> I'm really not sure why Democrats don't just let Trump shoot himself in the foot.
That had been their strategy, to just let Trump do things and become unpopular without drawing attention to themselves, but while Trump and Republicans have become less popular, Democrats' approval ratings have been sliding down as well (although they have a lead in the generic ballot) and polling indicates most Democratic voters think they're not doing enough to stop Trump. So, making a big show of "playing dirty" (threatening to gerrymander back in retaliation), and publicly saying that they'll no longer tie their hands behind their back, probably brings satisfaction to those people they're polling badly with. It's the kind of sentiment I've heard for years from online Democratic voters, and from people I know, but never was validated by the actual Democrats until now.
That had been their strategy, to just let Trump do things and become unpopular without drawing attention to themselves, but while Trump and Republicans have become less popular, Democrats' approval ratings have been sliding down as well (although they have a lead in the generic ballot) and polling indicates most Democratic voters think they're not doing enough to stop Trump. So, making a big show of "playing dirty" (threatening to gerrymander back in retaliation), and publicly saying that they'll no longer tie their hands behind their back, probably brings satisfaction to those people they're polling badly with. It's the kind of sentiment I've heard for years from online Democratic voters, and from people I know, but never was validated by the actual Democrats until now.