PAIN BY DESIGN: DEMOCRATS ADMIT SHUTDOWN SUFFERING IS ‘LEVERAGE

Economic Rights| Business and Economy | Featured

October 23, 2025•8 min read

Democrats’ Shutdown Gamble: Power Before People as America Pays the Price

Leaked admissions and public missteps expose a ruthless political strategy—Democrats betting that America’s pain will deliver their power play. Meanwhile, Illinois’ workers, families, and federal employees are left broke, broken, and betrayed.

By Staff Writer | October 23, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The government shutdown isn’t just a standoff—it’s a strategy. Behind closed doors and now, increasingly, in plain view, Democratic leaders are revealing a chilling political calculus: let the pain spread, let the people suffer, and use the chaos as leverage. What began as a budget impasse has spiraled into a moral indictment, as cracks within the Democratic Party expose a grim truth—this shutdown isn’t about principle. It’s about power.

Even members of their own ranks are starting to sound alarms. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania—a Democrat unafraid to challenge his own leadership—has gone public with blistering criticism, saying it’s “wrong to shut our government down” and warning that the strategy “punishes hardworking Americans for political gain.” His words echo across a weary nation where federal workers go unpaid, families struggle for groceries, and small businesses edge toward collapse while Washington plays its dangerous game of brinkmanship.

“I’m not afraid to tell my truth, and if I’m going to pay a penalty, I’m not afraid of that,”
Fetterman told host Sean Hannity.
“It’s wrong to shut our government down.”

Fetterman emphasized his conviction to put “country over party,” calling out what he sees as an act of betrayal against ordinary Americans caught in the crossfire.

“Shutting our government down—that’s the wrong message for the world, for Americans as well, too,”
he said, insisting that
“That’s why shutting the government is really what the Democratic Party wants to do… It’s the wrong thing for the country in a period of chaos. I refuse to vote to shut our government down.”

His defiance has widened fractures in his party, surfacing uncomfortable truths that Democratic leadership has tried to bury under political talking points.

A Strategy of Pain

The shutdown—now dragging into its fourth week—has become less about negotiation and more about domination.
Over a million federal employees remain unpaid. Airport security lines stretch for hours. SNAP benefits run dry. Small businesses see their loan approvals frozen. And yet, behind the scenes, Democratic leaders describe the crisis not as tragedy—but as tactic.

House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark said the quiet part out loud:

“There will be families that are going to suffer… but it is one of the few leverage times we have.”

Her words lit a political firestorm, but she wasn’t alone. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was quoted admitting,

“Every day gets better for us,”

while Senator Bernie Sanders cautioned that reopening too soon could squander the party’s advantage:

“[If] you reopen the government and we lose our leverage…”

Senator Martin Heinrich went further, objecting to paying essential workers like troops and TSA agents because it

“just gives the President more leverage.”

And behind the veil of anonymity, other Democrats confessed what leadership won’t: one senator warned that “people are going to get hammered” for even hinting at compromise. Another admitted party members are “terrified of getting the guillotine.”

A senior aide bluntly declared the party wouldn’t yield short of disaster:

“Planes falling out of the sky.”

Another staffer summed up the real fear:

“If the Republicans think we’ll fold for any spending bill, Democrats will have no leverage to push for our priorities.”

The message is unmistakable: suffering is the strategy.

Illinois: Paying the Price for Washington’s War

Nowhere is the fallout clearer than in Illinois, where the shutdown’s cost is being measured in missed paychecks and mounting stress.
The stalemate began on October 1, when Congress failed to approve funding for fiscal year 2026. Twelve Republican-proposed stopgap bills have since been rejected by Democrats, who are demanding renewal of Affordable Care Act subsidies—a COVID-era holdover Republicans argue has nothing to do with the current budget.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, speaking at a Capitol Hill briefing, painted a grim picture of the toll on essential federal workers:

“They’re angry… They’re frustrated that Congress—at least in the Senate—is focused on paying for health care benefits for illegals as opposed to paying their paychecks for the great work that they provide to the American people.”

