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Former college football coach and broadcaster Lou Holtz on Tuesday released a lengthy video discussing the current government shutdown.
In the video, published on X, the member of the College Football Hall of Fame described the situation as “unfair” and condemned a system of government dependence.
In the video’s caption, Holtz only called out Democrats, writing, “Democrats know that as long as you depend on them, you’ll vote for them, and that’s exactly how they like it.”
Senate Democrats have stood firm in refusing to back Republican-led proposals to reopen the government unless their plans include extensions of federal health care subsidies.
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President Donald Trump presents the Medal of Freedom to former college football coach Lou Holtz in the Oval Office of the White House on December 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images)
“It’s ridiculous that so many people are counting on the government and that one party is saying, ‘No, we’re not going to open it.’ That’s unfair,” Holtz said.
“What I see in what the government is doing is unfair. It’s unbelievable. That’s not how it was intended. And yet we’re trying to play games. Just open up the government, let it run as we go. But no, what you want is for more people to depend on you. That’s why you want to give them government subsidies. As long as they depend on you, they’re going to vote for you, and that’s not the way it should be.”
The former coach went on to cite his experience growing up after the end of World War II and being born during the Great Depression.
“I was probably 10 years old then, and, at that time, there was no government help at all. You were counted on to take care of yourself. No government… I think until 1947, that never really happened. It was up to you to take care of yourself. And you found a way to do it,” he added.
“I was born during the Depression. My father had a third-grade education. Things weren’t always very easy. But my father worked a lot of different jobs to put food on the family table. We never had much, but what you did then was buy what you could afford, not what you wanted, but what you could afford, and that was very important.”
Holtz expressed concern about the country’s future amid increasing government control and dependence.
“I’m worried about the future of this country. Why? Because we’ve gotten to the point where everything is about the government and, ‘What can you do for me?’ And I’m voting for the person who promised me more free stuff than anything else. There is no free lunch,” he said.
“They formed a group that tries to break down the secret of success.”
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Notre Dame’s Lou Holtz fighting the Irish (Focus on sport/Getty Images)
Holtz coached for 33 years in college with six different programs, most notably Notre Dame, where he went 100-30 during his 11 years with the Fighting Irish. He has been a staunch conservative and supporter of President Donald Trump in recent years.
The current government shutdown It is hours away from breaking the record of being the longest in history.
The previous record was held by the 2018-2019 government shutdown during President Donald Trump’s first term. Trump signed legislation ending that closure at 9 pm on the 35th.
Tuesday marks the 35th day of the last tax confrontation. And since an agreement has not yet been reached between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, it is almost certain that the dispute will last until the 36th.
For weeks, Republicans have pushed for a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), aimed at giving lawmakers until Nov. 21 to reach a deal on fiscal year 2026 spending.
The measure is largely free of unrelated political provisions, except for an additional $88 million earmarked for enhanced funding for security for lawmakers, the White House and the Supreme Court.
But Democrats have said they will reject any federal funding bill that doesn’t also extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies that expire at the end of 2025. The enhanced subsidies were a COVID-19 pandemic-era measure that most Republicans have said is no longer needed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-La., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have said they are open to discussing a revised version of those subsidies, but declined to conflate the two issues.
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the house passed the CR September 19. Johnson has kept his chamber out of session since then in an attempt to pressure Senate Democrats to accept the Republican bill, although they have rejected it 13 times since.
Meanwhile, funding for critical government programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, as well as national flood insurance, are running critically low, potentially ensnaring millions of Americans.
