That's what happens when the party with no real power makes a desperate power play in an attempt to appear relevant again. Keep an eye out for lovely attack ads on the 10 Democrat Senators up for election in states that voted for Trump. The ads will be sure to point out how they threw the military under the bus in favor of protecting illegal immigrants.
That being said, essential services will continue. Government employees that aren't allowed to work during a shutdown will get back pay when it's over. There is talk of putting a contingency plan together to keep national parks going for anyone who likes visiting those in January. A shutdown still sucks for some people, but it's not the catastrophe the media makes it out to be.