Dem Rep. Kamlager-Dove: It’s GOP’s Fault if There’s Shutdown, Shutdown Might Be Dems’ ‘Lever’

February 11, 2026
6:26 am

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Democrats are at it again, flipping the script on fiscal responsibility with Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) boldly claiming on Bloomberg's Balance of Power that any government shutdown is the GOP's fault—despite Republicans holding slim majorities in both chambers. She insists the GOP should marshal all of the votes needed to keep the lights on, conveniently ignoring how House Democrats have repeatedly tanked bipartisan deals by demanding bloated spending packages stuffed with progressive wish-list items. Kamlager-Dove even floated the idea of a shutdown as a Democratic lever, a cynical admission that chaos could be weaponized for political gain. This isn't leadership; it's gamesmanship from a party that's spent decades expanding federal overreach while crying foul when conservatives draw a line. For the 2A community, this rhetoric is a flashing red warning light. Continuing resolutions (CRs) like the one in question often sneak in anti-gun poison pills—think funding boosts for ATF rule-making on pistol braces, ghost guns, or private sales tracking, or cuts to programs that support law-abiding shooters. Remember the 2023 CR battles? Democrats tried embedding billions for red flag expansions and universal background checks, forcing pro-2A Republicans to hold the line or risk betrayal. Kamlager-Dove's shutdown saber-rattling underscores the stakes: with GOP majorities fragile post-2024 midterms, any lever pulled by Dems could force concessions that erode our rights under the guise of averting crisis. It's classic Alinsky tactics—create the problem, blame the opposition, then demand surrender. The implications are clear: 2A patriots must pressure House leadership like Speaker Johnson to reject any CR without ironclad protections—no new ATF ammo, no funding for gun registries, and veto power over riders that chip away at Heller or Bruen. If shutdown looms, frame it as Democrat extortion, not GOP intransigence. We've seen this movie before; in 2018-2019 shutdowns, gun rights held firm precisely because conservatives didn't blink. Stay vigilant, contact your reps, and turn this lever back on the real obstructors—because nothing says for the people like holding our Second Amendment hostage to big-government bloat.

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Democrats are at it again, flipping the script on fiscal responsibility with Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) boldly claiming on Bloomberg’s Balance of Power that any government shutdown is the GOP’s fault—despite Republicans holding slim majorities in both chambers. She insists the GOP should marshal all of the votes needed to keep the lights on, conveniently ignoring how House Democrats have repeatedly tanked bipartisan deals by demanding bloated spending packages stuffed with progressive wish-list items. Kamlager-Dove even floated the idea of a shutdown as a Democratic lever, a cynical admission that chaos could be weaponized for political gain. This isn’t leadership; it’s gamesmanship from a party that’s spent decades expanding federal overreach while crying foul when conservatives draw a line.

For the 2A community, this rhetoric is a flashing red warning light. Continuing resolutions (CRs) like the one in question often sneak in anti-gun poison pills—think funding boosts for ATF rule-making on pistol braces, ghost guns, or private sales tracking, or cuts to programs that support law-abiding shooters. Remember the 2023 CR battles? Democrats tried embedding billions for red flag expansions and universal background checks, forcing pro-2A Republicans to hold the line or risk betrayal. Kamlager-Dove’s shutdown saber-rattling underscores the stakes: with GOP majorities fragile post-2024 midterms, any lever pulled by Dems could force concessions that erode our rights under the guise of averting crisis. It’s classic Alinsky tactics—create the problem, blame the opposition, then demand surrender.

The implications are clear: 2A patriots must pressure House leadership like Speaker Johnson to reject any CR without ironclad protections—no new ATF ammo, no funding for gun registries, and veto power over riders that chip away at Heller or Bruen. If shutdown looms, frame it as Democrat extortion, not GOP intransigence. We’ve seen this movie before; in 2018-2019 shutdowns, gun rights held firm precisely because conservatives didn’t blink. Stay vigilant, contact your reps, and turn this lever back on the real obstructors—because nothing says for the people like holding our Second Amendment hostage to big-government bloat.

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