The phrase “the hill you choose to die on” is an expression meaning a belief, opinion, or position that one is fiercely committed to defending, even when it is impractical or contrary to one’s long-term goals. It suggests a willingness to fight or resist to the point of losing, rather than pivoting, conceding, or compromising.
In the political world, most players lack conviction or principles. They are swayed by the political winds, the latest opinion polls, or the size of the most recent campaign contributions they receive. Their positions are primarily situational, influenced by their proximity to the next reelection bid or which Sunday morning talk show has invited them as guests.
Democrats, finding themselves in the minority during President Donald Trump’s first term, are attempting to stem their political bleeding by choosing odd hills to stand on in an effort to bolster their political appeal ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Fortunately for Trump and his party, Democrats are selecting sinkholes rather than hills.
As Trump settles into his three-month groove, Democrats are grasping at political straws, trying to derail the Trump train. Rasmussen Reports shows Trump with a solid 50 percent approval rating among likely US voters.
A new Daily Mail poll places his current approval rating at 54 percent, tying with his all-time highest. This is after the recent tariff chaos.
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Start with immigration and Trump’s deportation of illegal aliens. According to a Pew Research Center poll, “Of the roughly 51% of adults who support at least some deportation of illegal immigrants, nearly all support deporting those who commit violent crimes, according to the poll.”
Democrats are standing up for criminal illegal aliens and ignoring the victims of such crimes. When President Trump acknowledged one such victim in his recent congressional address, all Democrats sat on their hands, refusing to stand or applaud.
More recently, the White House acknowledged and honored the mother of Rachel Morin, who was raped and murdered by an illegal alien from El Salvador. Corporate media, which serve as an arm of the Democrat party, devoted zero minutes of coverage to this story.
Yet these networks spent over an hour covering the “Maryland Man” deported to El Salvador. This pillar of his Maryland community was actually alleged to be an active member of the MS-13 gang and was in America illegally. This alleged wife-beater, with a previous deportation order, is the new George Floyd or Trayvon Martin for the Democrats, a hero, a role model.
Garcia is also “suspected of partaking in labor/human trafficking, according to Homeland Security Investigations memo.” Are Democrats truly hitching their wagon to this guy? Yes, they are.
Rather than supporting the millions of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, prominent Democrats are pinning their hopes on sympathy for this illegal alien thug. Senator Chris Van Hollen beclowned himself by flying to El Salvador, at the expense of US taxpayers, to plead for the thug’s return to the US.
Garcia was reportedly being held in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, a “Maryland man” whisked away by the bad Orange Man to face torture and abuse. Imagine a day later seeing Van Hollen with his new BFF dressed in country club plaid, sharing drinks with the Maryland Senator. He was “miraculously risen from the dead,” as El Salvador President Nayib Bukele observed.
Supporting criminal illegal aliens over his constituents is nothing new for Senator Von Hollen. He voted no on the Laken Riley Act, which mandates the federal detention of illegal immigrants who are accused of theft, burglary, assaulting a law enforcement officer, and any crime that causes death or serious bodily injury.
Democrats want to die on the hill of criminal illegal aliens and condemn any Americans who advocate for the safety and well-being of themselves and their families.
Recall when the Clinton administration sent a SWAT team to deport 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez back to Cuba? Not an allegedly wife-beating criminal alien gang member, but a young child. Do you remember any Democrat senators flying to Cuba to demand his release? I don’t either.
An elder Democrat strategist who worked in the Clinton White House when young Elian was deported had no problem with that, but today is fully supportive of the wife-beating thug returning to the US, calling it Democrats’ “top agenda.”
Is this a hill Democrats want to die on? Illegal aliens also influence our elections. Which side are Democrats on this?
Only four Democrats voted for the SAVE Act, which aims to prevent illegal aliens from voting in U.S. elections. How do voters feel about the SAVE Act?
Rasmussen Reports asked and discovered that 64 percent of likely US voters favor the act, including 50 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of unaffiliated voters. Democrats believe they are dying on a hill but are instead falling into a deep hole of their own making.
Another hill on which the Democrats are willing to die is transgenderism. An Ipsos/NY Times survey found, “Nearly 80 percent of Americans don’t want men playing in women’s sports.”
Where are Democrats, the party that stood up for women by wearing pink pussy hats eight years ago? They are now sitting for women regarding this 80-20 issue, “U.S. Senate Democrats block bill banning transgender athletes from women’s school sports.”
Democrats are the party that supports full-term abortion, up to and including the moment of birth. Only 22 percent of Americans say, “Abortion should be available any time during a pregnancy.” Once again, Democrats find themselves on the wrong side of a 20/80 issue.
Democrats bribed and shamed Americans into purchasing and driving electric vehicles to save the whales, Bambi, or whatever. Now they are keying Teslas and setting charging stations on fire.
On certain issues, Democrats receive a bit of Republican support, but they are fully committed and willing to stand firm, while indecisive Republicans gauge the political climate.
Democrats want no end to the Ukraine war, which is, in reality, a US proxy war against Russia and, by the way, we are losing. They are firmly against Elon Musk’s DOGE commission, which aims to identify waste, fraud, and abuse in government. How many voters want their hard-earned tax dollars wasted on nonsense?
Taxes are nirvana for Democrats, while they react to any government spending cuts as the devil recoils when sprinkled with holy water.
Election integrity is another issue on which Democrats are on the losing side. Rasmussen Reports found, “60 percent favor requiring paper ballots.” The SAVE Act, as mentioned above, represents another step toward secure elections, and Democrats are uniformly against this.
Gallup ranked the issues most important to voters in the 2024 election. At the top were Republican concerns, including the economy, democracy in the U.S., terrorism and national security, immigration, and education.
The two least important issues to voters were climate change and transgender rights, both of which are core issues that Democrats have staked their careers on.
Fortunately, President Trump is tuned in to the American voter, reflecting his significant win last November. Republicans would be wise to hitch their wagons and fortunes to Trump and the issues important to voting Americans.
Messaging is important, given that virtually all cable, network, and print media align closely with the Democrat party. These issues are easy to understand, and Republicans need to present their case clearly and simply.
Trump represents just one voice, and some voters are put off by his bluntness and bravado. All elected Republicans ought to advocate for the MAGA agenda.
Scott Jennings, the sole voice of reason and sanity on CNN, asks this simple question: “Why does the American left fall in love with the worst people?” The same left looks upon honest, hard-working, and wholesome Americans with contempt and scorn.
If the Democrats choose to die on the hill of frivolous and unpopular issues, then get out of their way and let them see how that plays out in about 19 months.
Brian C Joondeph, MD, is a physician and writer.
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