Ron Swanson's Government Shutdown Enthusiasm On 'Parks & Recreation' Did Not Age Very Well

Fifteen years ago, Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) celebrated the shutdown of the Pawnee government on Parks and Rec. Shrinking the government was a central component of Swanson’s Libertarian, anti-establishment character. It's not as charming in 2025.

Watching the clip of Swanson’s glee today at the end of the U.S. government’s longest-ever (and arguably most useless) shutdown simply isn’t as fun as it was in May 2010. Back then, the country was in the middle of Barack Obama’s presidency. Political division wasn’t like it is now. Parks and Rec embodied that by featuring guest appearances in later seasons by both Republican John McCain and Democrat Joe Biden. 

For those of you who aren’t Parks and Rec archivists, the government shutdown drives the plot of Season 2, Episodes 23 and 24 of the show. It’s when both Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) become key characters. In May 2010, the longest previous government shutdown was between 1995 and 1996 under President Bill Clinton. That 21-day closure seems quaint in comparison to the 35- and 40-day shutdowns the country's experienced under President Donald Trump. 

Wyatt and Traeger are sent in by the state of Indiana to drastically slash Pawnee’s spending. “The entire government will be shut down until further notice,” Wyatt informs Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler). 

Later, when Wyatt presents the proposed cuts to spending, Swanson wants to take it a step further. “With current and projected deficits, we need to cut expenditures by 32%,” Wyatt informs a group of government workers. 

“Let's make it an even 40,” Swanson eagerly suggests. 

“Oh, that's not necessary,” Wyatt responds. 

“Slash it. Slash it,” Swanson starts chanting. 

“Ron, a lot of people are going to get fired. Do you mind trying not to gloat,” another government worker named Florence cuts in. 

“Yes, I do, Florence. I do mind that. I'm very excited about this. I made pennants,” Swanson explains, waving around the little flags that say “slash” and “it.” 

There’s no doubt that Swanson is enough of a beloved figure that watching these early episodes back is still enjoyable. But in this dysfunctional era of politics—where food assistance for 42 million Americans is held hostage over a spending bill—the joke doesn’t work as well. Millions of federal workers were furloughed, air travel reached dangerous levels of chaos, and the end of the shutdown came with nothing gained for the majority of the country.

That’s not Parks and Rec’s fault. When the episode was written, the 13-day shutdown under Obama hadn’t even happened yet. There was no way to know that future shutdowns would transform into near exestential catastrophes that make the scenario beyond parody.