By Ray Cardello for October 4, 2025, Season 32 / Post 50

Government shutdowns are not frequent events, which is great for Congress, because they serve as Exhibit #1 for how childish both sides can be. I hear better debate from the front of my elementary school bus, where the youngest children are seated. The 24/7 media is filled with the various faces of Congress blaming the other side for sabotaging the process and creating the shutdown. Speaker Johnson will be on for one minute, followed by Hakeem Jeffries in the next, with entirely different stories. The shutdown is only a few days old, and the various talking points are already getting old. This is not a good look for either side, but I think the Republicans are winning the battle of words, if not wits.

One thing I have noticed while listening to both sides is who they believe to be Americans. This never used to be an issue until Obama graced the Oval Office. Now it is pivotal, albeit somewhat confusing. On the one hand, you have Republicans claiming to be looking out for the best interests of all Americans, with Americans meaning American citizens.

On the other side, you have Democrats claiming that Republicans are ripping healthcare access out of the hands of millions of Americans. In this case, the Democrats are using the term Americans to mean all illegal aliens who entered the country seeking Political asylum, protection from gangs, or corrupt governments in their homeland. Under Joe Biden, millions who entered and claimed they were in danger if turned away were granted special status, which afforded them many rights, possibly including voting rights in some states. With the game of Major League semantics being played by the two parties, this game has no end in sight, and that will start hurting real Americans. Democrats are deceiving the American public, but that should not surprise us.

The shame of the situation is that these are United States Senators who are playing this word game, too. They should be above this, but then you look at Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Corrie Booker (D-NJ), and you realize we may have had our expectations set far too high. The Democrats have put themselves in a no-win situation with ridiculous demands at an exorbitant price. None of which are popular with voters. This move by Schumer and Jeffries raises questions about the leadership and direction of the Party. Who are they catering to and why?

The obvious answer is the Radical Left wing that now includes Socialist Democrats. Mandami of New York may not be in Congress, but his candidacy for Mayor of our largest city has impacted the House and Senate. He has dragged the Squad to the Left and shifted the Party further away from the center, where they will need to be for the midterms. This Democratic Party may have been able to sell its Socialist/Communist ideas to the wealthy Gen-Z crowd, but it will never sell in middle America.