On Friday, Senate Democrats rolled out what they billed as a reasonable compromise on Friday: reopen the government, extend Obamacare subsidies for a year, and promise to keep talking down the road. Republicans took one look and said no thanks. And that was absolutely the right call.
I don’t doubt that the proposal seemed like a logical off-ramp from the shutdown standoff for those desperate to get the government open again. Dig deeper, though, and you spot the real game. Democrats weren't offering a genuine solution; they were setting a trap.
Here's the calculation Democrats were counting on. A one-year extension that would have kept the subsidies rolling straight up to the 2026 midterm election cycle. Come next fall, they'd have another golden opportunity to weaponize government funding against Republicans, either by threatening another shutdown to energize their base or by forcing the GOP into accepting a longer, potentially permanent extension just to avoid the political headache. The math worked perfectly for them. The mess of recurring shutdown threats conveniently positioned around election season served their interests far better than actually solving anything.
Majority Leader John Thune grasped this immediately, calling it a "nonstarter" that "doesn't even get close." Sen. Lindsey Graham was more blunt.
"I'm not going to keep giving taxpayer dollars to the five largest health care insurance companies under Obamacare to get the government open. This idea of flooding insurance companies for another year to open up the government is ridiculous,” Graham said. "It's political terrorism, and it needs to stop."
He wasn't exaggerating the stakes. The subsidies simply mask the real costs of Obamacare while Democrats take credit for "helping" people afford coverage — all without genuinely reforming the underlying system that drives premiums skyward.
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The Republican response showed welcome clarity about what was actually happening. These senators understood that backing down now only teaches Democrats that the shutdown playbook works. They'd use it again. And again. Each cycle is conveniently timed to inflict maximum political damage at minimum cost to Democratic priorities.
Democrats have become so dependent on appeasing their radical base that genuine negotiation is no longer even on the table. This week’s election results seem to have convinced them that the only path forward is to dig in deeper. Rather than seek compromise, they’re betting that Republicans will eventually fold under political pressure and acting as if that’s a certainty.
They had better not.
The Senate faced an uncertain path forward, with Republicans preparing to vote on a bill this weekend that would ensure federal workers received paychecks during any funding lapse. I wouldn’t count on Democrats supporting it.
The fundamental truth here deserves stating plainly: Republicans face a crucial test. Caving to absurd demands today purchases nothing but future leverage for Democrats. The shutdown ends precisely when Republicans prove they have a spine to hold the line and not cave to Democratic demands. Republicans have proven too many times in the past that they cave under pressure, and it’s time for them to prove they have a backbone.
