I think attacks on Bernie just make him stronger.

[DanTex]

Because the attacks, from the media and from twitter, are just getting more and more silly. I don't think it's coincidence that he's surging in the polls at the same time the attacks are ramping up on him

I know this has happened with me. I'm not really a "Bernie supporter", I'm undecided and most of all I'm "anyone but Trump", but I'm definitely leaning more towards Bernie with every dumb attack that gets thrown at him. Coming into this, I was pretty skeptical of Bernie, mainly because I didn't like that he surrounds himself with Jill Stein voters. And I still think that's stupid.

But there's something about watching him, or anyone, really, get pummeled over and over for the stupidest of things. Maybe it's like an anti-bullying instinct or a "root for the underdog" thing, but I doubt I'm the only one that feels this way. It started with all the pundits warning that Bernie would turn the US into Venezuela. Like the time Donny Deutsch said he would vote Trump over Bernie because "socialism".

Then, in every effing debate, the moderators were basically drooling to attack Bernie and Warren over single payer. Like, do they not understand that a "healthcare premium" and a "tax" are both money out of a person's pocket? Would they drool a little less if Bernie or Warren had called it a "medicare healthcare premium" instead of a "tax"? I don't even know if M4A is the best healthcare plan, but watching a bunch of media talking heads obsess over this with the obvious intention of getting a "score" that people on twitter will be able to tweet to each other is just embarrassing.

The latest I've seen is a clip on twitter of Bernie saying to a reporter that he doesn't know how much his healthcare plan will cost. Which is so dumb: what he said was that neither he, nor anyone, knows exactly how much healthcare costs will rise the next decade. That's obviously true, and what's also obviously true is that the American people will be paying that amount whether it's single payer or not, just that single payer will cost lest because of administrative savings and price bargaining. But you could just see the giddiness of the reporter trying to get that "score" against Bernie.

And that's just one of many. The Joe Rogan outrage. Then there was the time Warren went after him, and the whole media was saying this would kill Bernie, and what happened? It was Warren who went down in the polls. Why? Because it was a conversation where only two people were in the room, but the whole media tried to pretend it was a "reported fact", as if CNN putting that stamp on one of the two people in the room makes it anything other than two people disagreeing over something that nobody else heard.

[BannonsLiver]

1. ...

[blm]

2. What happened to Warren was extremely unfair.

[TheFarseer]

5. I agree

It was very unfair to BOTH of them.

[blm]

15. I don't think so. Sanders camp, instead of telling truth about that canvass script

on Saturday when It was first reported, they misdirected their supporters to an alternative theory planted online that it came from an anonymous source fueling speculation that Warren had it planted to make Sanders look bad.

So, for 2 days the online tsunami came down to bear on Warren. Warren associates attributed some of it to Sanders not believing a woman would be able to take on Trump. On Monday morning the Sanders camp admitted that the script did come from the campaign organization.

For TWO DAYS they let loose the hounds of Hell on Warren.

They did not apologize to Warren for implying that the script story was planted, possibly by her.

They did not tell their supporters that they were sorry they were misdirected to a false story.

The online attacks on Warren went as crazy as Seth Rich was killed by Clinton conspiracy level.

[TheFarseer]

16. I was talking about the woman can't win meeting but

I listen to a lot of Pro-Bernie media and I never heard the claim that a Warren associate planted the canvas script. They only claimed it was someone not authorized to write a canvassing script. I would assume someone that didn’t like either Warren or Sanders had something to do with it.

[blm]

18. Sanders camp didn't admit the truth for TWO days.

Last edited Mon Jan 27, 2020, 07:40 PM - Edit history (1)

And the person WAS authorized, and Sanders camp knew they handed out the script, but, let the lies and theories fester for TWO days.

That was a total @sshole move on their part and Warren has been targeted viciously ever since by the ClintonkilledSethRich faction of the Sanders camp. AND the Russia didn’t help Trump win/Russian hoax crowd.

[LeftTurn3623]

3. I agree

Bernie wasn't my guy either but I feel like Im being forced to defend him and it makes me like him more.

[TheFarseer]

4. It seems like Jackals ready to pounce

on any possible thing. The Rogan thing is what killed me- a comedian making a point in an over-the-top humorous way. I can’t believe it! I’m sure there were some people that were genuinely offended by some of the things he said, but you can’t tell me there wasn’t a lot of fake outrage there.

[The Valley Below]

7. Fake outrage? No man.

[showblue22]

9. I didn't find him funny at all

I found him rude and offensive. I'm hurt and shocked that some democrats would defend it.

[ritapria]

6. Playing a game of "Gotcha" isn't flattering to the people who play the game

It just motivates Bernie's supporters to stand behind their man ….It's all faux outrage and most people see through it ..People are interested in the bread and butter issues …..Bernie has flaws ..We all have flaws ... But ..Bernie has the receipts …..He is authentic ... Like him or hate him , he has been saying the same stuff for his entire adult life.. Well before it was popular to say these things ….That is why so many young people love him …. They seem him a grumpy ,slightly eccentric , but lovable ole Grandpa figure ….

[frazzled]

8. The logic here is perplexing

"Attacks" (read criticisms) of other candidates are valid political considerations, but those criticisms of Sanders are "gotcha" and "faux."
On the other hand, these attacks on Sanders only help strengthen his support (apparently not so for the supporters of other candidates who are criticized: that damage will be real.)

I don't know. What I'm hearing sounds very much like the logic of Trump supporters: "It's all faux outrage." "Bernie has flaws" ... "but he is authentic." (read "fake news"; "people love him, despite not liking some of the things he does and says, because he tells it like it is." )

Doesn't this all sound familiar? And doesn't this tell you why so many others find the Sanders campaign so undesirable? You can tell yourself that everybody loves him, but it's so very far from true.

[booley]

10. Sanders is seen as an Outsider

and so, the thinking goes, when he is attacked it only reinforces this.

[LanternWaste]

11. There's no real evidence supporting your sentiment.

Not even post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacies in regards to current polling data supports your sentiment.



When neither reality nor even the imaginary can support an idea or sentiment, it's rather probable the idea (or sentiment) is a waste of time.

[DanTex]

19. Right, correlation and causation and all. That's why I said "I think." It's not a scientific proof.

[Aaron Pereira]

12. The political types call this inoculation.

Examination of his record is fair and should be done. Fine.

After five years of scrutiny Sanders has been the target of so many fatuous personal attacks about race, sex and national loyalty that voters are catching on. Evidence is pointing to the idea they're ignoring the attacks or transferring negative feelings onto those launching the attacks.

[Meeker]

13. Also, in a general way that is not particularly about Bernie ...

... people just don't trust media any more, and that includes "new" media.

[Gothmog]

14. If sanders is the nominee, trump will win 4t+ states

[Mike 03]

17. Getting attacked, by itself, doesn't make a candidate sympathetic. It can.

But a bigger factor is probably how he or she responds to the attack, IMO.

There have been dozens of examples of candidates being attacked and responding. Some responses have been successful and others less so.