Is leverage really leverage if you cannot really move anything with it?

Sen. Chris Coons admits that democrats are keeping the government closed because that is the only leverage that they have. The democrats want to restore all the wasteful spending that has been cut from the budget including giving illegal aliens free healthcare. Thr price tag for all this is 1.4 trillion dollars. After 35 days it does not seem to be working. UIs it really leverage when it fails to move anything. The Republicans will not budge on this, they are trying to get the budget back under control and perhaps even make a dent in the 37 trillion deficit. The leverage that the democrats claim that they have does not seem to be working.

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/09/22/sen-chris-coons-on-avoiding-a-government-shutdown.html

Is leverage really leverage if you cannot really move anything with it?
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