the double standard of obama's supporters

[niyad]

for the last several months here on DU, I have noticed a very interesting phenomenon. supporters of barack obama feel free to be as hateful, vile, vitriolic and downright ugly about hillary clinton as they please, but, nobody had better say anything negative, or even the least bit questioning, about their chosen one.

quite frankly, the sort of messianic fervor displayed by some obama supporters gives one pause. (for some reason, I was reminded of a line from heinlein's "future histories")

[Catherine Vincent]

1. It's been that way for a while now. nt

[Kittycat]

2. Don't kid yourself - it goes both ways.

[niyad]

8. funny, the majority of what I see is what I posted about. yes,

I have seen some negative things about obama, but not nearly the kind of crap I see posted about hillary.

[dolo amber]

10. You're clearly reading the wrong threads, then

:eyes:

[TheDoorbellRang]

18. It's on both sides, but

from any indication from straw polls here, support for Obama vs. Clinton is about 2 or 3 to 1. Not surprising then, statistically, if the vitriolic posts against Hillary seem to occur about twice or thrice as often.

There are supporters on both sides that try to instill civility back into the discourse, but vitriol is easier to sling than civility.:shrug:

[goletian]

20. i wonder if her running a very negative campaign has anything to do with it...

hmm... i wonder...

[redqueen]

11. Sure seems that way to me. (nt)

[keep_it_real]

12. Yep, it indeed goes both ways

[ellacott]

3. It runs both ways

I've read some very hateful things regarding Obama also. No one side is innocent.

[SoFlaJet]

4. it depends on where you're looking

at it from niyad-it's coming from both directions started by what a lot of us figured were paid campaign workers trying to propagandize-we long timers have seen this before and I for one, take umbrage

[high density]

5. These threads are a dime a dozen here

Why did you feel the need to post another one? God damn these DU supporters who are excited about their candidate.

[Lerkfish]

6. how ironic is your post, young paduan.

and never understand the irony, you will not...hmmmmmm?

[niyad]

13. nice try, but no cigar.

right on schedule, the "but hillary's people are doing it too"

[Lerkfish]

24. knew you would not see the irony.

but that's okay

[tigervalentine]

7. I so agree with you.

It's odd. I have never run across a nasty Clinton supporter--which means they act like Obama. Only Obama folk are mean and rotten and intolerant--which means they act like Clinton.

What a deliberately provacative post you made.

[mmonk]

9. wash...rinse...repeat

[ericgtr]

14. Thread after thread here spewing hate about Obama and you are accusing his supporters of negativity?

This thread is another perfect example of your hypocrisy.

[niyad]

16. just as I figured. pointing out a fact makes some obama

supporters foam at the mouth. I haven't seen nearly as much crap posted about obama as I have about hillary. my observations are just as valid as yours, duckie.

[ericgtr]

23. Are you in bed with Hannity too?

shame that you've all sacrificed your party to side with the extreme right.

[niyad]

39. what utter codswallop. and exactly the sort of thing I was talking

about. nobody can criticize obama without being called a right-winger, etc., etc.

I haven't done anything except observe what the hell is going on. extreme right? sweetie, you haven't a clue.

[jody]

15. BO supporters are under a spell. You can join also, chant "Hope, Change" and look into BO's eyes.

[Johnny__Motown]

17. you mean stuff like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZsYWiywdCA&feature=related


talk about a double standard... If Obama said ANYTHING CLOSE to this you would insist he withdraw from the race and the party.

[rucky]

19. Tell me when you've seen constructive criticism on this board.

It happens every now and then, and results in some pretty good threads.

[jgraz]

21. Oh please.

[niyad]

25. what an incredibly sexist response. I am, however, not surprised.

[mohc]

22. For the very same reasons...

...you feel that there is far more negativity coming from Obama supporters, many here can only see things in "their" way. There has been much criticism is both directions, some of it constructive but much of it not. The tendency is going to be that one classifies criticism of their opponent as constructive and criticism of their candidate as unfair. We are all subject to these prejudices. Even with the worst offenders on ignore, there seems to be far more unfair criticism coming from Clinton supporters than Obama supporters...to me. I have no doubt the opposite is true for you. In other words, neither one of us can form a truly objective opinion about this.

[axordil]

26. This is actually a well documented phenomenon

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13128974

[pointsoflight]

27. Now is the time to unite behind our common cause.

Enough. We all know there has been vile stuff going in both directions. It's time to move beyond all of that. Our party requires it, and more importantly, the future of our country depends on it.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

28. Here's an interesting experiment

Look at the GD-P Board today and delete every vitriolic anti-Obama post you can find (my Ignore List gained about 15-20 new members today) and then take a look at what's left on the board. If the OP is correct, then it should be left with nothing but vitrioloic anti-Hillary posts.

Hint: It isn't.

[corkhead]

29. you aren't going to get very far using the word "messianic" unless you deliberately intended to stir

up some shit. talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

did you consider that those like you who still cling to the failed candidacy of Clinton are becoming an increasing minority, hence the inbalance of posts?

[niyad]

31. you actuaqlly don't know who I support. and the use of the word messianic is

a very exact description of some supporters. the fact that you don't happen to like it is irrelevant.

