WSJ: Progressives Rage Against Shutdown Chuck Over Playing the Cards They Demanded He Play

Have we already covered this? Oh, maybe once or twice. But … are we tired of the winning yet?

Not me!

Besides, the hypocrisy on all sides of the meltdown on the Left following the collapse of the Chuck Schumer Shutdown has yet to fully unfold. The House will shortly take up the bill passed by the Senate last night, and while Republicans likely won’t need Democrat votes, the eight Senate Democrats who folded would certainly appreciate some political cover. Progressives have painted a big target on their back, all for playing a lousy hand on which progressives themselves demanded they double down:

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) wasn’t one of the eight Democratic senators who voted with Republicans to back GOP legislation to end the government shutdown. He is still taking most of the blame.

Angry progressive voters and party activists have focused their fury on the 74-year-old Schumer in the aftermath of what they see as a collapse by Senate Democrats.

Let’s start with this hypocrisy first. Chuck Schumer wasn’t among the eight Senate Democrats to vote to end cloture, and then also to vote for the bill in the final floor vote. You’d have to be a moron, however, to believe that Schumer didn’t arrange that outcome directly and personally. All eight Senate Democrats who flipped won’t face voters in the upcoming midterms, which is hardly a coincidence:

Durbin – Not running
Fetterman – 2028
Rosen – 2030

I’m noticing a pattern …..

— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) November 10, 2025

It’s not a pattern; it was a strategy. Schumer hand-picked the flippers to keep them safe from retribution in the next cycle. And he picked juuuuuust enough of them to get the shutdown shut down, so to speak.

The real tell here, however, is Dick Durbin’s flip. Durbin has been a loyal lieutenant for decades, first to Harry Reid and then to Chuck Schumer. He’s the second-ranked leader in the Democrat caucus as Minority Whip, put there by Schumer to watch his back. Durbin represents a deep-blue state with a deranged progressive as its governor. In what universe does Durbin stick a knife in Schumer’s back to buck progressives on The Great March Forward Into Budgetary Collapse?

Come on, man. The whole “Schumer couldn’t keep his caucus in line” argument is about as believable as “Sharp As a Tack™” was before (and especially after) the presidential debate in June 2024. Schumer orchestrated this retreat from political disaster; he didn’t get victimized by it. 

But that’s hardly the only fairy tale being spread like Joe Biden’s spryness in the wake of this collapse. Progressive activists have “focused their fury” on Schumer as a way to distract from their own stupidity. They demanded that Schumer play this game of budgetary chicken while having no real leverage. They learned nothing from previous GOP shutdowns, which demonstrated the futility of fighting a president by taking federal workers and beneficiaries hostage. Schumer tried to warn them about that futility in March, and progressives launched an intimidation campaign in response:

Schumer’s predicament shows how hard it is for Democratic leaders to navigate the political currents in President Trump’s second term, when many left-leaning voters are looking for energetic resistance to the administration. In mid-March, Schumer was one of 10 Senate Democrats who voted to advance a GOP funding bill that kept the government open. Rowdy protesters gathered outside his New York City offices. He had to cancel his book tour.

This time, Schumer led Democrats into a government shutdown, only to set off a new round of recriminations when the strategy failed to yield major concessions from Republicans.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill: Schumer is the worst strategist in the Democrat Party, except for all the others. 

Anyway. Expect a lot more performative outrage as the bill passes to the House, where Hakeem Jeffries will have to thread his own needle of hypocrisy. Jeffries spent yesterday defending Schumer, claiming that his Senate counterpart “held the line,” and endorsed his leadership. Jeffries will whip against the bill that Schumer helped pass, however, while maintaining the absurd implication that Schumer got backdoored by Durbin. 

And that means we have at least 24 hours more to enjoy the dueling hypocrises and family feuds on the Left. Let us not be shy about that enjoyment. Maybe we can even set it to music … 

Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, a few Dems have finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points. They own this.

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