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Whiskeytide

(4,457 posts)
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 06:50 PM Feb 2020

Holeeee Crap. I ventured into The Primaries forum ...

... some over the last couple of days. I have done a fair job of avoiding that the last 6 months or so, but my curiosity got the better of my judgment, and it’s time to vote. So ..... I was optimistic. I was hopeful. Well. I was deluded. The circular firing squads have formed, and they are impressive.

All I will say is that republican operatives and strategists could save a lot of time/effort and get high quality opposition research on EACH of our candidates right here on DU.

Lord help us.

And vote BLUE. Shit people. Please.

Admins: I surmised this was a general enough gripe to be acceptable here in GD. Frankly I’m a little scared to join in over there any more than I have. Mean streets.

87 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Holeeee Crap. I ventured into The Primaries forum ... (Original Post) Whiskeytide Feb 2020 OP
more like a cesspool still_one Feb 2020 #1
Well. I was trying to be diplomatic. But I can't argue with your assessment. n/t Whiskeytide Feb 2020 #5
It depresses me.... Dorian Gray Feb 2020 #52
This is me, when I venture over there. TheBlackAdder Feb 2020 #67
I try to steer clear of it for the most part, almost every Jury I serve dewsgirl Feb 2020 #2
Yep. Mine are ALL from there as well. n/t Whiskeytide Feb 2020 #12
Yep, it's brutal over there. Luciferous Feb 2020 #25
Same here, and I always cancel. smirkymonkey Feb 2020 #46
+1000 dewsgirl Feb 2020 #48
Same. pazzyanne Feb 2020 #54
It's like that every cycle. TwilightZone Feb 2020 #3
2008 was brutal. xmas74 Feb 2020 #63
What was so bad about 2008? PTWB Feb 2020 #70
Extreme fighting xmas74 Feb 2020 #71
Yep, I went for a couple of years too canetoad Feb 2020 #72
What primaries forum? Cary Feb 2020 #4
Nice. n/t Whiskeytide Feb 2020 #7
The one that is is before the Candidates Group. BigmanPigman Feb 2020 #8
I thought Cary was being facetious, BP. If not - I hope they'll accept my apologies. n/t Whiskeytide Feb 2020 #10
Maybe it went over my head, which often happens with me. BigmanPigman Feb 2020 #14
Hehe backtoblue Feb 2020 #21
Cary was definitely being facetious. Cary Feb 2020 #17
Cary is a sly one. MontanaMama Feb 2020 #28
I trashed it too. nt Flaleftist Feb 2020 #44
Good move! Cary Feb 2020 #85
That forum is definitely for the brave DeminPennswoods Feb 2020 #6
And, in my experience, there is a lot of alert-baiting. Gore1FL Feb 2020 #18
They flag anyone who even posts an article about their candidate in a negative light. OliverQ Feb 2020 #35
Strikes me as you are both correct DeminPennswoods Feb 2020 #56
Someone gave me a heart. Thanks. I needed that. n/t Whiskeytide Feb 2020 #9
Better now than October RandySF Feb 2020 #11
Well noted. guillaumeb Feb 2020 #13
It really does change a person. Mike 03 Feb 2020 #15
It DOES change you. After 10 minutes ... Whiskeytide Feb 2020 #57
I have a lot of people who post regularly in that forum on ignore. demmiblue Feb 2020 #16
Let's just get this straight. BKDem Feb 2020 #19
