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Comment by TooSmugToFail | Hacker News Reader

The grotesque irony of this situation is that the Democrats aren’t even able to put up a fight for democracy.

Arguably, the Democrats put up way too much of a fight about democracy in the 2024 election, when surveys consistently showed that what voters cared most about wasn't safeguarding democracy, but the economy and immigration. You can argue that voters should care more, and prattle on about it, but that's how you lose an election and democracy.

Democrats can't win on immigration. Even if they presented a plan to uncharacteristically reduce legal immigration, and somehow deport every single illegal immigrant and secure every border, they would still pledge humanity (due process, humane treatment, etc). The conservative version will always appear more effective because they pledge brutal tenacity with a sneer. People are desperate for the improvement they believe would occur (regardless of whether that's true), and not enough of them would have faith in a careful, measured version of the solution.

What specific things do you want them to do? Excited to hear about magical “protests” and “speeches” again.

I know it’s not really how the US political system works, but the Democrats desperately need a single “leader of the opposition” figurehead. For some reason they seem to think that they have all the time in the world to choose their next candidate, even after the Harris debacle.

> What specific things do you want them to do?

change from relying solely on the First Amendment.

They are relying on more than the First Amendment. They're relying on the 4th, 5th, and 14th as well. And, in extremis, the 22nd.

If you're suggesting that they rely on the Second... well, that's a lot to ask. I'm not saying you're wrong, if indeed all those amendments do fail, especially that last. But I think most people would rather the save the "fourth box" for last.

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