clark (D, MA)

So, you’re blaming the Republicans for the shutdown. But a point of fact, it’s the Democrats in the Senate who are refusing to vote for the clean continuing resolution to fund the government for seven weeks. I mean, that just — it’s just as a point of fact, the way that we have always covered shutdowns is that the party that is not voting for the C.R., the continuing resolution to fund the government, is the party that is blocking the government funding and is responsible for the shutdown. That’s how we did it the last time in 2018, 2019. That’s the time we did before, … during the Obama administration. I mean, it’s your party (in the Senate) that is refusing … to vote for the continuing resolution. 

Dems’ Incoherent Message (from Chuck Schummer): 

“The Republicans did this, and can end it at any moment; but also, the Democrats did this, and we won’t give in until we get what we want; and also the Democrats are using the filibuster to fight for what’s right, and, if they were decent, the Republicans would take that tool away from us.”

Public opinion polls say it all. Why should the President or Republicans make concessions to the Democrats?

Makes one wonder: did Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schummer just ride into a Box Canyon?