Would this novel approach to the Government shutdown have been effective?:

[Scrivener7]

8. I don't think so. I don't think scolding works, though I'd love to do it. I think the right

message that we SHOULD have been putting everywhere was this:

Republicans own this government. They have enough members to pass this budget without any Democratic votes, but they're in such disarray that they can't. This budget is SO bad, they can't even get their own members to vote for it. If they ask us to help them, we'll be happy to do so. But right now they want to hike up your healthcare costs A LOT. Also, they won't release the Epstein files. If they want our help, they need to take healthcare cost increases out of the budget, and they have to release the Epstein files.

If they won't do those things, they're on their own. They'll have to convince their own members to screw you over and protect pedophiles. We simply won't do that.

But it's entirely up to them whether the government shuts down. We have nothing to do with it.