He issued a stark warning:

“Next Tuesday is the first paycheck they will not receive for the work they did in October. I don’t want my air traffic controllers taking a second job. I want them in their towers, controlling our airspace—but they’re having to decide how to put food on their tables.”

And with the crisis deepening, Duffy said what travelers across Illinois are dreading:

“I can’t guarantee you that your flight’s going to be on time. I can’t guarantee it won’t be cancelled. It depends on our air traffic controllers coming in every day. If they don’t, we’ll know whose fault it is.”

Those words carry heavy weight at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway, two of the busiest airports in America. The uncertainty is rattling families, stranding travelers, and putting the aviation system on edge.
Even worse, Duffy warned, the shutdown is destroying morale among trainees—future air traffic controllers are walking away, fearful of a career that can’t promise a paycheck. The consequences, he said, will “ricochet for months and years to come.”

Meanwhile, nearly 2 million Illinoisans face SNAP benefit cuts, threatening food security as winter closes in. Small businesses are watching $122 million in SBA loans freeze in limbo, and furloughed workers across Chicago have taken to the streets, holding signs that read, “We work for America—who works for us?”

A Missed Lifeline: The Shutdown Fairness Act

Amid the chaos, a bipartisan lifeline was offered—and swiftly shot down.
The Shutdown Fairness Act, introduced by Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Todd Young (R-IN), would have ensured essential workers and troops continued to receive pay during shutdowns. It called for “such sums as are necessary” to maintain standard pay and benefits through the crisis.

Johnson made a simple plea for reason:

“I just hope, on a nonpartisan basis, we do something that makes sense around here for once.”

But the bill failed 54–45, falling short of the 60 votes needed. Only Fetterman, Raphael Warnock, and Jon Ossoff broke party ranks to vote yes. Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth stood with their caucus in opposition.

Senator Johnson lamented the outcome:

“With Democrats continuing the Schumer Shutdown, they should at least agree to pay all the federal employees that are forced to continue working. The Shutdown Fairness Act is a permanent fix to ensure excepted workers and our troops are paid.”

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) was blunt:

“It means Democrats don’t care. This is going to end sometime—the question is when. I guess it depends on how much carnage they want to create. They’re in a box canyon and can’t figure out how to get out.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson added:

“If they oppose the Ron Johnson bill in the Senate, it will be absolutely clear they’re using the military, air traffic control, and law enforcement as pawns for their political efforts.”

He assured that the House was “prepared to act” if the Senate passed the bill—but few believed Democrats would relent.
In the same week, Senate Democrats also blocked a 2026 defense spending bill—another essential measure left on the table.

Democratic Defenses, Crumbling Confidence

Democratic leaders have defended their stance, insisting the bill was too selective.
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said:

“I have a concern about picking and choosing among federal workers. I’m fine supporting it, but I want to limit it to essential workers who serve public safety and national defense.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries dismissed the proposal entirely:

“It’s not legislation I support, because it seems like a political ploy—giving Donald Trump discretion over who gets paid. Everyone should be compensated, and that will happen when we reopen the government.”

But Fetterman’s criticism remains the moral center of this unfolding crisis. His words—blunt, unfiltered, and unwavering—cut through the spin:

“That’s why shutting the government is really what the Democratic Party wants to do… It’s the wrong thing for the country in a period of chaos. I refuse to vote to shut our government down.”

He continues to argue that Congress should reopen first, then debate priorities like Obamacare subsidies. Even several Republicans, usually fierce critics, agree with that approach.

A Country Held Hostage

With senators heading home and no votes scheduled until next week, the shutdown hurtles toward historic length.
Speaker Johnson warns that the U.S. is “barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in history.”

For everyday Americans—especially those in Illinois—the cost grows unbearable. From grounded flights to empty dinner tables, the suffering is real, immediate, and avoidable.

And as Senator Fetterman’s lonely voice rises above the din, his warning grows ever more urgent: this is no longer about budgets—it’s about the soul of a nation.

When even party loyalists begin to break ranks and speak hard truths, one question lingers over Washington like a storm cloud:
How long will power matter more than people?