From the outset, the current government shutdown orchestrated by the Democratic Party has felt different out here in the hinterlands. Their “ask” does not seem remotely plausible, which has most Americans ignoring the shutdown, while a few wonder: What are the Democrats up to?
One explanation is that Democrats are playing what in chess is called a fork: If the Republicans cave in on Democratic demands, they achieve a policy win, but if neither side caves, then eventually Senate Republicans will eliminate the filibuster rule in order to fund the government — which would be an even bigger win for the Democrats.
Think about it: Democrats have tried for years to blow up the filibuster. They were blocked during the Biden administration by the votes of two Democratic senators who have since left office. The Democrats’ attempt to eliminate this long-standing protection for the minority in Senate rules became an issue in the 2024 campaign; breaking rules in order to implement sweeping changes was not supported by a majority of Americans.
Now it appears that the Democrats are refusing to allow normal legislative processes to occur in order to either get the Republicans to vote for Democratic policies — or get them to do the dirty work of nuking the filibuster for them.
Consider how the filibuster rule has been whittled down in recent years by both parties. First, the Harry Reid-led Senate Democrats eliminated the filibuster to push through some controversial judicial nominees (albeit not justices on the Supreme Court). Then, the Mitch McConnell-led Republicans whittled the filibuster down further to give themselves the authority to confirm Republican nominees to the Supreme Court over unified Democratic opposition.
Democrats failed in their efforts to eliminate the filibuster completely under Biden, but their dilatory tactics to block timely approval of Trump political appointees finally pushed the exasperated Republicans to change the rules last month — just to return to historical norms of the Senate’s advice-and-consent process. While this rule change broke the logjam keeping Trump appointees on the sideline, this was also a win for the Democrats in their years-long effort to eliminate the filibuster.
This rule change seems to have encouraged Democrats to go for broke with this shutdown strategy: By simply refusing to participate in the normal legislative process, ostensibly holding out for things popular among their base, and then gaslighting the American people about their machinations, the Democratic minority is egging the Republican majority into eliminating the filibuster for them.
What looked at the outset like a pointless shutdown that would surely backfire on the Democrats appears now to be a shrewd play to get the GOP to open the door for the Democrats to eventually push through their radical agenda with a simple majority in both houses — along with structural changes to make it difficult for Republicans to retake the majority thereafter.
Consider what the Democrats could do with 51 votes once they retake power, courtesy of “pragmatic” Senate Republicans, should they nuke the filibuster:
Grant Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico statehood (meaning four additional Democrats in the Senate).
Pack the Supreme Court.
Eliminate voter ID laws nationally.
Implement permanent vote-by-mail procedures coast to coast.
Of course, Democrats could themselves nuke the filibuster next time they achieve power, assuming they maintain their current electoral unanimity on this issue. But changing the rules to push through major structural changes would forever taint those changes — and would taint the politicians who behaved with so little restraint and respect for the minority.
So, what should Republicans do to counter this Democratic maneuver? No one in our nation’s 250-year history has been better at frustrating the opposing party than Donald Trump.
First, the president should start calling out the Democrats’ strategy — make their plans public and shame those who refuse to participate in democracy while falsely claiming to save it.
Second, use the absence of funding to drive much-needed government reform. The Trump administration has started this process, and is fighting in court against activist U.S. district court judges to respond sensibly to the absence of funding.
Third, the Trump team needs to increase its pressure campaign — and impose costs on Democratic constituencies.
Democrats have effectively gone on strike against democracy, with the ultimate goal of changing the rules to eventually achieve total victory for socialism. The stakes are high, higher than most Americans realize.
This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire. Richard Porter is the former National Committeeman to the RNC from Illinois.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/10/31/commentary-democrats-using-shutdown-to-kill-filibuster/
