# Democrats Who Wouldn't Honor A 13 Year Old with Brain Cancer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [March 7, 2025, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230 "2025-03-07T04:01:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/121 "2025-03-09T21:38:03Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And your better idea is…? Show the voters that the Democrats are the adults in the room, the reasonable party that lives in the real world, who will talk to, maybe address the concerns of the voters they lost. Might be a start. So far playing to your captive audience, the party, isn’t working. 4 years of temper tantrums against Trump will not meet that goal. I remain curious about the long term plan, is there even one? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/122 "2025-03-09T21:48:19Z")
I can see how that approach has worked for women, for Jews, for African-Americans, for LGBTQ+ etc. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/123 "2025-03-09T21:51:35Z")
King was responding to a situation created by 250 years of slavery + 100 years of systemic post-slavery racism, and so I don’t think the situations are quite parallel. I brought him up because he was an expert in non-violent resistance, as was Gandhi before him, and I think non-violent resistance is what’s called for. From what I can see in the news, the Democrats do not believe this. They believe that our institutions are robust enough to restrain Trump and Musk and their enablers, and that other than a few headline-grabbing quotes or mild protests, they don’t really need to do anything but wait. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/124 "2025-03-09T23:59:29Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And your better idea is…? Better ideas are hard to come by. It doesn’t mean you should stop pointing out bad ideas. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/125 "2025-03-10T00:20:20Z")
Going along with the comparisons of the Civil Rights movement, it’s useful to look at why they succeeded. Today is the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, where Black protesters marched across the Selma bridge. We don’t remember this date because a random Black person spontaneously decided on his own to walk across the bridge. We remember this day because Black leaders organized 500+ people in a coordinated protest. Not only was the protest carefully planned out, including what clothing people should wear, but there was careful planning on how to handle the consequences of the protest. That kind of leadership and planning is what progressed civil rights. When looking at the Democrats in the SotU (and pretty much since Trump took office), there doesn’t seem to be that kind of leadership or coordinated opposition. It pretty much seems like random people spontaneously doing stuff, like Green shouting, or people doing ineffectual and amateur things, like holding up those popsicle-stick signs. One positive thing I can say about the signs is that it at least shows coordination. Someone had to design the signs, pick them up at Kinkos, and hand them out. Maybe there was a meeting about the signs as well. I guess that’s a start. They need to really start taking this seriously and demonstrating some kind of obvious leadership and unity in how to tackle recent events. Like with Green’s outburst, it would have been much more effective if he had planned with other Democrats for some kind of unified outburst along with planned talking points for after the SotU. As it was, it just seems like he’s a random complainer and nothing comes of it. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/126 "2025-03-10T00:24:13Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Show the voters that the Democrats are the adults in the room, the reasonable party that lives in the real world, who will talk to, maybe address the concerns of the voters they lost. Might be a start. That’s what lost them the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/127 "2025-03-10T00:29:36Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > Today is the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, where Black protesters marched across the Selma bridge. We don’t remember this date because a random Black person spontaneously decided on his own to walk across the bridge. We remember this day because Black leaders organized 500+ people in a coordinated protest. Not only was the protest carefully planned out, including what clothing people should wear, but there was careful planning on how to handle the consequences of the protest. That kind of leadership and planning is what progressed civil rights. So #TeslaTakedown, then? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/128 "2025-03-10T10:43:01Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > > [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > > > Show the voters that the Democrats are the adults in the room, the reasonable party that lives in the real world, who will talk to, maybe address the concerns of the voters they lost. Might be a start. > > That’s what lost them the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court. So instead of sitting on their high horse as an ineffectual minority banished to the political peanut gallery, what do Democrats plan to do to win those back? Trump and Obama won their elections because they are larger than life candidates who ran on strong positive messages (MAGA, and Hope) that inspired the American people. In contrast I’m sure Kamala Harris or Hilary Clinton would have been perfectly (perhaps highly) competent presidents. But they also come across as if they would be perfectly competent generic politicians or corporate executives. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/129 "2025-03-10T11:36:27Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Trump and Obama won their elections because they are larger than life candidates who ran on strong positive messages (MAGA, and Hope) that inspired the American people. Positive? Trump saying ‘America is a shit hole country because I’m not in charge.’ is positive to you? ('Cause it turns out that’s what MAGA actually means.) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/130 "2025-03-10T12:32:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Exactly what the MAGAs want you to do. > > Look, yes, trump got elected. But they were predicting a red wave in the House- and instead got just about the smallest majority ever. Pundits predict the Dems will take the House in 2026. This!!! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/131 "2025-03-10T12:46:39Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Positive? Trump saying ‘America is a shit hole country because I’m not in charge.’ is positive to you? No, but it was positive to his voters. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/132 "2025-03-10T17:17:10Z")
