The Daily Signal - Democrats on Fire Over Shutdown Blame, Political Violence Committee Heats Up | Oct. 29, 2025

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Starting point is 00:00:25 We'd love to talk, business. Congressional Democrats are in dire straits as polls show Americans lay the blame squarely with them for the shutdown. Meanwhile, a lecture by Senator Cory Booker in a Judiciary Subcommittee on the Rise in Political Violence gets a stunning rebuke from both the left and the right. I'm Tony Kennett, host of the Daily Signals Tony Kennett cast, syndicated nationally at 7 p.m. Eastern. It is Wednesday, October 29, 2025. This is the Daily Signals top news in 10. are in a rough spot as snap benefits are set to expire in just a few days due to the extended government shutdown after Senate Democrats refused to pass a clean resolution, helping Republicans and some Democrats meet the 60 vote threshold needed in order to pass the clean continuing

Starting point is 00:01:23 resolution at Biden administration standards. There are a few reasons why Democrats are struggling on the communication regarding this particular shutdown. First and foremost, there are some Democrats who are still trying to suggest that Democrats are not responsible for the government shutdown. Here was Representative Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico's first congressional district being caught by Jake Tapper pushing this narrative. Let me be clear. The administration is choosing to starve American children with money that they already have appropriated. I'm not applauding their tactics. This is a choice by the White House.

Starting point is 00:02:05 This is a choice by the White House. This is also, Congresswoman, this is also a choice by Senate Democrats to not vote to open the government. Yes, it is. At the same time, there are Democrats, for example, like Senator Chris Coons of Delaware and Senator Sheldon White House of Rhode Island, claiming that, yes, the Democrats are responsible for the government shutdown. And yes, this is going to hurt Americans, but it's providing them maximum. leverage. First here's Senator Coons. Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House.

Starting point is 00:02:37 Frankly, this is our only moment of leverage. And Senator White House. Why are working families the leverage the Democrats need to get Obamacare fixed, to get the Republicans to fix Obamacare why is that the place you guys have to go that far? It's the only lever we have. And frankly, it wouldn't be lever at all if Republicans were being reasonable. A reporter from CNN pressured Senator Peter Welch Democrat of Vermont over the largest public sector union in the country calling for Democrats to get this over with and pass the resolution so they can get paid. The nation's largest public sector union calling for you guys to pass a clean continuing resolution. Does that change your position?

Starting point is 00:03:21 It doesn't change it, but it's a real indication of how this is really tough on people. That's why it's really important for the president to get involved because he's the key person here. While Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey tried to claim that this was actually President Trump's shutdown, the polling data indicates quite the opposite. Here's Harry Inton's latest analysis of the Republicans rise during the shutdown. Starting with Republicans, how has the shutdown seem to have affected their political standing? Yeah, you might think given that the Republicans are in charge of both the House and the Senate, that a government shutdown might actually hurt the Republican brand. But in fact, it hasn't. If anything, it's been helped a little bit. Let's take a look

Starting point is 00:04:01 the shift in net popularity versus pre-shutdown. Among the, when we're looking at the Republican Party overall, that brand actually up two points. That's within the margin of error, but clearly it hasn't dropped. Come over to this side of the screen, look at the net approval ratings for Republicans in Congress. It's actually up five points since pre-shutdown.

Starting point is 00:04:18 So what we're seeing here is the Republican brand in Congress has actually improved somewhat compared to where we were pre-shutdown, despite the fact the Republicans control. And that's the math that John Thune and Mike Johnson are looking at is, hey, why should we give it? electorally speaking, when our brand is actually improved a little bit. Now, we say their position is getting better with whom?

Starting point is 00:04:38 Yeah, okay, with whom. So I think it's two groups that it's so important to keep an eye on. All right. Change in the Republican Congress's net approval rating versus pre-shutdown. It's rallying the base for sure. Look at this, the net approval rating up 12 points versus pre-shutdown. But it's not just with the base. It's also with the middle of the electorate.

Starting point is 00:04:54 Look at this. Among independents. It's up eight points as well. So we've got a situation here where Republicans with the shutdown are actually rallying their base, but it's also something that's not hurting them with the folks in the middle. Anything, it's helping them with folks in the middle. And this is the type of math that if you're Republicans you like to see, right? Because something could rally the base but alienate those in the middle or something could rally those in the middle

Starting point is 00:05:15 but alienate the base. But the truth is we're not seeing that. What we're seeing is the Republican brand has actually gotten better among independents and it's also gotten better among Republicans as well, that Republican brand when it comes to those in Congress. So again, what's the electoral reason that Republicans would give in it? this point. And Democrats, of course, they have their eyes on the midterm elections. Yeah, we have elections one week from today, but what Democrats in Congress are mostly focused on or one year in one week from today from the midterm. So how do Democrats? How are they positioned right now? Yeah, so, I mean, look, the generic congressional ballot, which traditionally

Starting point is 00:05:47 Democrats have done really well on. And if you look at this point back when Trump was president the first time around, Democrats are up 11 points. Look at where it is now. Democrats are ahead, but they're actually only up three points. This is, in fact, the worst position Democrats have been on in a generic ballot at this point in midterm when there was a Republican president in the last 20 years, and this is no different from pre-shutdown, so Republicans aren't losing on this metric either. They become more popular, and they're actually in a pretty good position for them historically when it comes to the generic congressional ballot. This is a concerning number for Democrats, are you saying?