Re-trashed safeinOhio Feb 2020 #20
BACK THE FUCK UP!!! jberryhill Feb 2020 #22
. backtoblue Feb 2020 #24
Do they have decontamination.... SergeStorms Feb 2020 #37
Has it gone airborne??? n/t? Whiskeytide Feb 2020 #59
20% fatality. Easy jberryhill Feb 2020 #60
I'm thinking hidden posts are ... Whiskeytide Feb 2020 #61
It's one big food fight. lpbk2713 Feb 2020 #23
And usually the one alerted on is replying to one that is worse. n/t Ms. Toad Feb 2020 #53
Oh yes, I'd noticed that canetoad Feb 2020 #73
Occasionally - when that seems to be the situation - Ms. Toad Feb 2020 #75
Well if you DO venture in there ibegurpard Feb 2020 #26
Yeah...this bad and getting worse by the minute. MontanaMama Feb 2020 #30
Yeah, it's one of the forums I'd stay out of sakabatou Feb 2020 #27
If we lose to the most despicable POTUS in American history because of childishness then maybe it's walkingman Feb 2020 #29
Glad I have avoided it. TNNurse Feb 2020 #31
I blocked it in 2016 ThoughtCriminal Feb 2020 #32
I've contemplated quitting this forum over how I've been treated in DP OliverQ Feb 2020 #36
Everyone has jberryhill Feb 2020 #42
I was on the edge of being kicked off Codeine Feb 2020 #50
17 years here, and i am on the verge of being ffr'd mopinko Feb 2020 #76
So much truth. Codeine Feb 2020 #77
Just don't go there. Ms. Toad Feb 2020 #55
It is disheartening. Marie Marie Feb 2020 #33
It's an absolute cesspool over there. OliverQ Feb 2020 #34
I went in there by accident one time. Dem2theMax Feb 2020 #38
Yeah, I mostly avoid it. I'm still burned out from the primary wars of '04 and '08. Crunchy Frog Feb 2020 #39
Amen to that Joinfortmill Feb 2020 #40
I started lurking here Dagstead Bumwood Feb 2020 #41
I'm having 2016 flashbacks. sarcasmo Feb 2020 #43
I think it's worse than 2016. I wasn't a member ... Whiskeytide Feb 2020 #58
2016 was way worse. TwilightZone Feb 2020 #64
I think 2016 was worse too ibegurpard Feb 2020 #81
Well, let's put it this way... lonely bird Feb 2020 #45
Well said. mia Feb 2020 #83
I just use it for entertainment purposes only. nt yaesu Feb 2020 #47
lol TwilightZone Feb 2020 #66
The toxicity is overwhelming AverageJoe Feb 2020 #49
Stay out of there! Texasgal Feb 2020 #51
I'm becoming more fond of the Lounge, too. I was ... Whiskeytide Feb 2020 #62
sigh blogslut Feb 2020 #65
I think its a cruel joke that... Xolodno Feb 2020 #68
DP is another safety valve, venting steam that might otherwise blow shit up. ... Hermit-The-Prog Feb 2020 #69
It's not for the faint of heart that's for sure MustLoveBeagles Feb 2020 #74
Oh its not so bad, just pick your path through the eggshells carefully to limit the alerts, lol Baclava Feb 2020 #78
We need a Yellow Dog Forum wcollar Feb 2020 #79
so would I!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! onecent Feb 2020 #80
This message was self-deleted by its author geralmar Feb 2020 #82
I'm more of the opinion some of that is POSTED by republican operatives and strategists KentuckyWoman Feb 2020 #84
That really wouldn't surprise me. For the Russians, maybe we need to start ... Whiskeytide Feb 2020 #86
Made me laugh KentuckyWoman Feb 2020 #87

