The left’s shutdown power play: Force GOP to do their dirty work

By Richard Porter
Real Clear Wire

From the outset, the current government shutdown orchestrated by the Democratic Party has felt different out here in the hinterlands. Their “ask” does not seem remotely plausible, which has most Americans ignoring the shutdown, while a few wonder: What are the Democrats up to?

One explanation is that Democrats are playing what in chess is called a fork: If the Republicans cave in on Democrat demands, they achieve a policy win, but if neither side caves, then eventually Senate Republicans will eliminate the filibuster rule in order to fund the government – which would be an even bigger win for the Democrats.

Think about it: Democrats have tried for years to blow up the filibuster. They were blocked during the Biden administration by the votes of two Democrat senators who have since left office. The Democrats’ attempt to eliminate this long-standing protection for the minority in Senate rules became an issue in the 2024 campaign; breaking rules in order to implement sweeping changes proved to be no bueno to a majority of Americans.

Now it appears that the Democrats are refusing to allow normal legislative processes to occur in order to either get the Republicans to vote for Democrat policies – or get them to do the dirty work of nuking the filibuster for them.

Consider how the filibuster rule has been whittled down in recent years by both parties. First, the Harry Reid-led Senate Democrats eliminated the filibuster to push through some controversial judicial nominees (albeit not justices on the Supreme Court). Then, the Mitch McConnell-led Republicans whittled the filibuster down further to give themselves the authority to confirm Republican nominees to the Supreme Court over unified Democratic opposition. 

Democrats failed in their efforts to eliminate the filibuster completely under Biden, but their dilatory tactics to block timely approval of Trump political appointees finally pushed the exasperated Republicans to change the rules last month – just to return to historical norms of the Senate’s advice-and-consent process. While this rule change broke the logjam keeping Trump appointees on the sideline, this was also a win for the Democrats in their years-long effort to eliminate the filibuster.

This rule change seems to have encouraged Democrats to go for broke with this shutdown strategy: By simply refusing to participate in the normal legislative process, ostensibly holding out for things popular among their base, and then gaslighting the American people about their machinations, the Democratic minority is egging the Republican majority into eliminating the filibuster for them.

Congressional Republicans are already starting to sniff at the bait. Wednesday, the Hill carried a story that the Senate GOP is starting to discuss “filibuster reform” and Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. John Fetterman is encouraging Republicans to do so.

What looked at the outset like a pointless shutdown that would surely backfire on the Democrats appears now to be a shrewd play to get the GOP to open the door for the Democrats to eventually push through their radical agenda with a simple majority in both Houses – along with structural changes to make it difficult for Republicans to retake the majority thereafter.

Consider what the Democrats will do with 51 votes once they retake power, courtesy of “pragmatic” Senate Republicans, should they nuke the filibuster:

• Grant Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico statehood (meaning four additional Democrats in the Senate).

• Pack the Supreme Court.

• Eliminate voter ID laws nationally.

• Implement permanent vote-by-mail procedures coast to coast.

• Naturalize all illegal immigrants resident in the U.S.

• Nationalize healthcare.

The wish list of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party goes on and on. Other than Bernie Sanders, the Marxists who have seized and now lead the policy agenda for the world’s oldest political party are young and can wait a few years to achieve total victory.

Of course, Democrats could themselves nuke the filibuster next time they achieve power, assuming they maintain their current electoral unanimity on this issue. But changing the rules to push through major structural changes would forever taint those changes – and would taint the politicians who behaved with so little restraint and respect for the minority.

How much better to have “pragmatic” senators of the other party change the rules for you years before driving a radical legislative agenda through to completion?

So, what should Republicans do to counter this Democratic maneuver? No one in our nation’s 250-year history has been better at frustrating the opposing party than Donald Trump.

First, the president should start calling out the Democrats’ strategy – make their secret, devious plans public and shame those who refuse to participate in democracy while falsely claiming to save it.

Second, use the absence of funding to drive much-needed government reform. The Trump administration has started this process, and is fighting in court against activist U.S. district court judges to respond sensibly to the absence of funding. 

Third, the Trump team needs to increase its pressure campaign – and impose costs on Democratic constituencies.

Democrats have effectively gone on strike against democracy, with the ultimate goal of changing the rules to eventually achieve total victory for socialism. The stakes are high, higher than most Americans realize.

Richard Porter is the former National Committeeman to the RNC from Illinois.