I’ve been traveling and checked out (thankfully) on 2025 political bullshit, but this gave me a thought…
What if the end game (and let’s be frank, there’s no grand architect for the Dems on this) isn’t to negotiate an extension, it’s to raise the profile of a FAILURE to negotiate an extension.
This is basically about the 2026 campaign-Dem voters hate their representatives, largely for being losers, and those representatives can’t do anything about that, even collectively.
What they can do is raise attention to GOP betrayals of their own voters (I.e., attempt to make those voters hate their party, too).
Whether it’s a federal employees union or some other group calling for the end to the shutdown, at some point the Dems can throw up their hands, point to the pain their constituents are feeling and say “we tried.” In other words, this gives the Dems cover and more importantly, doesn’t actually fix the problems the GOP created.