Dorian Gray

(13,463 posts)
52. It depresses me....
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 09:37 PM
Feb 2020

because it's so contentious. It doesn't bode well for us coming together to destroy Trump when the time comes. We must annihilate him. Win this election. But if there's animosity and resentment left over from the primaries, it's going to be ugly.

 

smirkymonkey

(63,221 posts)
46. Same here, and I always cancel.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 08:56 PM
Feb 2020

I want no part of it. I don't even bother to venture into that forum. I find it very upsetting. I am still undecided. There is nobody who I am particularly excited about, but I can't stand to see Democrats at each other's throats.

Cheer on your candidate and vote, but stop tearing each other apart. Why are we so self-destructive sometimes? We have one enemy only and his name is Donald Trump.

I will vote for the Democratic candidate no matter who it ends up being. I may have to hold my nose, but I will always vote for the Democrat.

TwilightZone

(25,265 posts)
3. It's like that every cycle.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 06:53 PM
Feb 2020

This one, believe it or not, is relatively tame compared to some prior ones. 2016, 2008, even 2004 were pretty brutal.

"All I will say is that republican operatives and strategists could save a lot of time/effort and get high quality opposition research on EACH of our candidates right here on DU. "

They already have it all. If we can find it, so can they. That's why I don't really worry about what goes on here affecting anything. DU is basically a niche website with a specific clientele. We're not going to influence the big picture in any significant way.

canetoad

(17,069 posts)
72. Yep, I went for a couple of years too
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 02:02 AM
Feb 2020

Not so much because of the primaries because, being an Aussie that's not really my business.

There was so much hate directed at Barack Obama by certain elements here. I couldn't stand it.

DeminPennswoods

(15,240 posts)
6. That forum is definitely for the brave
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 06:55 PM
Feb 2020

It's the same with my jury duty, almost all of it from someone alerting on someone's else's post in that forum.

Gore1FL

(20,993 posts)
18. And, in my experience, there is a lot of alert-baiting.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 07:04 PM
Feb 2020

I had someone ask me a question that required a response reflective of 2016, then they hit me with a re-fighting 2016 alert/hide.

 

OliverQ

(3,363 posts)
35. They flag anyone who even posts an article about their candidate in a negative light.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 08:08 PM
Feb 2020

I had a post deleted just by posting an article about something on Buttigieg. I didn't even comment, it was just an article about part of his fundraising.

DeminPennswoods

(15,240 posts)
56. Strikes me as you are both correct
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 09:53 PM
Feb 2020

Just seems like a lot of pettiness. Some of posts alerted on for the juries I've been on make me go "come on, man!".

guillaumeb

(42,641 posts)
13. Well noted.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 07:01 PM
Feb 2020

This is not a "reality television" movie. It is real life. Viewers will not know the outcome 90 minutes after it starts.

Mike 03

(16,616 posts)
15. It really does change a person.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 07:02 PM
Feb 2020

I avoided it for months but a few weeks ago started wading in there for just one specific purpose on one specific issue, and now I'm stuck in there.

Now I've got that Full Metal Jacket thousand-yard stare and I can't stay out of there.

Even if you're a calm person who meditates and has low blood pressure, you should be forewarned.



Whiskeytide

(4,457 posts)
57. It DOES change you. After 10 minutes ...
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 09:59 PM
Feb 2020

... I’m ready to yell at my kids for no apparent reason. Some people thrive on that conflict, I guess. I see a lot of the same DUers going at it again and again.

We need to do more to promote legalizing weed in more states.

demmiblue

(36,712 posts)
16. I have a lot of people who post regularly in that forum on ignore.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 07:02 PM
Feb 2020

Most of them have been adding to the toxicity on DU for years.

Though it helps (in addition to a few trashed keywords), I rarely go there anymore.

It is kind of pathetic, imo.

And, yes, VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO!

BKDem

(1,733 posts)
19. Let's just get this straight.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 07:10 PM
Feb 2020

We need AT LEAST 86 million good Democrats to come to the aid of our country. Bitch and moan and whine all you like, but vote for the Democrat on 11/03/20, and bring five friends you trust with you to do the same. No excuses! This is NOT a drill!

SergeStorms

(18,758 posts)
37. Do they have decontamination....
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 08:12 PM
Feb 2020

for a person's brain as well? The primaries forum should be a BSL-4 containment facility. No posts should be allowed to escape into the general population. Ever.

Whiskeytide

(4,457 posts)
61. I'm thinking hidden posts are ...
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 10:12 PM
Feb 2020

... analogous to liquified organs. Deadly shit. And the Ro has to be 8.5 easily.

Ms. Toad

(33,896 posts)
75. Occasionally - when that seems to be the situation -
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 02:24 AM
Feb 2020

For example when I don't believe the post alerted on falls within the reason for the alert - and - it was a reply to one that clearly did violate the reason the relatively innocuous post was alerted on.

I know the alert may not have been made by the most offensive post - but I figure it was made by someone with similar sentiments to the person who made the most offensive post.

ibegurpard

(16,685 posts)
26. Well if you DO venture in there
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 07:41 PM
Feb 2020

And I have been... I would recommend trying to push the come together no matter what narrative. I don't think it's as bad as it was in 2016 and many of us didn't have a clue how bad Trump could actually be. We all knew it was going to be bad but this bad?

