Democrats can’t save democracy by shutting down the government

Chuck Schumer’s Democrats have less of a democratic mandate than Newt Gingrich’s did in 1996 or John Boehner’s in 2013. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Donald Trump’s government is increasingly authoritarian.  The president is launching pretextual investigations against his enemies, while providing pardons and military honors to the most violent of his friends. He is extorting news organizations for friendlier coverage and blackmailing law firms for pro bono services. He is unilaterally nullifying congressionally ordered spending and firing federally protected civil servants. He is a