Shutting down the government to score political points isn’t illegal or immoral, but it’s a suicidal strategy when failure is guaranteed.

As Senator Kelly Ayotte points out, even if all 54 Republican Senators vote to defund Planned Parenthood, they would still need 13 Democrats to side with them to overcome the president’s certain veto, and there’s no chance of getting those votes.

The government would re-open sooner or later with Planned Parenthood still funded, and Republicans would be universally blamed for a pointless disruption. Why? Because federal support for Planned Parenthood has been part of the budget for 45 years, under both Democrats and Republicans, so an attempt to defund represents dramatic change.

Conservatives are right to push for that change as a matter of principle, but progress is totally impossible with a Democratic president. To shut down the government temporarily under Obama won’t hurt Planned Parenthood, or the president and his party, but it could very well harm Republicans and conservative credibility.