audio version of the segment here > Even 43% of Dems say their own party shouldn’t shut down government.
Jay Weber Show transcript 10-1-25
Here’s one answer to the question ‘which side will be blamed for the government shutdown’:
A New York Times/Sienna College poll that shows two-thirds of Americans would blame the democrats.
The poll also includes numbers that explain why Chuck Schumer and the democrats are undergoing this foolish gambit.
To sum it up: we’ve got 95 percent of republicans who say dems shouldn’t’ shut down government... 68 percent of independents who say democrats shouldn’t’ shut down government....and even 43 percent of democrats who say their own party shouldn’t shut down government.
I’d suggest that it is an -incredibly strong sentiment coming from the voters in such a divided country, politically. We aren’t divided on this one: democrats get the blame.
And over the last few days, President Trump and republican congressmen-from the leaders to the back-benchers- have been doing a great job of messaging this. Placing the blame where it correctly belongs.
In fact, Greg, let’s lay a little Mike Johnson on them. This is the house speaker in an interview yesterday saying these democrat demands aren’t at all reasonable-and they run counter to what the voters just voted for in fall.
The republicans are even doing a decent job of messaging this.
JD Vance said it earlier in the day: in congress, you don’t use your policy disagreements as leverage...or as a gun that should be held to the voter’s heads.
This is a message that Chuck Schumer and a whole horde of democrats seemed to understand back in 2013, when the last govt shutdown was being threatened. In that instance, republicans were threatening the shutdown to rein in spending....and listen to how adamant these very same democrats were.... that closing down government was reckless. Listen to these hypocrites:
Here’s what I keep thinking about: folks, Chuck Schumer knows how stupid this shutdown is. He was smart enough to avoid one in March-but got just shredded for it -by the activist base, and so he’s refusing to ‘cross the base’ this time. Even if it turns out to be a political and messaging disaster for them.
Even if it leads to tens of thousands more federal workers being permanently furloughed. By God, the base is insisting that Schumer make this move.
Moreover, if the basic move wasn’t stupid enough, they are insisting Schumer do it over ‘free health care for illegals. Good grief.
As the national review editors point out: in this case, democrats aren’t even asking to restore funding that has been cut- they are demanding that republicans expand a program that the GOP has been opposing for the past sixteen years!
This is dumb. And it’s a ‘no-win’ situation for Schumer. Oh-
And it’s a situation that Schumer managed to exacerbate on Monday when he quietly floated the idea of a ‘one week’ capitulation to his caucus.
Politico says on Monday, Schumer floated the idea of a week-long funding bill to his rank-and-file senators....and several of them turned around and quickly squealed to the base activists.
And so- they hammered on Schumer-again-before he and Hakeem Jefferies ever went into the meeting with Trump at the white house.
Chucky is feeling shell shocked and must be wondering if they’re spying on him in his office bathroom, at this point. He can’t make a move without the bloodthirsty activists knowing about it.
Who would have ever guessed that Jon Fetterman-
John Fetterman- the ‘Frankenstein-looking goof who had a stroke right as he took office- and who runs around looking like a slob in jogging shorts and a t-shirt most days- would be the most thoughtful and reasonable democrat on the hill, now?
But he is.
Fetterman told reporters again yesterday that he will vote along with the republicans when the vote on this continuing resolution comes up:
They have none- and even the guy with cognitive problems in their caucus knows it.
And to think that this is ‘all about ‘Schumer trying to cling to his own sad little job and the little bit of power that he has as ‘minority leader’ makes it even sadder, to me.
It would be one thing if he was Hakeem Jefferies age- or AOC’s age-and was in the middle of a political career in dc that he wanted to last decades.
Folks, Chuck Schumer is 74 years old and his dc career-has already- lasted decades. He’s ten years past the private sector retirement age. And is he still clinging to this job? And he still wants it so desperately that he will ‘sell out’ the country to the socialist left?
Hey-in probably a week or two- Chuck Schumer is going to sell out to socialist and socialist leaders who are increasingly controlling this tent.
Trust me- in a week or two- Chuck Schumer is going to bend the knee to New York’s socialists and endorse Zohran Mamdani for NY mayor. It is with ‘that act’ that Schumer’s transition over to the ‘dark side’ will be complete.
He's already a knurled, hunch backed old man who seems to wear the evidence of his evil etched into his withered face.
When he sells out the country to socialism so he can keep his little ‘leadership gig’ for another year or two, he will be among the most pathetic American politicians of this modern age.
But just watch. Stay tuned. He’ll do it.
So- as of today? How does this possibly end?
It ends with seven or eight of Schumer’s own democrats agreeing to betray him and vote along with the republicans to reopen government. Those need to be senators who are either ‘willing to take the heat back home’.... or who come from red states whose constituents would mostly applaud them for having some common sense and bucking their own party.
These betrayals can either come -against- the wishes of Schumer or (much more likely) – quietly orchestrated with Schumer-
But that’s the way this will end.
I can see Chucky being the duplicitous sort of snake that he always is- and finding seven or eight senate dems willing to ‘save his bacon’ as he acts publicly outraged about it.
Schumer will want to be able to say to the base: I tried. By God, i tried to fight trump. We had him on the run. He was ready to go. And then these other caucus members went soft.
I’m furious at them. Oh hey, I’m furious at them. Make no mistake. But...I tried.
That! -is Schumer’s most likely off-ramp now. Because-as the national review editors pointed out- our federal government cannot be shut down forever.
Most of these shutdowns-in this era-have lasted about four days. So, a democrat ‘cave’ is going to be coming sooner rather than later.
Chuck Schumer can either ‘engineer it’ and try to publicly ‘save face’ in the process- or he can have seven of his own members shamelessly and publicly betray him.
I’m guessing on the ‘former’ scenario...in which he engineers his own showdown defeat behind the scenes and then pretends to be angry about it.
As it is-there are about four to six democrat votes who will already cave: Fetterman, retiring senator Jean Shaheen, Maggie Hassan. Angus King, an independent senator who caucuses them.
So that’s four.
Schumer only needs to find three or four accomplices for a little conspiracy to end this shutdown while saving his own bacon- and that’s quite doable.
I will predict that’s how these ends.
Schumer’s scheme is already underway, I’d bet.
photo credit: Getty Images
New York/Siena Poll-Cross-Tabs: September 2025 Times/Siena National Poll of Registered Voters