Democrats are Playing Football - Republicans are Playing Chess

The Republicans are winning

The Game to Nowhere.

I am one of those who believe Chuck Schumer made the right decision. To equate a shutdown now with previous shutdowns is magical thinking. Now is not then. So is thinking Democrats can force Republicans to do anything once the shutdown is in effect. They have failed to stop any of the illegal activity to date. Or to protect Congress-designated spending budgets. Rule Of Law now means Rule By Dictator. The Democrats have very few moves left on the board.

I've sat at chessboards since I was a kid, analyzing moves, anticipating consequences three, five, seven steps ahead. Thanks to my dad, I've also lived and died with football teams. Feeling the emotional swings of momentum, the bursts of energy, the crushing defeats. These aren't just convenient metaphors for me—they're frameworks through which I've experienced life. And what's happening in American politics right now maps perfectly onto these games I understand in my bones.

The Republicans didn't just stumble into controlling this much of the political landscape. They've orchestrated a decades-long strategy that would make Kasparov proud. While Democrats were running electoral hurry-up offenses and celebrating policy touchdowns, Republicans were methodically developing their positional advantage. Piece by piece, square by square.

Look at how they built their power base. They placed their pawns in school boards and town councils where Democrats barely bothered to compete. Especially in rural America. These seemingly insignificant positions created the foundation for everything that followed. They developed their knights through talk radio, then cable news, now social media—pieces that can jump over obstacles and attack from unexpected angles. Their bishops moved diagonally through state legislatures, creating long-range influence across multiple policy domains. Their rooks marched straight through the court system, from local judges to the Supreme Court.

When they gained control of platforms like X, the game fundamentally changed. It was like watching a chess player secure the center four squares—from there, every attack becomes more potent, every defense more difficult. Their messaging discipline makes Democrats look like a team where half the players didn't get the playbook. Republicans hammer home the same talking points with the relentless precision of someone who understands that repetition creates reality.

I've watched Democrats respond like a team that can't decide whether to pass or run. The quarterback calls an audible, but three linemen don't hear it. The receivers run different routes. The blockers miss assignments. Meanwhile, Republicans execute their game plan with ruthless efficiency. One voice or shut up if you don’t agree. To win at chess you must be ruthless. Ethics are not a piece in play.

When the government shuts down, Republicans make what chess players recognize as a calculated exchange sacrifice. They deliberately give up material in one area to gain advantage in another. They will continue to slash public spending, blame Democrats, and convince their base that this devastation is somehow necessary and righteous. "No money to fund anything during a shutdown," they will blame. Knowing full well they engineered the crisis for precisely this moment.

The Democrats' internal bickering reminds me of teammates screaming at each other on the sidelines while the opposition methodically drives down the field. No matter their individual opinions, they need to recognize that disunity against a unified opponent is suicide. They're facing a team that has been running the same playbook for generations—refined, adapted, but fundamentally consistent in its objectives.

I've watched Republicans capture most of the board because they play politics like a tournament, not a single match. The loss of a piece, a position, even an election doesn't deter them. They've been developing this strategy since Nixon taught them that cultural resentment could be harnessed. Since Reagan showed them how to dismantle government while claiming to improve it. Since Gingrich demonstrated how obstruction could be more effective than governance. They still can’t shut him up.

What truly infuriates me is that Democrats keep bringing the same mindset to each new crisis. They act like if they can just score this one touchdown, everything will change. But Republicans don't care about individual scores—they're playing for control of the entire field.

The only scenario I see potentially disrupting this masterful chess play is when enough Republican voters experience concrete harm from these policies. When the Social Security checks stop arriving. When Medicare coverage disappears. When schools can't open. When communities visibly crumble. Our public lands sold off. Maybe then they'll recognize they've been sacrificed as pawns in a game that never valued them as anything but expendable. Another resource to be exploited. And they will know who to blame.

For Democrats to have any chance, they need to develop chess-level strategic thinking while maintaining football's passionate energy. They need to recognize that controlling school boards matters as much as the presidency, that judicial appointments will shape politics for decades, that media narratives determine what's even possible to discuss. They need to find their voice.

With Democrats still in the game, they can't be blamed for what's about to unfold. But their continued relevance depends on finally recognizing which game they're actually playing. Our fate lies in the hands of the people now—all the people, not either party. I've analyzed enough chess positions and watched enough fourth-quarter comebacks to know that no game is over until it's over.

But first, we need clarity about the board in front of us, the pieces in play, and the true objective of this deadly serious game.

Not wasting time on blaming Schumer for the failings of a party as a whole.

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Image ©2025 Gael MacLean