Will flood the zone next fall in that case.

You negotiate with them by gaining leverage and that requires both a backbone and a stomach for it. Trump maybe been immune to the consequence, but other elected republicans and republican business leaders are not. If they weren't going to be willing to concede anything in this shutdown then we should've been willing to let republican voters feel the full wrath of Trump's policies and been willing to keep the Government shutdown until he is gone. The Government is open and Trump will cause even more damage and suffering now.

correctly identifying those who caused their misery and is blameworthy? Yeah, right.

Recent history is very much against that prediction.

am now trying to think more broadly about it.

So I don't have your confidence that even if we ever figure out messaging, that the message will be able to get out to the normies.

Democrats made people stuffer, lose their pay and get fired from their jobs because, in the end, all they did was give in and allow the CR to pass like they could have 40 days ago. They got nothing. Nothing.
A "promise for a vote" is not a thing. It's, very literally, meaningless.
A "promise" in the Senate means nothing in that House or in the WH

The typical American voter is going to see this just as you state.

To cave at this point will only be perceived as weakness.

That's why it was imperative not to cave or compromise once the shutdown began. As you wrote, it was all for naught. Democrats just handed Trump another victory that he will assuredly not let us or the American voter soon forget, especially in the weeks leading up to the 2026 elections .Worst of all, it has deepened divisions within our party (perhaps irrevocably) mere days after a series of election victories that should've unified us stronger than ever in the fight against Trump's reign of tyranny. In addition, our party has probably now lost all credibility with the people those like Chuck Schumer promised to protect with this shutdown. The message now is: "When the going gets tough, the Democrats will bail on us and cut a deal".

In the end, thanks to eight selfish and cowardly people, our entire party now looks weaker than ever. This is so infuriating!

history will blame the Democratic party for the Republican shutdown. Trump is laughing his ass off.

Voters are going to perceive the caving in of Democrats. Voters like strong candidates and strong responses. This made Dems look like wimps.

Democrats will be blamed and will most assuredly lose the momentum that was gained from last Tuesday’s elections.

This was a big mistake.