Do you feel a need to defend Bernie? Or yourself?

[Proserpina]

It appears that some people are feeling persecuted for their support of the Other Candidate...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110728945

I have seen no sign in myself of feeling persecuted by Hillary's supporters (although my mother has been locked out of DU by the Hillary stalking team), nor have any of the posts in this group (or outside the group) created a need to explain, defend, or make excuses for Bernie.

He's the real thing. A populist, progressive, socialist Democrat in the FDR mold. Hard-working honest, and successful.


The idea that we the Bernie supporters HATE Hillary is unfounded. What we hate is the policies she espouses, the flip-flopping, the callous remarks tossed off, and the definite possibility that the USA and the Democratic Party will decline much more precipitously in her care than without it.

We hate the way she sells herself to the highest bidders (corporations and billionaires like Warren Buffett).

We hate the war-mongering: past present and future.

We hate the minginess of of Hillary offering $12 minimum wage, when the people are demanding $15 (and are worth more than that).

We hate the high$$$ secretive meetings with select groups.

We hate the candidate, not the person. This is not the first time we've been offered a lemon, and we aren't buying.

Hillary is a great person, a loving mother and grandmother, and a wife whose value is above rubies. What she is not is Presidential.


It's Bernie--no excuses!

[SmittynMo]

1. I defend neither

I clearly support Bernie, hands down. There really is no reason to defend him. His past record and future promises is all I need to know he is the best person for the job. He is the only one that actually represents each and every one of us.


We all know that the polls are sliding towards Hillary. I say so f'ing what. You would think that in today's age, they would be pretty accurate. Think again.

Most polls are done across land lines. 52% of Americans no longer have a land line. You leave out 1/2 of the population.

In some cases, you are not allowed to participate if you're under 26. They are looking for past voters (2 presidential elections). So this leaves out all young voters. Hell, 80% of them did not vote in the last election, so no one takes this age group seriously. Wrong!!!

And then there's the internet. Bernie is smoking the net compared to Hillary. And I can tell you 90% of the participation are young voters. I feel they will make a huge difference.

I think a lot of people will be shocked on judgment day.

Not me. I knew it all along.

[MisterP]

2. it's about personality to them, so they figure it HAS to be about personality for us

[Faux pas]

3. Nope

sincerity, honestly and caring about our fellow man doesn't need defending.

[jeff47]

4. If they label all opposition "hate", they can pretend it is irrational and not address it.

For example, posting a video clip of Clinton speaking is hatred....because then they don't have to address what she actually said in that clip.

[Rebkeh]

8. Good point n/t

[retrowire]

12. excellent observation nt

[Android3.14]

5. For persons supporting Hillary of Bernie based on chances in the GE or SCOTUS

For a while now, polling shows Bernie has as good a chance, or even better, of winning the general election as does Hillary.

Therefore, if a person currently supports Clinton, but Bernie represents their values more so than Hillary, the data shows you can support Bernie in the primary without feeling like you are endangering the party and risking the White House.

Even if Clinton wins, a person who votes for Bernie in the primary can still vote for Clinton in the general election. It's okay to vote for Bernie in the primary.

If Sanders wins the primary, again there is no harm, no foul. He has an excellent chance of victory in the GE. We'll have a good President at a time when the country desperately needs a good President.

We might even have a great President.

[Rebkeh]

6. Hate is a word I don't use loosely and

I do not hate Hillary. I don't even hate Trump. Hate is not a regular part of my emotional make up, I dislike a lot of what people do, say, believe, affirm, elevate, etc. But it's rare that I hate people or a person, much less people I've never met or don't know on a personal level. There is a distinction, which the OP clearly demonstrates. I couldn't have said it better myself. +1x100

I don't feel persecuted but there are Hillary supporters that go too far, sending rude private messages and the like. I'm sure there are Bernie supporters that do the same, but these people are the exceptions, not the standard. None of them represent their candidate. It's also the nature of social media, there's always somebody acting a fool.

