The Upside Hombres
Kevin McCullough
Yesterday, I asked the obvious question: what’s the downside?
Sure—our military personnel having pay delayed is a serious concern. And yes, some vital programs that feed those in real need being temporarily halted is a legitimate worry. No one should minimize either. But in the larger scheme of things—when the rest of Washington, D.C., shutters its bloated bureaucracies for a few days—the average American is right to ask: what exactly are we losing?
Turns out, there may even be upsides.
In fact, the longer the government stays closed, the more opportunities the American people have to see what life looks like without thousands of nameless bureaucrats tripping over each other, slowing down progress, and gumming up the works of a nation that functions better when its citizens—not its politicians—are in charge.
One of Donald Trump’s earliest campaign promises was that he would drain the swamp. That phrase became iconic not because it was catchy, but because it was true. The American people had grown sick of seeing a permanent ruling class grow larger, more arrogant, and more detached from their concerns. Now, in the midst of a shutdown forced by Democrats—Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries chief among them—the swamp is actually shrinking, even if only by accident.
more
https://townhall.com/columnists/kevinmccullough/2025/10/02/the-upside-hombres-n2664345