During the recent government shutdown, while Republicans seemed to have garnered early momentum, sentiment later shifted against them, and while it was far from an overwhelming blow, the public appeared to be on the side of Democrats down the stretch.
Shockingly, however, the GOP held firm, and it paid off. Republicans got the continuing resolution (CR) over the finish line without giving in to Democrat demands on healthcare.
That strategy also appeared to pay off in the eyes of voters, who now give the GOP the winning nod in the shutdown war.
When you go so far as to make a stand and say that you are going to shut down the government and block federal workers from being paid, you'd better hold your ground.
Democrats held firm for about five weeks, then they cracked, or at least eight of them did, and the GOP was able to get the CR on Donald Trump’s desk.
Republican leadership, at least for a while, took some major blows for a perceived lack of direction, as the Democrats seemed to be making things up as the standoff continued.
Even with Democrats ultimately caving, they still attempted to claim victory, but the media and the American people were not so sure about what they were trying to sell.
Democrats got nothing they wanted out of this shutdown, and both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) seemed to come away as the big losers in this battle.
The only concession they got from Republicans was the start of a debate about healthcare subsidies.
The new CR will fund the government through the end of January, however, so even if the two sides find some common ground, things are not likely to come to fruition until next year, because we all know lawmakers will wait until the last minute to wrap things up.
As a result of the last several weeks, many in the Democrat Party and media are calling for Jeffries and Schumer to be replaced in their leadership roles.
The latest CBS News poll on the shutdown handed the overall win to Republicans, at least in the eyes of voters.
An impressive 55% percent of those polled believe that the GOP got more of what it wanted, while only 6% say the Democrats got what they wanted, with the remaining 39% saying it was equal or neither side won.
A breakdown of the poll revealed that Democrat voters were furious, noting that lawmakers on their side of the aisle were having trouble getting out of their own way ahead of an election cycle in which they should dominate.
I doubt any of this will lead to Democrats voting for Republicans in 2026, but I do believe this is why someone like Zohran Mamdani was able to win the New York City mayoral election, as voters are clearly looking for alternatives to the establishment. This is exactly why the GOP needs to get this all figured out now and go on the attack for the midterm cycle as soon as possible. Hit them now, and hit them hard before the Democrats can get reorganized and recover from the shutdown debacle.
