Were one month into a government shutdown, and theres no end in sight. When the Democrats decided not to swallow the GOP spending bill without getting some concessions, there were warnings that a shutdown could be lengthy. The longest was led by Democrats in Donald Trumps first term, who opposed the billions he wanted for a wall along the border with Mexico. (In typical Trump fashion, he eventually caved.)This time out, Trump is too busy redesigning bathrooms and holding let them eat cake parties to get involved in ending the impasse. Just three Democrats (technically, two and an independent) have broken ranks to approve the budget, while the rest hold the line. Republicans are equally determined not to agree to the Democrats demand to negotiate a temporary extension for Obamacare subsidies before passing the budget. Related Can Democrats come up with a Project 2029 to rebuild democracy after Trump? The result is a staring contest, with each side waiting for the other to give in. The likeliest group to fold is the Democrats. Already, a few Democrats are looking for a way out, concluding that the party has gotten about all it can from the shutdown.My assessment is that weve won anything that we can possibly win, and the costs of continuing the shutdown are going to be felt by people who are going to food banks and federal employees, one anonymous Democratic senator told The Hill. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today Since this was the probable outcome from the beginning, the question is, why did the Democrats do it? The answer is to look like they were doing something.Rank-and-file Democrats are furious at the party leaderships lack of pushback on Trump. The party is unpopular not because it lost last years election, but because its own members hate what its done since. Party members want a fight, even a losing one, and so the leadership responded. The action was a direct response to the last chance the Democrats had to take a stand, last March, when they decided to play ball with the Republicans as if nothing had changed with the election. The stated reason for the Democrats action was to stop a catastrophic rise in health care premiums. Republicans eliminated subsidies for people buying insurance on exchanges, and the upshot is that many older Americans are now seeing their premiums double. Democrats wanted to negotiate a deal to extend the subsidies for another year. (Budget cuts to Medicaid, along with onerous work requirements, arent being discussed, although they will have an equally devastating impact, including on people with HIV.)Some Republicans actually like that idea, because it shelters them from the political blowback that the sticker shock will cause. In a sense, Democrats were offering to save Republicans from themselves. Politically, thats a debatable strategy. True, Republicans are getting more blame for the shutdown. But people will forget about the shutdown all too soon. If you were playing hardball, youd want Republicans to own a disaster of their own making now, not postpone the pain until after next years midterm elections. But the counterargument is that the fight did highlight the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Still, there are rumblings that a vote on an extension may come up after the government reopens, but the odds of its success look slim.In the meantime, Trump remains MIA, refusing to meet with Democrats. He has called on Republican senators to nuke the filibuster, since the need for 60 votes to get anything passed means the GOP needs Democrats to vote with them. Ending the filibuster would be a long-term benefit for Democrats. The last time the filibuster was in the spotlight, it was because Joe Biden couldnt get his agenda passed. Thanks to then-Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, the filibuster remained alive, helping to tank Bidens proposed legislation. Getting legislation passed by a simple majority would also cure a lot of the publics disdain for Congressional gridlock. They may not like the results, but thats what elections are for. The one person who would love for the shutdown to go on indefinitely is House Speaker Mike Johnson. Once Congress is back in session, Johnson will have to seat Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in September. Grijalva would mean there are enough votes for a measure to release the files on Jeffrey Epstein, the late pedophile financier and one-time Trump pal. The files could be so damaging to Trump that the shutdown will quickly fade from the medias attention. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.