NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 On this, at least, the Democrats agree: It\u2019s time to fight.<\/p>\n
Whether far-left activists, Washington moderates or rural conservatives, Democratic leaders across the political spectrum are shrugging off the risks and embracing a government shutdown<\/a> they say is needed to push back against President Donald Trump<\/a> and his Republican allies in Congress.<\/p>\n For Democrats, the shutdown fight marks a line in the sand born from months of frustration with their inability to stop Trump\u2019s norm-busting leadership<\/a>. And they will continue to fight, regardless of the practical or political consequences, they say. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a rare point of unification,\u201d said Jim Kessler, of the moderate Democratic group Third Way.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely there are risks,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you\u2019re hearing it from all wings of the Democratic Party: The fight is the victory. They want a fight. And they\u2019re going to get one.\u201d <\/p>\n As the shutdown<\/a> begins, there are few signs of cracks across the Democratic Party\u2019s diverse coalition.<\/p>\n Even progressive critics from the party\u2019s activist wing are applauding Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who are insisting that any government spending package must extend health care subsidies<\/a> that are set to expire at the year\u2019s end. Trump, backed by the Republicans who control Congress, insists on supporting only a \u201cclean\u201d spending package that excludes the health care measure.<\/p>\n Trump blames \u2018radical left\u2019<\/p>\n The fight is already ugly as Trump uses his presidential bully pulpit \u2014 and taxpayer-funded government resources \u2014 to cast blame<\/a> on the Democrats.<\/p>\n The Department of Housing and Urban Development\u2019s website on Tuesday welcomed all visitors with this message: \u201cThe Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands. The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n The president himself posted on social media a deepfake video of Schumer implying that Democrats are fighting to give free health care to immigrants in the country illegally. The fake video, widely condemned as racist, depicted Jeffries with a Mexican sombrero and fake mustache.<\/p>\n In a press conference, Jeffries offered a harsh message to the president.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next time you have something to say about me, don\u2019t cop out through a racist and fake AI video. When I\u2019m back in the Oval Office, say it to my face,\u201d the top House Democrat said. <\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019d rather be us than them\u2019<\/p>\n Privately, political operatives from both sides concede that government shutdowns are bad for both parties. But with Democrats dug in, the Trump administration appeared almost eager to shut down the government this time \u2014 having already threatened the mass firing<\/a> of federal workers in the event of a shutdown.<\/p>\n And as the GOP blames its rivals in the other party, Democrats say they are confident voters understand that Trump\u2019s party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress \u2014 and, therefore, Republicans will suffer more political consequences for the chaos in Washington.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019d rather be us than them in this fight,\u201d veteran Democratic strategist James Carville said. \u201cThe incumbent party will suffer more.\u201d<\/p>\n And yet Carville acknowledged that Democratic leadership in Washington had little choice but to take a hard line in the budget negotiations with Trump\u2019s GOP. The party\u2019s activist base, he said, demanded it.<\/p>\n Frustrated progressives have been screaming for months at Democratic leaders, who have limited power in Washington as the minority party, to use more creative tactics to stop Trump. They are getting their wish this week.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re finally not just rolling over and playing dead,\u201d said Ezra Levin, co-founder of the progressive activist group Indivisible. \u201cIndivisible leaders are cheering them on.\u201d<\/p>\n What do voters think?<\/p>\n The political impact, meanwhile, is hard to predict as each side presents conflicting data points. <\/p>\n On the ground in Virginia and New Jersey, which host governor\u2019s elections<\/a> in little more than a month, the issue was only just beginning to be a focus on the eve of the shutdown.<\/p>\n Virginia\u2019s Republican candidate for governor, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears<\/a>, refused to answer directly when asked during a Tuesday interview with NBC whether she would tell Trump not to fire any more federal workers in a shutdown.<\/p>\n