2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Elizabeth Warren [View all]MADem
(135,425 posts)I think Dems, as a bunch, are better informed and have a better grasp of issues. They are also, by and large though certainly with some exceptions, more pragmatic.
Yeah, we have a few that are just dolts, but I sometimes wonder if some of those are Deep Trolls, here to shitstir and be so deliberately clueless as to create a parody of what a Democratic voter is. You know we're a target when there is a "conservative" website (which I learned of, here, to both hilarity and horror) that does nothing but HATE on us--that's their purpose and their sick little goal! They call us silly names, waste their time analyzing and mocking threads that are not to their liking, and gloat when they can slide a troll in under the radar. Now sure, I've seen some people over here laugh about going to that Freepy place and jerking a chain or two, but I am entirely unaware of a site--if one exists--that does nothing but dissect conversations over there and target individual members. I mean, that kind of conduct is "Balance of The Mind is Severely Disturbed" territory.
Also, this site, despite carping, complaining, and flat-out whining by people who think we ought to champion, say, the Communist Party candidate, doesn't impose the same level of purity tests that some of those other sites demand. The Tea Partiers don't want to hear from moderate Republicans, and didn't the head of that Freepy site go ballistic on people who supported RMoney? Here we don't just have Democrats, we also have Socialists, Greens, anarchists, communists, as well as more than a few Paulbots flying under the radar and playing the "too clever by half" game. Then there's the people who aren't even American voters, but who have an interest in US politics and they come from all over the world; Canada, UK, Australia, etc. They tend to be excessively critical of Americans as a group, on a good day, often missing the beam in their own eye, too.
You go into core Dem sites, like Blue Mass Group and some of the state-centric communities, and you don't get that level of diversity or flake--those guys won't tolerate it. Then again, they are more focused on actual RESULTS--getting candidates the money they need, engaging in street level campaigning, working to get people to show up--for meetings, rallies, and at the polling booth. This place, by contrast, is more of a news and "chew the fat" type site. There's some activism, but the ratio of activism to just conversational yakking doesn't compare to some of the more focused groups. A look at how moribund many of the state groups are here will prove that point.
It's very big tent we are under, here....the pity is, though, some of these folks don't understand that if they are in the tent, a polite guest needs to try a little harder to piss out of the tent, rather than piss on the doggone floor!