As another government shutdown has begun, the usual blame game is already in full swing. Donald Trump and his Republican allies are quick to point fingers at Democrats, claiming they’re unwilling to “negotiate.” But let’s be clear: this crisis was not born of stalemate — it was engineered.
Trump wanted this shutdown.
This isn’t speculation — it’s strategy. His Office of Management and Budget director, Russ Vought, has openly embraced using a shutdown to permanently fire tens if not hundreds of thousands of public servants — people who forecast our weather, respond to disasters through FEMA, research diseases at NIH, and protect public health through the CDC. These are not “deep state” villains — they’re the backbone of the services Americans rely on every single day.
And as this sabotage unfolds, Trump continues to ignore court rulings and steamroll ahead with devastating tariffs that raise the cost of groceries, vehicles, and everyday essentials for working families. Declaring domestic threats and calling for our cities to be military training grounds against American citizens.
But instead of working to cushion the blow of a shutdown — to shield American families from unnecessary suffering — the MAGA agenda is intent on amplifying it. Why? Because the pain is the point.
This isn’t just about budgets or border policy. It’s about power. It’s about using the machinery of government to dismantle itself and replace it with authoritarian control. It’s about firing scientists and nurses while elevating cronies and extremists. It’s about destroying government so they can own whatever’s left.
And make no mistake — this is not just a Republican shutdown. It’s a Trump shutdown, willed into being by a man who sees chaos not as a cost, but as a tactic. His GOP allies in Congress are either complicit or too cowardly to stop him.
So, what should the American people be watching for?
Not just who to blame — but who uses this moment of crisis to hurt Americans further. Who treats the shutdown as an opportunity to dismantle your government, your rights, and your access to basic services. Watch for the smiles behind the sabotage. Watch for those who see opportunity in your pain.
And more importantly — decide what you will do.
Because this shutdown is not just a political fight in Washington. It is a test for the rest of us.
Will we fund a war against ourselves?
Will we be silent while healthcare is stripped from seniors, meals are taken from children, and disaster response is shuttered during a climate crisis?
Will we bankroll billionaires and foot the bill for fascism?
Will we fund an administration that at every turn thwarts the rule of law and our constitution?
Or will we rise — visibly, loudly, and unapologetically — and say: No more.
No funding for fascism.
No dollars for dictatorship.
No bankrolling a war on the American people.
This is not about shutting down a party. It’s about shutting down a war on our democracy. We must make it clear: this is our government, our future, and our fight.
Stand up, America. The time is now.
Say it loud and say it proud, Joe. This is engineered IMO not so much by Trump, who is looking and acting more and more like a puppet made out of a discarded sock with gaping holes in it, but by his enablers in the Project 2025 crowd. And, although many hundreds of thousands and perhaps in aggregate many millions of us will be on the streets and streetcorners protesting these outrages as they roll on (and roll on they will, barring some miracle from on high) we must not stop there. Anything short of a general strike or mass boycotts or mass witholding of our tax payments will hardly raise an eyebrow in Washington, Silicon Valley, Wall Street and wherever else the architects of our misfortune gather themselves. We must understand the serious nature of where we find ourselves, and make certain sacrifices, at a minimum, to fight our way free of it, and those villains and moron architects of it.
My concern is the President is setting the stage to implement Marshall Law despite the fact he does not have the legal authority. However, neither his use of Title 10 military in California and the mobilization of National Guard personnel were legal actions of the President. As a reference, Governor Rudy Perpich of Minnesota challenged the Federal mobilization of the National Guard which was upheld by the Supreme Court on 11 June 1990. The California Governor should have challenged and the Supreme Court would have had to review again, especially as there was no national emergency.