The reason people bring up Republicans is because #BothSides consistently acts as though they are the "lesser evil" compared to Democrats despite there being no evidence to support that claim.
As for giving Democrats smoke, that's fine as long as there's rationality to it. Of course, corrupt or useless Democrats deserve to be called out. But there should at least be evidence to back up the claims.
When people blame Democrats for inflation and crime, for example, you need to show proof that Democrats actually have any impact on these two things instead of just assuming.
Ditto goes for the Republicans/#BothSides claim that Democrats contribute to Black poverty even though the most middle-upper class Black areas in the country are still heavily Democrat. Black people in NYC have a lower poverty rate than Hispanics and Asians and Queens is one of the few areas in the country where Black household incomes are higher than White ones. Meanwhile, in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana which are heavily governed by Conservatives and Republicans, the stats are more dire for us than it is in most Blue States.
Overall, there's nothing wrong with criticism. I've emailed local representatives before and have had tough conversations with politicians in different cities before specifically regarding education for Black boys. Everyone should be politically active and trying to hold their reps accountable.
But, too often, you just get a bunch of armchair political analysts who just want to blame everything negative on one political party without even having a comprehensive understanding of what really contributes to certain issues such as crime, poverty, miseducation, etc. The Democrats could do better just like any other political party but there's only so much they can fix that can't be fixed internally or within the community itself. Politicians are supposed to aid and help communities, not wave a magic wand and give people a happy ending overnight.