So, DUers - What are we doing here in GD:P, and why are we doing it?
My question to all of us - at this point, what are we doing? 
Earlier tonight, I conducted a highly unscientific survey of DUers, and in results that should surprise no one, over 95% of us have pretty well made up our mind on who we are voting for. So whenever we post about how great Hillary or Bernie is, we are officially just preaching to our respective choirs. True-to-DU-form, we make post after post after post about: how third-way Hillary is; Hilary's IWR vote; Bernie's love of the gun lobby; I - VT or D- VT. And I'm as guilty as any of us -- my intent is not to claim to be holier-than -thou here. But we are spending much energy pointing fingers and name calling against one another while ignoring our broad areas of agreement -- about women's rights; about the need to improve the ACA/move toward single payer; about keeping the next three SCOTUS judges from being clones of Sam Alito; about sane immigration policy; about some sense of racial justice in this country.
Another poster (Cali, I think) made a post basically saying (and I'm oversimplifying and paraphrasing) Hillary and Bernie supporters aren't speaking the same language. They just aren't interested in the same things. In a broad sense, I'd agree with that. We tend (again -- making a simplistic generalization) to have differing views on what we want in a President and from the party.
There's nothing wrong with enthusiasm for a candidate. Go Bernie! Go Hillary! However, However, it's pretty clear that both sides are getting on one another's nerves. I'm not a Sanders supporter, but I imagine Bernie supporters are tired of being told their candidate's chances are slim and his supporters are delusional. I am certain that Hillary supporters are really sick of hearing that our candidate is little-better than Ted Cruz.
So, if we've all made up our minds, fine. If we're all going to gloat and vent about primary and caucus results - fine. Here's where I'm coming from: in 2008, Hillary v. Barack got pretty acrimonious; however, we all agreed that the Bush policies had to end. We all got behind President Obama, and he won. It has not been a perfect Presidency, but it's been pretty good, especially considering the congressional headwinds and the mess he inherited in January 2009. I'm probably being overly pessimistic, but I just don' see that now. I see two sides that are pretty embittered with one another.
So I have no idea how the rest off the primaries play out. Will we pretty much know by Super Tuesday? Will this go until June? Whatever it is, I'd like to ask these questions:
If we can't come together on who should be President, can we set aside our differences to get Dems elected to the House and Senate?
Can we at least try to agree that either Clinton or Sanders would be an improvement over Rubio, Cruz, or Trump?
Can we be honest enough with ourselves to admit that both of our candidates, Bernie and Hillary, have some imperfections, drawbacks, and flaws?
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Try that in the Hillary group or the Bernie group, and you'll be banished instantly.
The rancorous entertainment should continue until one of them quits. Then there will be grave-dancing, followed by attempts at reconciliation.
I'm putting a dollar on June. Grovelbot will hold all the bets.
Can we be honest enough with ourselves to admit that both of our candidates, Bernie and Hillary, have some imperfections, drawbacks, and flaws?
In our hearts, I think everyone knows and understand this already. Those who pledge to "never vote for the nominee if it's not their candidate" are just angry and are trying to antagonize the other candidate's supporters. If not that, then they're just feeling helpless because they don't like that there are circumstances which are totally beyond their control, so they're acting-out and seeking comfort and validation (regardless of whether they realize that's what they're doing.)
It will pass. People will cope and adapt. Most will come around, and there will (of course) be a few stragglers who do live up to their pledge to sit-out the election. That's their choice and nothing will change their minds, so why bother with them?
Fortunately, in the real world ... those types of individuals (whether for Bernie or Hillary) don't exist in number sufficient enough to make a difference. In the end, cooler heads will prevail, the SMART and MATURE voters (who know how to handle disappointment) will do the right thing.
Go, Democrats! 
Last edited Tue Feb 23, 2016, 02:55 PM - Edit history (1)
I don't post much because I just am plumb out of energy to argue about politics anymore. And your post struck a chord with me. You are saying what I keep thinking but not just here at DU but on other social media as well. The discourse between Hillary and Bernie supporters is pretty horrible. And that worries me very much for the fall.
When both Bernie and Hillary became candidates, I was very pleased. I thought we had two good people vying for the presidency. I had no strong pull to either. I consider myself progressive/liberal but not all the way to the left (though my conservative family would differ on that). And I have to say, reading here as well as comments on other social media is making me dislike both Hillary and Bernie 
And it has nothing to do with Hillary or Bernie. It is the supporters that I have to keep reminding myself is causing this misplaced dislike. I have to consciously separate the candidates from the rhetoric of the supporters.
There are a lot of people/voters out there like me. We don't live and breathe politics. We read and try to be informed but we don't want or need to argue every issue. And fighting and name calling and insults only drives people away.
