With a looming government shutdown on the horizon, rather than focus on coming to a compromise on spending cuts Democrat leaders are spending their time trying to exploit the situation to raise campaign cash.

Steve Israel, the Democrat Congressman in charge of the Democrat Campaign Congressional Committee (DCCC) sent out a fundraising letter asking Democrat donors: "Will we cave to the Tea Party's disgraceful act of political extortion  or will we fight back with the full force of our grassroots strength?" 

Ed Perlmutter, our very own cartwheeling Congressman, is one of the recipients of this sleazy tactic.

At a time when Americans expect their elected representatives to get down to the hard work they were sent to Washington for, the Democrats instead are treating this situation as a cheap political stunt from which to craft attack ads and raise dollars. 

Past polling on the last government shutdown in 1995 pretty clearly makes the case that Democrats came out the winner from the showdown.

But times have changed.

Republicans campaigned extensively on the promise to slash federal spending a la Crazy Eddie's Used Cars and voters put them in office at higher rates than either party since 1948.

Not only that, but Republicans have shown themselves to be the ones putting forward concrete proposals to stop a shutdown from happening. The House Republicans have passed a string of stop-gap spending measures to keep the government operating while they hammer out a deal with Harry Reid and Barack Obama.

Even today Republicans passed another stopgap measure to keep the government, and negotiations with Democrats, open for another week. Obama has said he will veto the measure.

At the end of the day, this shutdown will be the responsibility of Democrats for one very clear and convincing reason: they did not pass this budget when it was due last year, even though they controlled all branches of the legislative process. 

When you shirk your responsibility and someone else has to pick up the reins and finish the job, then you have no right to block that person from completing the task.

Ed Perlmutter — condemn this political grandstanding and get back to work.