The Democrats need to have a fight, and this is one of the few fights they can have. But it's not a fight they can win. And they know it.

I hate to say it, but this is a fight they will lose. The markers for the economy are already heading down. Whether it’s retail sales, job creation, cardboard box manufacturing, lumber prices, almost anywhere you look, the economy is slowing.

If/when the government is shut down, the Republicans will, as a bloc, vote to keep it running (of course, because: Trump). They will need a handful of votes from Democrats to accomplish that, and last time Schumer gave them cover with a variety of (thin) reasons. This time he probably won’t.

But the deterioration in the economy is real, and Republicans will pin it on the shutdown, which will (of course) be the Democrats’ fault, especially in the hyper partisan silos of Fox, Rogan, et. al.

I’m not sure what shutting down the government does to stop Trump, but it feels like Democrats need the release, the way you have to scream after hitting your thumb with a hammer, and so they will do it.

It won’t solve anything, and it will be blamed on the Dems, making them even weaker going into the mid-terms. There is no good answer.