In this case she's exactly right. You let the other party set the precedent, and then when you get power, you do the exact same thing for your own priorities. Harry Reid did that with the filibuster rule changes, and once the Republicans took power 2 years later, they were able to pass a lot of things without threat of filibuster.
The Dems know they can't use "national emergency" to pass gun control bills, unless the Republicans do something stupid like that first.