Once again, Congress seems to be barreling toward a government shutdown. As so often in recent years, Congress has yet to pass all 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the government on time. With this bit of leverage, Democrats are thinking of forcing a shutdown to induce certain policy concessions. A 16-day shutdown in 2013 led to perhaps $6 billion in lost output and $2 billion in added costs. Rather than picking this unwinnable fight, Democrats should agree to a stopgap funding bill, then do the hard work of negotiating compromises and winning elections.