NFL fans get the Super Bowl, NASCAR gets Daytona, and MLB gets the World Series. The rest of America? We get front-row seats to Washington's favorite cliffhanger, with never-changing scripts and a bickering Congress screaming about beating those looming deadlines to avoid a government shutdown. We all know the drill: When the curtain falls, paychecks are delayed, services stall, and the media declares in all caps: REPUBLICANS ARE TO BLAME!
Government funding expires at the end of the day on Sept. 30, and without action, much of the federal government would close. Republicans narrowly control both chambers of Congress but need some Democratic votes to reach the required 60-vote threshold to pass a funding bill in the Senate. Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and other Democrats are signaling they intend to use that leverage to reopen the fight over Trump’s domestic agenda, particularly provisions in his “one big, beautiful bill” that cut deeply into Medicaid and jeopardize subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Together, the two policies threaten to raise costs or strip coverage from millions of Americans—and Democrats say they will not sign off on another spending bill without concessions.
It doesn't matter if Democrats start or fan the fire, or if both parties stack the kindling together; the media has learned who their scapegoat is before a match is even lit.
A Never-Ending Blame Game
Remember the 2018-2019 shutdown? It was the longest shutdown in U.S. history because the Democrats dug their heels in over border security, while Republicans held their ground.
The result?
Newspaper headlines screamed that the GOP dragged the country into chaos.
We see the same thing every time: Democrats are cast as reluctant heroes who are forced to deal with dastardly villainous Republicans who twirl mustaches while Washington burns.
The reality is different, however. Both sides benefit from this repeating charade, but that's a fact we never hear.
The Scam Behind the Curtain
Shutdowns have nothing to do with budgets; they're about politics, as both parties use looming threats to posture for their bases. On one side, we have Democrats scaring us that children will starve without more spending. Republicans warn that debt will sink the nation without restraint. Then, when the dust settles, spending continues to rise no matter which side claims victory.
It's a simple, repeatable scam: Politicians get to raise money, legacy media receives a fresh crisis, and lobbyists keep their access. There's only one loser in this game: the American people, who continue to deal with uncertainty and disruption.
Real People Pay the Price
Behind the headlines screaming "SHUTDOWN! SHUTDOWN! SHUTDOWN!" we find soldiers, Border Patrol agents, or a young family enduring paycheck to paycheck. It's the ones left wondering about how to make ends meet, whether it's rent or groceries, when Washington decides to take a break from responsibility.
Congress, the President, and political consultants all still get paid. The pain they create never touches those who have made it. Those three groups have forgotten about principle; all they know is a scam with a human cost.
Media as the Enabler
We can't forget about the other cast member of this farce... the media. The drive-bys don't just report on shutdowns; they drive the narrative to make Republicans look like arsonists while Democrats are portrayed as firefighters; a plot ingrained so thoroughly that we barely question motives anymore.
Can you remember a time, just once, when Democrats were blamed for a shutdown and proclaimed as such in breaking news chyrons?
Neither do I.
Even when they're the side refusing to negotiate, we end up with front-page headlines reading "Republicans block funding." Meanwhile, when the story carries over to page 20, we find in paragraph 50, "Democrats stall talks."
After seeing this scenario play out each time, the media proves it's not a referee, but a co-conspirator in the shutdown scam.
Beyond the Blame Game: Real Reform
Ending the circus game of shutdown threats could start with automatic continuing resolutions, docking congressional pay during lapses, and banning political riders.
Although it temporarily prevents Washington from holding Americans hostage, seemingly every few months, it's only a tourniquet for a deeper wound. One that's healed only when Congress stops spending money without discipline, transparency, and shame.
Refusing blame has been the only play the Republicans have used for years, but if they want to flip the script, they need to do more. Any structural change begins with a balanced budget requirement, not paper promises we hear every election cycle, but something with real teeth.
Everybody living in America manages to live under those rules. If you're a creature of Washington's swamp, however, then you believe you deserve a blank check.
Such a path forces agencies to justify every dollar spent. Zero-based budgeting exposes the waste that's rubber-stamped every year. Sunset laws prevent programs from running forever without review. Spending caps halt automatic escalators, which make entitlements balloon without casting even a single vote. And, buried in omnibus bills, we find bloat. Its remedy? A line-item veto with a congressional override gives taxpayers an ally in the White House.
All these ideas have something in common: restoring discipline. We need to stop Washington from shuffling money around like a narco-gang launders money, while pretending every deal is an emergency.
Until Congress is held to the same standards that families and businesses operate under, shutdown threats will exist. The scam continues, and Republicans, who really aren't truly innocent, will, regardless, keep getting blamed.
History’s Warning
When nations turn governance into spectacles, they don't last. While its Senate squabbled, Rome fell, and France tore itself apart while leaders argued over crumbs.
Suppose America continues allowing shutdowns to remain a permanent fixture. In that case, history will remember that a government, by and for the people, failed to govern itself long before its institutions collapsed.
Our country isn't supposed to be one where the government closes like a barber shop with a sign reading, "Gone Fishing." We're supposed to be a republic where elected officials do their jobs, while that promise gets mocked with the continual threat of a shutdown.
Final Thoughts
In a town full of scams, shutdowns are its favorite play. Both parties play the game, but only one is always framed as the bad guy. The media makes sure the Republicans are always cast in that light. That's why Republicans need to lead a charge that makes shutdowns impossible, not to protect their political skin, but to protect the American people from being held hostage over and over again.
By ending this cycle, Republicans won't just flip the script; they'll prove they are the adults in the room. And that, something more than any talking point, exposes the scam for what it has always been: Politics first, people last.
I don't know about you, but I'm so bloody tired of this game. Discipline and fiscal responsibility are things we never find in Congress.
Somebody, soon, had better figure this out, otherwise we're ...well, you can finish that sentence.
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