Audrey Fahlberg writes for National Review Online about one positive outcome from the federal government shutdown.
Amid the shutdown, some conservative groups are finding opportunities to push advocacy campaigns aimed at reining in dysfunctional government.
Americans for Prosperity and Concerned Veterans for America, two conservative advocacy groups aligned with the Koch network, are launching a seven-figure “Make Government Work” advertising initiative pushing legislative efforts to check overregulation, balance the budget, and promote lawmaker accountability. In their view, this 2025 shutdown highlights how Congress should prioritize government-accountability-focused legislative reforms to prevent dysfunction and waste through rescissions packages, along with bills like the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, which would require lawmakers to stay in session until they pass a budget.
“Big government is broken,” a narrator says in one of the 30-second spots, first shared with National Review. “Every year, politicians fail to pass a budget as the deficit continues to grow. Every month, unelected bureaucrats pile on rules no one voted for, strangling our economy. And every day, D.C, broken system gets in the way of the American dream. Washington isn’t working, and the people pay the price.”
The groups believe polling suggests the American public is craving legislative reform. An AFP-commissioned YouGov poll of 1,000 registered voters conducted between September 12 and 16 found that only 16 percent of respondents view shutdowns positively, whereas the majority of people surveyed believe that shutdowns impede “Congress’ ability to help the country succeed.” Seventy-six percent of survey respondents said they either “strongly” or “somewhat” support “legislation that would force Congress to stay in DC until they finish the year’s budget legislation and would keep federal programs running while Congress finalizes the new legislation.”
“America’s servicemembers and veterans took an oath to defend the Constitution. Washington’s gotten away from some of the principals in that document that make the system work for the American people,” said John Vick, executive director at Concerned Veterans for America, which is also running government-accountability-focused ads this week.
