The government shutdown that began Wednesday might have been one of the most anticlimactic developments yet: President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans were never going to negotiate, and Democrats had just about every incentive to obstruct.

And fueling that Democratic motive is a furious base, begging their leaders to mount a more visible and inspiring opposition to Trump. They already think Democrats blew it once when they provided the votes to pass a Republican spending bill back in March to avoid one shutdown. Caving again would be unforgivable.

The truth, however, is that Democrats, both in and outside of Congress, actually have tried to resist and obstruct the Trump administration’s second-term agenda. But they haven’t been flashy or high-profile.

Broadly, this resistance relies on the procedural powers the minority party can use in either chamber, such as:

• Filibusters in the Senate, a tool to force unlimited debate and delay passage of a bill. Ending one requires 60 votes, which Republicans don’t have.
• Roll call votes in the Senate, which require individual members to cast votes instead of operating under “unanimous consent,” the expedited process the chamber usually uses.
• Speaking time, which is unlimited in the Senate on most things (similar to a filibuster), and which is unlimited for the majority and minority leaders in the House (they call it a magic minute).
• Discharge petitions, which are a procedural tool in the House to move a bill or resolution out of a committee, bypassing leadership, and directly to the floor for a vote.

Lawmakers also get the bully pulpit of committee hearings and confirmations to garner attention and sway public opinion.

These are limited tools, and nothing like what they........

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