[hulka38]

38. Corkhead, good response but even better avatar.

[haymakeragain]

30. Nice try, but oh so wrong. You see what you want to see.

Hillary's done, if not this goes to McCain because she will have to steal it to win it, and that will be even more divisive than she already is, if possible.

[niyad]

32. it absolutely fascinates me that anytime somebody points out their

concerns about obama, they are deluded, and only see what they want to see. obama supporters, on the other hand, congratulate themselves on their perfectly clear vision.

it would be amusing if it weren't so worrisome.

[Bonobo]

33. That's just flat out untrue. Sorry you perceive it that way. I couldn't disagree more.

[niyad]

36. you can disagree all you want. that doesn't change what I see.

[thoughtcrime1984]

34. YOU see what YOU would like to see. nt

[olkaz]

35. Ah, the "declaring the opposition crazy" strategy. Interesting.

What else you got? Kitchen sink been thrown yet?

[niyad]

37. where did I say anyone was crazy? kindly do not attribute things to me thaqt

I did not say.

why am I not surprised at such responses?

[hulka38]

40. Niyad, your OP slammed Obama supporters labeling them as messianic disciples

who are blindly being lead, and then you bemoan the vitriol against Hillary, clearly your candidate. You are bating people to react to your post negatively. If you are emotional about the reactions to the thread you have only yourself to blame.

[niyad]

41. you have no idea who my candidate is, regqardless of what you think

baiting? no, simply making observations. messianic doesn't mean crazy, and sorry it you don't like it.

"I'm a believer" is not a rational statement, but an emotional one. pointing that out doesn't mean I am baiting anyone.

once again, nobody can question obama or his supporters. thanks.

[jconner27]

42. Obama supporters are the new Bush supporters

Very much like the supporters of the smirking one he can do nothing wrong in their eyes.

[AX10]

43. The netroots activists have been this way for months.

Kos being one of the worse offenders of course.

[LordJFT]

44. funny on the 1st page i just counted 7 threats attacking obama and only 3 attacking clinton

not counting this one

[Danger Mouse]

45. bullshit. hillary supporters pull the same garbage...

if you try to say otherwise, you are a liar.

[VotesForWomen]

46. you are correct; it's scary. most of these people never even heard of O a year ago, and now they're

ready to die for him (or faint for him, at the very least).

[RememberWellstone]

47. truth

tell it.

[Babel_17]

48. regarding Fosterites?

That was a superficial/hedonistic religion though their fanaticism can be seen as a commentary and warning for a trend in the USA that could be applied to some of the followers of many movements.

"The Fosterites train squadrons of teenagers and young adults, the Spirit-in-Action League, to physically attack other religions, newspapers, etc., who fail to respect their version of the truth."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land

Heinlein truly feared a theocracy becoming a reality for us.

"As for the second notion, the idea that we could lose our freedom by succumbing to a wave of religious hysteria, I am sorry to say that I consider it possible. I hope that it is not probable. But there is a latent deep strain of religious fanaticism in this, our culture. It is rooted in our history and has broken out many times in the past. It is with us now; there has been a sharp rise in strongly evangelical sects in the country in recent years, some of which hold beliefs theocratic in the extreme, anti- intellectual, anti-scientific, and anti-libertarian."

"It is a truism that almost any sect, cult or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. . . . The custodians of the True Faith cannot logically admit tolerance of heresy to be a virtue."

". . . Could any one sect obtain a working majority at the polls and take over the country? Perhaps not -- but a combination of the dynamic evangelist, television, enough money, and modern techniques of advertising and propaganda might make Billy Sunday's efforts look like a corner store compared to Sears Roebuck. Throw in a depression for good measure, promise a material heaven here on earth, add a dash of anti-Semitism, anti-Catholicism, Anti-Negroism, and a good large dose of anti- furriners' in general and anti-intellectuals here at home and the result might be something quite frightening -- particularly when one recalls that our voting system is such that a minority distributed as pluralities in enough states can constitute a working majority in Washington."

http://www.swans.com/library/art10/mgc120.html

"As for the
idea that we could lose our freedom by succumbing
to a wave of religious hysteria, I am sorry to say that I
consider it possible. I hope that it is not probable... No.
I probably never will write the story of Nehemiah Scudder;
I dislike him too thoroughly. But I hope that you will go
along with me in the idea that he could happen, for the
sake of the stories that follow....I hope you will enjoy them -
at my age it would be very inconvenient to have to go
back to working for a living."



http://templetongate.tripod.com/rahfuture.htm

"I imagined Nehemiah Scudder as a backwoods evangelist who combined some of the features of John Calvin, Savonarola, Judge Rutherford and Huey Long. His influence was not national until after the death of Mrs. Rachel Biggs, an early convert who had the single virtue of being the widow of an extremely wealthy man who shared none of her religious myopia--she left Brother Scudder several millions of dollars with which to establish a television station. Shortly thereafter he teamed up with an ex-Senator from his home state; they placed their affairs in the hands of a major advertising agency and were on their way to fame and fortune. Presently they needed stormtroopers; they revived the Ku Klux Klan in everything but the name--sheets, passwords, grips and all. It was a 'good gimmick' once and it still served. Blood at the polls and blood in the streets, but Scudder won the election. The next election was never held. "

http://www.adherents.com/lit/Na/Na_280.html