Want to know how you can tell when Democrats know they are on the losing side of a political fight? Look no further than the current government shutdown. Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries have backed themselves into a corner so tight that even the mainstream media cannot spin their way out of it.
The facts speak for themselves. On Wednesday, Senate Democrats voted to block a House-passed stopgap funding bill that would have reopened the government until November 21. The vote was 55 to 45—once again falling short of the 60 votes needed to break cloture and advance. Democrats killed the continuing resolution on the Senate floor for the third time in two weeks, but it was the first time they did it while the government was already shut down. Make no mistake about it, Democrats had the chance to reopen the government, and they said no.
Three times.
So why are Democrats digging in? Even the legacy media, which they can normally count on to push their version of events, isn’t buying their spin.
“Senate Democrats have voted down a Republican bill to keep funding the government, putting it on a near certain path to a shutdown after midnight Wednesday for the first time in nearly seven years,” the Associated Press reported—leaving no ambiguity of where the fault lies.
And then there was this key paragraph:
While partisan stalemates over government spending are a frequent occurrence in Washington, the current impasse comes as Democrats see a rare opportunity to use their leverage to achieve policy goals and as their base voters are spoiling for a fight with Trump. Republicans who hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate needed at least eight votes from Democrats after Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky opposed the bill.
In short, even the Associated Press can’t deny Democrats are holding the government hostage for their own policy objectives.
Other headlines aren’t doing Democrats any favors either:
Pretty clear whose fault this is pic.twitter.com/Cu7pulQZBA
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 1, 2025
The really damaging part for Democrats is that some of them are saying the quiet part out loud. Congressman Shri Thanedar openly admitted the shutdown is a deliberate tactic, declaring, "If that means we gotta shut this government down, so be it!"
🚨YIKES: Shri Thanedar ADMITS that Democrats are the ones who decided to shut the government down!
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 1, 2025
"If that means we gotta shut this government down, so be it!"
What's wrong with his eyebrows? pic.twitter.com/aDiY3XDDCt
That is not spin. That is a Democrat lawmaker admitting they are weaponizing the shutdown to get what they want.
And then there is Maxine Waters, who doubled down with her own candid admission. "Democrats are demanding healthcare for everybody. We want to save lives," she said. Translation: Democrats want healthcare for illegal immigrants, and they are willing to shut down the government to get it.
ICYMI: This One Photo Captures the Schumer Shutdown Perfectly
This is a political disaster for the Democratic Party, and they know it. Chuck Schumer and his radical caucus thought they could strong-arm their way to victory by framing this as Republicans refusing to compromise. But when your own members are publicly boasting about shutting down the government, and when major media outlets are pointing the finger squarely at Democrats, that strategy collapses. This is not a fight Democrats can win in the court of public opinion. Holding the government hostage to fund healthcare for people who entered the country illegally is not a winning message, and no amount of spin will change that.
