Earlier this month, it was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s turn in the dunk tank when he weighed in on the shutdown with his now infamous remark that “Every day gets better for us.” It’s hard to imagine a worse comment. 

But now we don’t have to. We have House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, who apparently slipped up by saying the Democrats’ quiet strategy out loud.

“I mean, shutdowns are terrible and of course there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have,” she said in a mid-October interview with Chad Pergram of Fox News.

Is Katherine Clark heartless, or did she just have no idea of the implications of what she was saying? What an amazing admission for a leader of a party that has always claimed the mantle of fighting for the little guy, and none more so than the workers who toil in the federal vineyard. 

She seems completely comfortable with the fact that the Democrats’ self-defined leverage strategy means people will have to feel some pain. Yes, they say, but it’s all for the greater good, or at least for upping the chances that Democratic priorities will prevail.

Taking Schumer and Clark at their word, it’s fair to ask just how much suffering is acceptable to Democrats in order to maintain their all-important leverage while turning the appropriations process and regular order on its head. 

Would 42 million people losing their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits be a fair price to pay for Democrats’ leverage? Admittedly, this is a program with fraud and abuse that needs addressing, but there are also people, particularly the elderly, the disabled and low-income families and children, who depend on SNAP to put food on the table. Senate Republicans have introduced a stopgap bill, the Keep SNAP Funded Act, to ensure that the federal food aid program keeps operating.

Or what about military and federal law enforcement families asked to make yet one more sacrifice while their loved ones are out there putting their lives at risk without pay to protect the homeland. Is this the suffering Clark is talking about? 

Here again, Republicans in the Senate brought a stand-alone bill to the floor to fund paychecks for the military and essential federal workers like air traffic controllers. All but three Democrats blocked the bill despite a coalition of pilots unions calling for an end to the shutdown. The traveling public is likely to face flight delays because already overworked air traffic controllers, getting no paychecks, are stretched too thin. 

And small business, too, is on the receiving end of the Democrats’ leverage strategy. How about the estimated 320 small-businessmen and women who are waiting for what the Small Business Administration says are $170 million in SBA-backed commercial loans normally accessed every business day? SBA says that translates “to $2.5 billion which has been blocked from 4,800 small businesses so far over the course of the shutdown.” 

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler wrote in a statement last week, “With the SBA’s loan programs shuttered, thousands of small businesses are now unable to access the vital funding they need to survive, let alone thrive — and will soon begin cutting hours and benefits, laying off workers, and contemplating closing up shop for good.”

If this leverage strategy is working, it’s hard to see where or how. To paraphrase my column from last week — which featured Jon Stewart calling Schumer “a human flat tire” — as a Democrat, when you lose the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal union representing more than 800,000 workers, you’re in trouble, maybe big trouble.

On Monday, AFGE’s national president, Everett Kelley, dropped the hammer on the leverage strategy. 

“Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no end in sight. Today I’m making mine: It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today,” he said in his statement. 

He went on to further define what Congress should do.

“Reopen the government immediately under a clean continuing resolution that allows continued debate on larger issues,” he wrote. “None of these steps favor one political side over another. They favor the American people — who expect stability from their government and responsibility from their leaders.” 

He continued, “A strong America requires a functioning government — one that pays its bills, honors its commitments, and treats its workforce with respect by paying them on time.” 

But despite losing the support of one of the most powerful unions in the country, the Democratic leadership seems to be sticking with their leverage strategy, voting Tuesday against the clean CR for the 13th time. In response to the AFGE statement, Democratic Senate Whip Dick Durbin said, “I’m not seeing any change in position at this time.” 

Losing labor unions, particularly this one, is a significant shift that Democrats ignore at their peril. But obviously, at this point, Democrats believe that their leverage strategy will produce a partisan win, and that the problems of suffering families can be overcome with Democratic messaging. Polls aren’t showing the strategy is working for them.

So where do things go from here? The country is just days away from disaster as Nov. 1 is likely to see the crisis worsen with more people losing paychecks and crucial support while health and safety programs go unfunded. 

Republicans want a clean CR passed to open up the government and propose to then work through spending issues through regular order. Democrats want their priorities tied to the CR in a my-way-or-the-highway gambit. A risky strategy to say the least.

Is the Democrats’ leverage strategy smart politics? Or is it a callous nod to their progressive wing calling for a fight after losing last year’s election? Voters are going to answer that question.

David Winston is the president of The Winston Group and a longtime adviser to congressional Republicans. He previously served as the director of planning for Speaker Newt Gingrich. He advises Fortune 100 companies, foundations and nonprofit organizations on strategic planning and public policy issues, as well as serving as an election analyst for CBS News.