But fighting on the issue of defunding Planned Parenthood is the right thing to do. The Washington Republicans always declare they must “fight smartly.” But that fighting smartly has gotten them nothing more than a 12% popularity rating and emboldened the President of the United States to just ignore them. Fighting smartly has become a euphemism for pre-emptive surrender.

The right thing to do is to defund Planned Parenthood. If President Obama shuts down the government, Republicans should explain what the shut down is for. They should wonder why the President is more invested in funding Planned Parenthood than children’s food assistance programs.

We have been confronted with savagery. We have been confronted with seventeen hours of videos showing American citizens carving up dead children for profit. If Republicans in Washington are not willing to fight that, shame on them. The rest of us will just keep having to replace them.