This is the Democratic Party of 2016. Engaging in emotional blackmail and demagoguery, waving pictures of the victims of Islamic terrorism to push an unrelated bill that would not have saved a single one of those lives and will never pass. All while lying about guns. Lying about the laws that govern guns and refusing to vote for, or even discuss, a compromise measure Republicans forwarded in the Senate. It’s been far more important to gin up anger and moral outrage for political gain.

Don’t get me wrong. I hope Democrats dig deep and find the steely resolve to disrupt all of DC’s business until they are given a vote — for weeks or months, if necessary. Shut it all down. It won’t be easy. I mean, it’s going to take some serious courage to support a measure with support polling in the high 80s. But anything less is a moral capitulation to the nefarious NRA.

Although there are principled progressives who oppose these efforts, it is worth mentioning that many of the same liberals who claim the filibuster — conducted within the norms of the Senate — is unhinged obstructionism themselves celebrate Democrats. When a shutdown looms because of the GOP, we are bombarded with stories about a broken political system. This event, rest assured, will be treated quite differently. As inane as it is, it will be framed as an “historic” moment that might/could/did change everything in the fight against gun violence. It’s already started.