Who Won the Shutdown Battle? Nobody.

by John Truscott

Now that government is grinding back to life and airports aren’t in full meltdown mode, pundits are rushing to treat the shutdown like a football game. Who won? Who had the better offense? Who blew the coverage?

My conclusion: nobody won. The public took the hit, and Congress looked like a team that couldn’t run a basic play. And we may be lining up to run this whole disastrous series again in January.

From the start, it sure looked like Democrats factored economic damage into their game plan. The slowdown was undeniable: canceled flights, empty hotels, fewer restaurant visits, shipping delays, and millions of people suddenly without paychecks. When fans stop buying concessions, the whole stadium feels it.

But Republicans deserve blame, too. They read the scouting report wrong – and now I’m going to switch the analogy to my other favorite sport: baseball. They walked up to the plate expecting a curveball, and Democrats fired a 100-mile-an-hour fastball right down the middle. A prepared batter could’ve crushed it. Republicans swung right through it.

Everyone knew enhanced Obamacare subsidies were set to expire. Everyone knew they were created during COVID, when the government was handing out cash like Gatorade cups on the sidelines—feeding the inflation spike we’re still dealing with. And everyone knew Democrats controlled the White House, Senate and House long enough to extend the credits themselves. They didn’t. Did they want to hold the ball until it was politically useful?

And to Republicans: you saw this blitz coming. Why act surprised when you had months to get your blocking scheme in place?

If a health care system needs billions in subsidies just to stand upright, maybe the system itself is the problem. Since Obamacare passed, costs have soared far beyond the original playbook, “keep your doctor” turned into a broken promise, and the “Affordable Care Act” has delivered anything but affordability. The whole thing is wobbling like a house of cards in the fourth quarter.

So here we are: Democrats refused to agree to a standard Continuing Resolution—something that was once routine—and used the only leverage they had, even if it meant the American people got tackled in the process. Voters are fed up. They’ve lost trust. A lot of them are ready to throw a flag on everyone.

At least Thanksgiving air travel should feel normal again. But if we replay this mess in January, the crowd will not be nearly as patient.

So to Congress: get your house in order. You’ve had plenty of time to draw up a plan. If you don’t have one by now, shame on you. And if we let you put us through another shutdown, shame on us.

An angry public votes—and did you forget this is all happening during an election year? Clean up the political games that hurt real people. Otherwise, come next November, you may find yourselves in the same long airport lines as the rest of us, searching for a new job.

Only then, maybe, the public finally wins.