Democrats have refused to reopen the federal government for over a month now. House Republicans passed a “clean” Continuing Resolution” (CR) which means the government will continue at current spending with in-place programs; it maintains the status quo – no changes. Democrats over the past decade have voted 13 times for “clean” CRs, but Senate Democrats won’t budge. What’s different this time? Washington gossip whispers that Senator Chuck Schumer is trying to fend off a primary challenge from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Or is it just partisan posturing, or is something greater at stake?

Most Senate Democrats, except a few, refuse to vote for the “clean” CR. Instead, they insist we must address healthcare affordability before we reopen the federal government. Despite Republican promises to negotiate on healthcare after the government reopens, Schumer flatly rejects any CR and demands healthcare funding for illegal immigrants before the government reopens. President Trump ran on stopping illegal immigration and reining in government spending, so Schumer’s demands are dead on arrival.

Polls indicate the government shutdown is wearing harder on Democrats than Republicans, but Democrats don’t seem to be any closer to relenting. A recent poll by center left group, Welcome, found 70% of Americans believe Democrats are “out of touch:” respondents said Democrats focus too much on climate change and LGBTQ+ rights and not enough on kitchen table issues like crime, jobs, and inflation.

On Halloween, comedian and political commentator, Bill Maher, expressed his concern that the Democrat Party is on the path to becoming a “ghost brand.” Like Kodak, Sears, and Radio Shack who were once dominant, Maher worries that Democrats could become irrelevant and maybe even extinct. He explained that Democrats have abandoned the working class and are restructuring their base around the non-working poor and elite rich. Democrats represent 76% of the wealthiest Congressional districts. The problem for Democrats is the super-rich and super-poor are not a winning electoral majority, so they desperately need illegal immigrants.

Republicans are trying to reopen the government; it’s plainly Schumer standing in the way, so why is this a hill Democrats are willing to die on? The short answer is they may see their imminent demise in the not too distant future. Constantly alienating average Americans, their base is and has been shrinking, so without extreme gerrymandering and illegal immigration, Democrats will be hard pressed to win fair elections.

The benefits of gerrymandering are obvious in states like Maryland and Massachusetts where about 40% of the electorate votes Republican, but Maryland has only one Republican Congressman and Massachusetts has none! Illegal immigrants indeed are counted in the U.S. Census which apportions Congressional districts, so sanctuary states have more than their share of Congressional representation because illegal immigrants are counted.

President Trump has already deported over 2 million illegal immigrants which could potentially be a loss of three Congressional districts in blue states. Moreover, evidence is mounting that more that a few illegal immigrants are illegally voting in our elections. Further, blue cities and states are desperately and openly trying to grant voting rights to non-citizens.

In his most recent interview with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk revealed the dirty truth about illegal immigration and the government shutdown. Musk explained that blue states are propped up by hundreds of billions of dollars in fraudulent federal handouts. They play loose and fast with federal programs like MEDICAID to provide healthcare for illegal immigrants. They also spend ample state funds to provide full healthcare coverage, housing, and even cash benefits to illegal immigrants. Sanctuary states not only protect illegal immigrants; they provide for them.

Why are blue states going into debt to attract illegal immigrants? They need them to maintain their Democrat majorities, but they cannot afford this sanctuary scheme without federal largesse. That’s the unspoken reason for the Democrat shutdown of the federal government and why Schumer is demanding $1.5 trillion for healthcare for illegal immigrants.

Without federal funding for illegal immigrant healthcare, blue states cannot balance their budgets and worse, illegal immigrants might leave depriving Democrats of electoral majorities. In short, they could very well lose power, so Democrats see control of illegal immigration and reform of federal healthcare spending as an existential threat not to democracy but to the Democrat Party.

To most Americans the bickering over the CR and reopening the government is just petty politics, but Democrats are dug in because they are fighting for their political lives. If illegal immigrants are removed from the electoral equation by deportation or depriving them of government benefits so that they leave, Democrats may very well lose power for a generation because there is no more juice in gerrymandering and election cheating is being curtailed.

Democrats know without illegal immigration, they will lose Congressional seats and thereby be unable to regain control of the House of Representatives or the White House, so standby, Democrats may be in for the long haul in keeping the government shutdown. Republicans may have no choice, but to sidestep the Senate’s 60 vote requirement to reopen the federal government anytime soon.

“Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).

Pete Riehm is a Navy Veteran, conservative activist, and columnist in south Alabama. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.