For Democrats, there are real incentives to let the government shut down at the end of the month.

A prolonged shutdown would be blamed on Donald Trump and the GOP since they control the government. Trump can spin it as a Democrat-driven crisis, but most Americans wouldn’t believe him. This was why Republicans were so eager to trigger government shutdowns under Barack Obama. No matter how much he railed against tea-party nihilists, he was the president, and he had to suffer the consequences of a shutdown.

Congressional Democrats do have leverage, and they should drive it home to protect Obamacare health-insurance subsidies. Premiums will skyrocket if the GOP majority has its way, and some Republicans at least understand that they will pay the political cost. Americans in 2026 would be hit with far higher health-care bills and naturally look at the Trump government as the source of their financial pain.

But a shutdown, as cathartic as it may feel for Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, and the Democratic base, is not a long-term strategy. On a practical level, it can backfire, as Russell Vought, Trump’s OMB director, prepares for the mass firing of federal employees. Vought is a revanchist who wants to shrink the........

© Daily Intelligencer