Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: The Liberal case against Bernie [View all]Tom Rinaldo
(22,912 posts)There is polling data that says if none of those who initially voted for Sanders ended up voting for Trump that Trump would have lost. Fine. But individual voters do not know exactly how close an election will be before they vote. Their choice ran the same risk of throwing an election to the Republicans as did those who refused to back the eventual Democratic nominee in election cycles previously.
A whole lot of knowledgeable people predicted the Clinton Trump race would not be close. Clinton was highly favored to win going into election day. The 2008 race between Obama and McCain was thought to be a competitive one, but there is polling data that more Clinton voters defected to McCain than Sanders voters defected to Trump. Those P.U.M.A. voters were willing to risk "helping" Obama lose. Fortunately that race went to Obama. Unfortunately the 2016 EC vote went to Trump. All Real Democratic defectors risk electing the Republican instead. But not all of them were ever firmly in the Democrats camp to begin with as you yourself noted. Statistics lie if they are not put in context, and part of the context is that it is not unusual for some who voted for a losing candidate in any primary not to vote for the winning candidate when the General Election arrives.
You brought up the whataboutism yourself above when you wrote: "I suspect that Hillary received racist votes in the Democratic primaries because of Obama's skin color. Hillary didn't encourage that, but it happened." THAT is the specific point that I was responding to. I had concrete personal dealings with P.U.M.A.'s at the time who did not fit that profile. As a former Hillary supporter I battled with them then. I knew them. As a former Bernie supporter I battled with B.O.B.'s after Hillary won the 2016 election also. There are always primary supporters of a losing candidate who do not support the winning candidate in the General Election. People weren't doing as much of this type polling at the time but I am sure some Ted Kennedy voters refused to support Jimmy Carter against Reagan in 1980 too.
Look I spent a couple of months over at Jackpine Radicals trying to focus people there on the danger Trump posed to us all before I finally gave up on them. I am not in the slightest sympathetic to the Bernie or Bust mind set some of his supporters fell into. When Russia mounts a sophisticated well coordinated psych ops campaign, there will be truth carnage as a result. When FOX runs a constant sophisticated well coordinated psych ops campaign there is truth carnage also. They don't mount those efforts for nothing. They do damage.They did.
Meanwhile I wasn't trying to challenge your experience in my reply above. I was just pointing out that in my town and in my County where I am elected Democratic Committeeman (Town Chair at the time) that our experience with ex Sanders supporters remaining active in the Democratic Party is not the same as what you have experienced. That is all.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden