With the 2026 midterms looming, it would behoove both major U.S. political parties to find some cohesive, unifying messaging.

Republicans — with perhaps the notable exception of the fiscal hawks — are largely doing that under President Donald Trump.

Democrats? It’s hard to say that Democrats are even reading the same book right now, let alone on the same page.

And few things crystallized that harrowing truth for the Dems more than a blistering statement from one of their own, released Wednesday as Day 1 of the shutdown began.

Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden didn’t mince words when it came to what he found to be one of the main issues among his fellow Democrats.

After noting that the government shutdown was because of “Congress’ failure to enact legislation funding continued government operations,” Golden actually elaborated on that point — and far-left Democrats are probably fuming about it.

“This government shutdown is the result of hardball politics driven by the demands far-left groups are making for Democratic Party leaders to put on a show of their opposition to President Trump,” Golden stated. “The shutdown is hurting Americans and our economy, and the irony is it has only handed more power to the president.

“This fight is ostensibly about health care, so let me be clear: I opposed the GOP’s Medicaid cuts and I want to extend the ACA tax credits. But some of my colleagues in the majority party have reasonable concerns about tax credits going to high-income households. There’s room and time to negotiate. But normal policy disagreements are no reason to subject our constituents to the continued harm of this shutdown.”

(To add to his last point, Republicans have pointed out that Democrats have historically supported free health care for illegal immigrants, and it’s become a fierce topic of debate.)

Golden, a Marine Corps veteran, took a very public shot at the far-left fringes of his party, and while he didn’t name names, it doesn’t take much detective work to figure out what sorts of Dem politicians he’s talking about.

For example, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made waves earlier this week when she all but went right over New York Sen. Chuck Schumer’s head and offered to negotiate directly with the GOP — a not-so-veiled shot at Schumer, his negotiating skills, and his leadership.

AOC’s message to the GOP: My office is open and you are free to negotiate with me directly. What I’m not going to do is tolerate 4 million uninsured Americans because Trump decided one day to make sure kids are dying because they don’t have insurance pic.twitter.com/e9dApIDytn

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 1, 2025

Back to Golden — his response appears to be a rather direct and clear contradiction of his party’s talking points, which largely accuse the president and the GOP of causing this shutdown.

Golden’s words also carry some weight because, despite being a Democrat, he’s largely been willing to work across the aisle.

In fact, as Axios notes, Golden was the only Democrat who voted for the GOP stopgap spending bill.

(Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington also supported the bill, but her vote wasn’t recorded.)

Golden represents one of the most conservative districts helmed by a Democratic representative, according to Axios.

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