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The Shutdown Fight is Winnable

Trump is weak, Republicans are on the defensive, and Democrats have a chance to prove their strength.

Dan Pfeiffer

Oct 3

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We are two days into the shutdown. There are no negotiations and no scheduled votes, so everyone involved is just spinning their own story. Trump is posting AI-generated videos. Newsom is responding in kind. Hakeem Jeffries is making the rounds on every media outlet available, and JD Vance took some time off fighting with people on Twitter to show up in the White House briefing room.

Until Republicans decide to engage in negotiations and compromise to earn Democratic votes, the shutdown is entirely a messaging exercise.

I have been glued to my laptop (I need a hobby), watching all the interviews, press conferences, videos, and posts from Democrats. I’ve also been tracking how online Democrats and influencers are talking about the shutdown. There’s some excellent stuff out there, but for the most part, too many Democrats are playing right into Trump’s hands — and might be blowing our last, best chance to grab the nation’s attention.

It’s not too late. I believe, to the bottom of my being, that Democrats can win this fight. Trump and the Republicans are full of swagger and bluster, but their hand is weaker than they let on — and I think some of them know it. The fact that they need to tell such obviously false lies about health care for undocumented immigrants betrays their insecurity.

Here are three things Democrats can do to go on the offensive and win the messaging wars during the shutdown:

1. Stop Playing the Blame Game

Over the first 48 hours of the shutdown, an enormous amount of time and energy has been spent trying to lay responsibility at the feet of Trump and the Republicans. The blame game has dominated interviews, press conferences, and social media.

Democrats desperately want to convince everyone that Trump shut the government down. Presumably, they think that if they can win that argument, they’ll “win” the shutdown fight.

We could have a long epistemological argument about what caused the shutdown, but it’s pointless. Democrats should stop playing the blame game. Who is technically responsible for initiating the shutdown is an inside-the-Beltway fascination for cable pundits and congressional reporters. It’s irrelevant to everyone else. To the extent the rest of the country cares, they are much more interested in what Democrats are fighting for.

We are fighting for people — and we can’t look like fighters if we’re so worried about being blamed for how we chose to conduct the fight...