That’s why Democrats shouldn’t have shown up in the first place. If the rhetoric is “Trump is a danger to the republic”, then the actions have to fit that. Trump is VERY good at having little loyalty tests to incrementally pull you further and further along until you’re asking for an parroting Donald Trump’s opinion on the taste of the color blue. Democrats, showing up, is a very low bar of the loyalty ladder, but on the ladder nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/133 "2025-03-10T17:21:19Z")
Yeah, that infuriates me to no end too. Back to the Biden/Trump debate, we saw two choices, as presented in that manner, as being inadequate. One was replaced, and the other was continued to arguably get even worse. The luxury you’ve got when you want to upend the apple cart just to sell those apples and enrich yourself, I guess? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/134 "2025-03-10T19:23:14Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > That’s what lost them the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court. The House was already lost, and indeed, instead of the GOP predicted Red Wave, the GOP ended with with just about the smallest majority ever. and the fact that the Dems were the party of sanity didnt cost them the election. It was inflation, and the fact that the Dems dont like to makes promises and lie in such wholesale and massive amounts. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/135 "2025-03-10T23:15:16Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > So instead of sitting on their high horse as an ineffectual minority banished to the political peanut gallery, what do Democrats plan to do to win those back? Why are you asking me that? I’m not the one promoting the idea of acting like nothing bad is going on and Democrats need to remain civil. > [@DrDeth](#): > > and the fact that the Dems were the party of sanity didnt cost them the election. It was inflation, and the fact that the Dems dont like to makes promises and lie in such wholesale and massive amounts. So which of those branches is Democrat-controlled again? Has the Republican Party been swept into the sea because the Democrats have been the adults…since last century? Roger Stone has been ratfucking for fifty years, and his smug face is still highly involved in politics. How long should Democrats rely on “being the adults” when the other side cries about tan suits and saxophones? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/136 "2025-03-11T01:01:32Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > So which of those branches is Democrat-controlled again? Has the Republican Party been swept into the sea because the Democrats have been the adults…since last century? Joe Biden won in 2020. The dems took the senate in 2020. Barack Obama served two good terms. The Dems had control of the House in the 110th, 111, 116th and 117th Congress. > [@Chisquirrel](#): > > How long should Democrats rely on “being the adults” when the other side cries about tan suits and saxophones? So, you suggest the Dems resort to being as childish and unreasonable as the MAGAs? ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/137 "2025-03-11T01:17:58Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Joe Biden won in 2020. The dems took the senate in 2020. Barack Obama served two good terms. The Dems had control of the House in the 110th, 111, 116th and 117th Congress. Biden and Obama both won after “generational” recessions clobbered the US into realizing Republicans were bad for the health of the nation. > [@DrDeth](#): > > So, you suggest the Dems resort to being as childish and unreasonable as the MAGAs? Kill the strawman! Kill it 'til it’s dead! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/138 "2025-03-11T01:38:14Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Biden and Obama both won after “generational” recessions clobbered the US into realizing Republicans were bad for the health of the nation. Looks like Democrats are off to a good start for the 2024 midterms. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/139 "2025-03-11T01:44:17Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Kill the strawman! Kill it 'til it’s dead! Then, if _not_ being the adult, what do _you_ suggest for the Dems? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230/140 "2025-03-11T01:59:16Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > How long should Democrats rely on “being the adults” when the other side cries about tan suits and saxophones? Some Democrats will always be the type to applaud the 13 year old who was the subject of Trump’s stunt. There always will be others who refrain from applauding. Similarly there will always be some, like Al Green, who heckle, and others who will not. So it is not a matter of “how long.” It is a matter of whether rudeness is an effective way to combat authoritarianism. If being the adult hurt Democrats, I would expect Al Green types to win in swing districts. So far, I see no examples. Democrats who carry swing districts are polite moderates. Nationally, some Democrats will care more about impressing their primary voters, and others will care more about November. This will not change. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrats-who-wouldnt-honor-a-13-year-old-with-brain-cancer/1015230.md?page=8)