[bvar22]

7. The only thing I have done is to put 12 Hillary fans on ignore.

That has made it much easier to have discussions with people who serious about the Wealth Divide, income inequality, inequality in opportunity, the forever WARS, and the killing of innocents in the Middle East.

I have been at DU since 2001, and never had to put anyone on IGNORE before, but the disruptive tactics of The Swarm made it necessary.

I have put no one on ignore who discusses issues or is sincere in their posts.

My experience here is so much better now that a handful of miscreants have been banished from my pages.

[haikugal]

9. Yes..my experience here is much like yours. I too have made use of ignore for the first time.

[Rebkeh]

10. I've been here since mid-October,

just under two months and I have two people on ignore already. Both of them Hillary supporters. I'm glad to see that the current DU is not the norm. I'm looking forward to seeing how it is post-election.

[retrowire]

11. I've blatantly asked them to point out his flaws

they really failed to do so.

and I agree, they really seem to take it personally when you scrutinize Hillary. it's weird

[Pastiche423]

13. Who is your mother?

[Major Hogwash]

14. No, it's not worth it, to be honest.

The fact that Hillary lost in the 2008 primaries should be enough of a reason not to support her this time around.
At the same time, Bernie is a different kind of Democratic candidate, so all of the petty attacks and ridiculous smears against him aren't going to amount to a hill of beans.

I used to defend myself here at DU, though.
But, not anymore.
Mostly because it is not worth the time or the energy expended.
I am what I am, and all of the baiting drivel, and bullshit replies made back to me by anonymous people on the internet aren't going to change that fact.

I first came here to support John Kerry clear back in 2003, and then wound up arguing with bullshit artists who didn't know a damn thing about him or about guns.
Since by that time in 2003 I had already spent 38 years using guns, I had gained quite a bit of knowledge and experience concerning guns, so I spent quite a bit of my time posting in the gungeon.
Back then, Wickerman was the sole host of that forum, and he was extremely fair to the great majority of the people who posted in that subforum.

However, most of the douchebag Republican, know-nothing, gun nuts posting in that subforum went after people like me who supported Kerry and his positions on guns, so it wound up getting pretty nasty in that subforum at times.
Then some of the gun nuts started stalking people like me to the General Discussion subforum and continued to attack anything I said in threads that were started there in a lame attempt to get me banned.
Simply because they had lost their arguments in the gungeon subforum.

I lost a lot of posts as a result.
And sometimes entire subthreads were deleted by moderators who didn't understand the need for those subthreads to remain visible to the viewing public, members of DU and lurkers, alike.
Because some of those subthreads demonstrated just how insane some of the Republican gun nuts were, and just how far they would go to try to get someone banned from DU.
They had lost their arguments in the gungeon, so they tried a new tactic, go after me (and others) for handing them their asses in the gungeon, and then supporting the Democratic nominee in the General Discussion subforum.

Having spent 3 years in the Army should have qualified me for most discussions about guns in the gungeon subforum, one would think.
But, I also served 20 years in the Marine Corps, so that should end any discussion about my qualifications for those other members who wanted to argue about guns in that particular subforum.
Wickerman was an Air Force veteran, so he knew what I was talking about.

But, the fact is, Wickerman had only served for one 4-year period in the Air Force, and he didn't make a career out of the military the way I did.
I really respected Wickerman because even though he knew there were some fake veterans posting about guns in the gungeon at the DU forum, he allowed them to continue to spew their complete line of horseshit in that subforum for a much longer period of time than I would have.
I just didn't have much patience for people lying about guns on the internet back then.

But, one day I came to the realization that none of it was going to matter anyway . . those Republican gun nuts were still going to spew their form of bullshit here no matter what they were told, no matter how many facts they were presented with, or how silly they looked arguing about it.
So, I came to the conclusion that maybe it was just best to leave them alone so they could talk themselves out.

[saltpoint]

15. 'Am generally glad to be a Democrat in

this cycle. I love Sanders in particular.

The three major Democratic campaigns are all doing more issues-work than the over-a-dozen Puke campaigns.

And did we mention that the Republican primary field is comprised of some of the most deceitful people who ever got up and walked?