Three weeks into the government shutdown, Democrats are learning the hard way that political theater doesn’t always go as planned. Their attempt to pin the blame on Republicans has started to unravel — not because of GOP spin, but because their own leaked polling tells a very different story.
For weeks, Democratic leaders have stuck to the same line: the GOP caused the shutdown by refusing to pass a “clean” spending bill. That message might play well on MSNBC, but outside the partisan echo chamber, the reality is messier. Anyone familiar with how Congress actually functions knows the logjam isn’t one-sided. Democrats have been blocking votes, filibustering bills, and then feigning outrage when Republicans call them out for it.
Still, they’ve clung to their talking point that voters overwhelmingly blame Republicans. The problem? Their own data doesn’t support that claim.
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