Yes, We Really Do Want to Shut Down the Government

Killing the 1,500-Page CR: Why Rushed, Bloated Legislation Doesn’t Fly in the Post Trump Election Era

Emotional Blackmail Is Dead, Invoking Holidays and Federal Workers Won’t Save the Establishment

Wednesday, December 18th, 2024: By, Walter Curt

In the aftermath of the election, one thing has become crystal clear: The American people are fed up with “business as usual” in Washington, D.C. Ever since Donald J. Trump’s victory, a chorus of voices from the establishment wing of the Republican Party and nearly every corner of the Democratic Party have tried to soften, reinterpret, or outright deny what the voters demanded in November. Their refrain goes something like this: “You don’t really mean you want to dismantle the government. You’re just upset. Surely you don’t want to shut it down entirely and force tough choices during the holidays.” Well, let’s clear that up once and for all. Yes, we really do mean it. Yes, we want the government shut down if that’s what it takes to deliver on the mandate the American people voted for.

Look no further than the recent effort to ram through a 1,500-page Continuing Resolution (CR) just weeks before the new administration takes office. True to form, the political class tried to push an enormous piece of legislation that nobody had the time to read or understand in its entirety. The old Washington way: rush it through, avoid scrutiny, keep the money flowing, and maintain their iron grip on power. But this time, the people fought back.

Within minutes—yes, minutes—of the bill’s text being released, ordinary citizens across the nation rolled up their sleeves and dug in. The internet exploded with concerned voters dissecting the CR’s every clause, shining a light into its darkest corners. On social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), the message was swift and decisive: Kill the bill. No more rubber-stamping bloated legislation. And guess what? It worked. Outraged voters bombarded their representatives with phone calls, emails, and tweets demanding that they reject this last-minute betrayal of the November mandate. Even Elon Musk chimed in, amplifying the public’s call to action. In short, the people served notice: We are watching, and we will hold you accountable.

The left’s predictable response to this pushback was to cry foul and wring their hands, warning of a holiday season government shutdown that would “hurt federal workers” and “disrupt holiday plans.” Instead of acknowledging that the citizens voted for a massive restructuring of government—indeed, for a form of dismantling that bloated bureaucracy—they resorted to emotional blackmail. They expressed astonishment and confusion, as if it never occurred to them that voters might actually want to see the federal machine grind to a halt. But that’s exactly what we want. We are not afraid of a government shutdown. In fact, we welcome it as a necessary step on the path to real change.

For too long, the Washington establishment has believed it can ignore the will of the people, hide behind complicated bills, and rely on taxpayer-funded salaries to keep the lights on no matter what. But Trump’s election should have shattered that illusion. The American people voted for a leader who promised to “drain the swamp,” and put the bureaucracy on notice. They voted for someone who would challenge entrenched interests and not play by the rules of the old guard. And now, when we act to ensure that not a single piece of legislation—let alone a massive CR—passes until President Trump takes the oath of office, the establishment is stunned. They seem genuinely puzzled that we are perfectly okay with a shutdown. Let them be puzzled. Let them face the reality that the country no longer wants their complacency or their excuses.

We are not interested in half-measures. Every day we have left until January 20th is a day to exert pressure and demand that the federal government be remade in the image of the voters’ will. If that means calling every single congressman, senator, and official until their phone lines light up like a Christmas tree, then so be it. If that means letting thousands of federal workers face the uncertainty of a shutdown, that is regrettable—but it was not we who put them in this position. They have been propped up by a system that refused to listen to the people for far too long. Now, at last, that system is being challenged at its very core.

On January 20th, President Trump will take the reins, and the bureaucratic stranglehold on this country will begin to loosen. We expect, indeed we demand, that a large percentage of the so-called “civil servants” who have choked innovation, fairness, and accountability in the federal apparatus be shown the door. The entrenched interests, the career policymakers who have run their own agendas at the expense of the national interest, are living on borrowed time. This is exactly what the voters asked for when they chose a leader who promised a top-to-bottom shake-up.

So, to those who claim we’re bluffing: We are not. To those who try to guilt-trip us with tearful pleas about the holidays: We remain unmoved. The American people have risen up, awakened from a long slumber, and decided that enough is enough. “Business as usual” ended on November 6th when the people demanded radical change. They have no appetite for 1,500-page monstrosities shoved down their throats in the last days of an old administration. They have no interest in maintaining bloated agencies and ineffective personnel. They want reform, and they’ll get it—even if it means halting all government operations until the rightful inauguration of the President they elected to enact that reform.

So let the shutdown come, let the outdated system grind to a halt. The establishment never believed we’d go this far, but here we are. They never imagined that their constituents would be willing to endure a little temporary discomfort to achieve lasting change, but that’s exactly what we’re prepared to do. This is our message to D.C.: The people have spoken, and there is no turning back. We will get the government we demanded, no matter what it takes—even if that means standing strong, shutting it down, and waiting until the new era begins in January. We wanted it, we asked for it, and we will have it.