The government shutdown is officially over.  Wednesday night after 43 days of pain induced by one party in government, the Democrats’ attempt to hold America hostage finally collapsed.  The party’s demands for another trillion dollars for the failed Obamacare subsidies have been exchanged for a promise of future votes in the Senate on the issue.  It’s more a “truce” than an end to the war, but for now it’s progress.
 
The final vote to open was 222-209.  All but two Republicans voted to reopen.  One of them who voted against opening was Rep. Thomas Massie, who, I’m sorry to say, represents the Northern Kentucky district where I grew up.  President Trump is working hard to defeat Massie in 2026 (I hope the challenge is successful).
 
Meanwhile, all the Democrats except six voted to keep the government closed.  Pass this on when you’re talking to your middle-of-the-road friends. 
 
No debate is needed after 43 days of this.  Democrats in Congress voted to keep our nation’s airports in turmoil – and in danger of accidents – on the eve of the holiday season.  They voted to keep “daily bread” out of the mouths of our poorest families. They told military men and women they should wait even more weeks for their paychecks for defending us.
 
The six responsible Democrats who voted to open probably should hire bodyguards today.  They deserve credit.  Even more, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who takes nothing but barrages of hate from the media, deserves kudos for refusing to succumb to the Democrats’ rants.  He has been a stalwart.
 
Within an hour Wednesday night, President Trump signed the reopening bill into law in the Oval Office.  The president’s statement was to the point: “Today we’re sending a clear message that we’ll never give in to extortion.”  Speaking of the extorting Democrats, he went on, “Don’t forget what they’ve done to our country.”
 
Chances are, we won’t be tempted to forget because history repeats itself.  The main portion of the bill signed into law Wednesday night only funds the government until January 30.  Not sated with the devastation they’ve caused, the Democrats are likely salivating to put America through this again.  They think it’s a winning formula.
 
 
 
Was It A Clear Victory For Us?
 
The logical conclusion to draw is that good government finally prevailed.  Programs and personnel are up and running again. The holiday travel season has not been destroyed via empty airports and empty Thanksgiving tables.
 
Not only that, but we have the spectacle of Schumer and the Ocasio-Cortez Democrats at each other’s throats.  All the popcorn and soda in the land wouldn’t be enough to supply a front-row seat to this cage fight.
 
The Democrats’ civil war doesn’t stop in Washington, D.C.  At the other end of the country, in beleaguered Seattle, yet another socialist radical mayor has apparently been elected.  Katie Wilson defeated her opponent, incumbent Bruce Harrell, who’s only the usual far-left liberal.  Another major American city wakes up this morning to the rule of an insane, socialist neo-Marxist.
 
What about our fellow Republicans?
 
Consider what we’ve been spared.  The reopening bill is part of a package that extends some spending and programs until September 30, 2026.  It commits to future debates and votes on health care and a provision allowing several GOP senators to sue for damages over the Biden Administration’s invasion of their phone records.
 
But overall, there’s nothing of consequence in these concessions.  Had the GOP played its usual shrinking violet game, our grassroots would be in meltdown.  Fiscal conservatives would have been on the war path, and the finger-pointing would have been an all-hands exercise.
 
So, Wednesday night was the outcome we had to have.  But we can’t be under any illusions. The GOP took a shellacking on November 4.  Analyze it however you want regarding blue states, the youth vote, the gender gap or a dozen other things that keep pollsters busy and well-paid.
 
Still, this much is true.  There are millions of Americans in every corner of the country who live in dread that they are one major illness away from being wiped out.  From losing everything – what little they’ve been able to put aside for a rainy day gone in a single storm.
 
These fellow Americans are just one paycheck away from being unable to meet basic expenses.  I know what it’s like growing up in a household where this was the case – not some ominous cloud on a distant horizon but the daily reality.
 
For more than 40 days, these vulnerable people were told the Democrat Party is fighting for them. It’s a lie, given the harm the Democrats’ policies have caused, but don’t underestimate how people react when a politician says he or she cares they are being crushed with expense – and worry.
 
Again and again, the Democrats and their media allies charged that Republicans wouldn’t give an extra penny to stave off disaster. “Those capitalist so-and-so’s won’t spare a dime for anyone,” they say.
 
What compounds the tragedy is that these tactics aren’t even new.  For the last 20 years, at least the Pelosi Democrats have hammered the GOP as the tool of “big insurance” and billionaires.  In reality, “big insurance” backs the Democrats and relies on big government to help them reel in more profits.
 
Election after election this strategy has worked like a charm for the Dems.  Republicans go into an election cycle where history says they’ll gain 30 seats, and they’re lucky to pick up two.
 
President Trump has long had an ear for what people are experiencing.  He has taken the health insurers to task for cashing in on people’s pain. As he said earlier this week when the shutdown was still in force, “take from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people, and terminate, per Dollar spent, the worst Healthcare anywhere in the World, ObamaCare.”
 
Our friends in Congress need to stop a moment and ponder what it’s like to be a working family in your 30s or 40s.  You learn your wife has some form of cancer or neurodegenerative disease whose treatment will run into the tens of thousands.  You have, maybe, $5,000 in the bank and the two of you are already stretched to the limits.
 
The Democrats have nothing that will solve these problems. They exploit them for more big government and trillions of spending.  But there’s the GOP, mute, not even able to talk about the everyday cares that are driving people to a socialist party who will raise taxes and wreck the economy.
 
So, who won the shutdown fight?  My friends, the jury is still out.
 
 
 
Marxist Judges Abandon Rule Of Law
 
Between June and October, the Trump Administration implemented “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago. An estimated 3,000 illegal aliens were arrested as part of the effort to enforce immigration laws that were ignored under Biden/Harris.
 
These were not easy arrests. Mini mobs tried to block many of them. Immigration police were harassed and threatened. But they persevered.
 
But now, Left-wing U.S. District Federal Judge Jeffery Cummings sided with the ACLU and ordered that 615 of those arrested must be allowed to post bond and be released. Guess who appointed him? Former President Biden.
 
During the Biden years federal judges blocked virtually every effort by states to secure their own borders since Biden/Harris weren’t doing it. Judges ruled states had no right to get involved in immigration enforcement. Now, the same type of judges are doing everything they can to stop President Trump from cleaning up the mess.
 
 

Jesus Wasn’t a Socialist
 
There is a growing effort by political forces on the Left to convince Christians that socialism and its “father” Marxism are closely aligned with the teachings of Jesus. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nonetheless, this lie is gaining adherents. Christians must be discerning to avoid being deceived.
 
Read more in my latest public policy update for the James Dobson Family Institute.



Defending Faith, Family, & Freedom
 
In my latest “Defending Faith, Family, & Freedom” podcast for the James Dobson Family Institute, I speak with the Honorable Michele Bachmann about the biblical mandate to confront growing antisemitism among young Christians.
 
Listen to the podcast here.