Starting point is 00:06:16 This is a concerning number for Democrats because it's considerably worse than they traditionally do in midterm elections when there's a Republican president. We sat down with our Daily Signal president, Rob Blewey, to talk a little bit more about this in depth. No one's having a worse day than Chuck Schumer. social media interns because whether you're on MSNBC, CNN, whether you're on CBS, ABC, Fox News, Daily Wire, Daily Caller, Daily Signal, the news is universal. Democrats are getting schlacked over the shutdown and it's getting worse by the day. Rob Bluey, president of the aforementioned Daily Signal.

Starting point is 00:06:53 Have you ever seen a kind of election where we're getting up for the kind of the off year 20, 25 elections with Virginia, with New Jersey, with California Prop 50. And it is the Democrats who are holding emergency strategy sessions. Tony, it's remarkable because I think that Chuck Schumer and the Democrats thought that this government shutdown was going to play perfectly to their benefit. And it has done anything but that in part because, as you and I've talked about for the last several weeks, number one, they can't seem to find to a consistent message and stick to it. Secondly, I think that the voters are smarter than they give them credit for.

Starting point is 00:07:34 I'll give you one example. I live in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Abigail Spanberger has been running ads pretty regularly over the course of the past month, trying to knock Winsom Sears on the shutdown specifically and some comments that Winsom Sears has made publicly about them. But I'm sorry, if you're the Democrats who are the ones that are continuing to vote against opening the government, how are you, how are you? supposed to make that your central argument here in the closing days. And I just think that it's falling

Starting point is 00:08:04 flat with voters. Yes, Winsom Sears does have a challenge here. She's going against history. The president's incumbent party always is on the, playing the, you know, the challenger role, I guess is the way that I put it when you have these off-year elections. At the same time, yeah, the Democrats just keep stepping in it, as you said. Also, yesterday, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on the rise in political violence got a little heated after Senator Cory Booker lectured those present to testify about the need for self-introspection and calling out all sides which he claims Republicans don't do. To hear quotes that I've even said that need to be tamped down because the only thing that's going to save our country now is not more political posturing

Starting point is 00:08:51 and partisan finger pointing. The only thing that's going to get us out of this condition, is for courageous leaders in both parties to start standing up and extending grace and self-introspection. Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire was quick to point out that not only does the left not call out political violence, but Senator Cory Booker himself had actually endorsed an individual complicit in calling for political violence earlier in the year. Of course, and, you know, there is appropriate concern. the kind of concern that one would never have on the left because they don't face any threats on college campuses. College campuses are key, though, here, Senator, because when some fringe right-winger does something awful,

Starting point is 00:09:38 he's castigated thrown into prison, as he should be. When a fringe left-winger commits terrorist attacks, sometimes he's given university positions, as happened with the Weather Underground, an organization which blew up part of this very building, and they were rewarded with sign-a-cures at universities. For you and from- And to further undercut Cory Booker's argument that the left is better at college, calling out political violence, here's liberal podcaster Jennifer Welch suggesting that Democrats need to get on board with celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk and maybe the murder of others.

Starting point is 00:10:09 Look at this clip of a wine mom at the No Kings March. Play the clip. The word's name was? Charlie Kirk, ma'am? Yeah, him is horrible. Horrible. Charlie Kirk is horrible? Yes, I'm glad he's not here. You're glad he's dead? Yes. Why would you say something like that, He was horrible on the campuses, the college campuses. Horrible person. You know what? I do the exact same thing. Would you be glad if I would die?

Starting point is 00:10:35 Maybe. I'd have to think about it. You should be ashamed of yourself. Your friend just said she'd be happy if I died. So listen up, Democratic establishment. You can either jump on board with this shit or we're coming after you in the same way that we come after MAGA. head down to the description and make sure you're subscribed to the Tony Kinnett cast. We've got a slate of interviews that are coming in so quickly.

Starting point is 00:11:05 We're not able to release them all on the show. So subscribing, make sure that you get access to all of them. Tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern, we'll be getting a roundup on the day's news and nonsense and preparing for our major election coverage under a week away. I'm Tony Kinnett, and this has been The Daily Signal's top news in 10. Take care.

The Daily Signal - Democrats on Fire Over Shutdown Blame, Political Violence Committee Heats Up | Oct. 29, 2025

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