MontanaMama

(23,219 posts)
30. Yeah...this bad and getting worse by the minute.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 07:47 PM
Feb 2020

Holy shit. It takes my breath away sometimes and I vacillate between despair and unbridled anger.

walkingman

(7,462 posts)
29. If we lose to the most despicable POTUS in American history because of childishness then maybe it's
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 07:46 PM
Feb 2020

time to think about what being a Democrat stands for. Regardless of who is our nominee they are all superior to the alternative - please stop all of the bickering.....for our nation and children's sake.

ThoughtCriminal

(13,995 posts)
32. I blocked it in 2016
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 08:05 PM
Feb 2020

If I had not, I doubt I would still be a member here.

I suppose it sort of serves the same purpose as the gutter lane in bowling.

 

Codeine

(25,586 posts)
50. I was on the edge of being kicked off
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 09:31 PM
Feb 2020

DU last cycle because of the insanity in those parts. Eventually I had to stop posting entirely for a few months until the alert-swarming subsided.

mopinko

(69,715 posts)
76. 17 years here, and i am on the verge of being ffr'd
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 11:14 AM
Feb 2020

i think that might be more hides this cycle than i have had in the whole rest of the time i have been here. for saying shit about bernie that everyone else is saying out loud now that the voting has begun.

most of the juries i serve on are alerts trying to bury bad news about bernie.

sad shit.

Ms. Toad

(33,896 posts)
55. Just don't go there.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 09:45 PM
Feb 2020

It's not worth it.

And thank the Forum Gods that DP exists - because if it didn't, well over half of the threads here would be like that.

 

OliverQ

(3,363 posts)
34. It's an absolute cesspool over there.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 08:07 PM
Feb 2020

They hate Bernie with a burning passion and think Trump is 100% guaranteed to beat Bernie, but they think Biden will destroy Trump.

Dem2theMax

(9,584 posts)
38. I went in there by accident one time.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 08:12 PM
Feb 2020

Thought I had walked into World War III.

I steer clear of that forum. I don't understand why anyone would want to go in there and fight.

If anyone wonders why the Democrats have problems successfully overcoming the Republicans, that forum is the perfect example.

Republicans are dumber than dirt, but they all stick together. That is the only lesson we should learn from them. That, and we need to learn to play dirty.
Just not with each other.

Crunchy Frog

(26,539 posts)
39. Yeah, I mostly avoid it. I'm still burned out from the primary wars of '04 and '08.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 08:13 PM
Feb 2020

If it's any comfort, I doubt that anything happening in that forum will have any material effect on either the primaries or the general election.

The Rs are likely putting their ratfucking resources elsewhere.

Dagstead Bumwood

(3,470 posts)
41. I started lurking here
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 08:40 PM
Feb 2020

just a few months before the 2016 election, so I missed out on what appears to have been a knock-down, drag-out fight. Hell, I may not even have noticed there even was a primary forum. But, I've heard the vitriol discussed ever since, and it's become the stuff of legend here. So, when I hear people hear say that it's not as bad now as four years ago, I'm just shaking my head, because it seems pretty horrific now.

Whiskeytide

(4,457 posts)
58. I think it's worse than 2016. I wasn't a member ...
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 10:04 PM
Feb 2020

... during the primary in ‘08, but I can’t imagine it was worse than ‘16.

But I think the shit stirrers have gotten smarter this time. I don’t see many getting tombstoned. But the vitriol is just as bad.

TwilightZone

(25,265 posts)
64. 2016 was way worse.
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 10:50 PM
Feb 2020

2008, as well. 2004 was also quite contentious.

I do agree with the comment about the shit stirrers. There are some that are painfully obvious, but they know how to skirt the rules to avoid getting banned.

ibegurpard

(16,685 posts)
81. I think 2016 was worse too
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 05:56 PM
Feb 2020

And this time I am committed to try to defuse the toxicity wherever I can instead of participating in it.

lonely bird

(1,628 posts)
45. Well, let's put it this way...
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 08:53 PM
Feb 2020

Carville is right. Unless the Democratic Party removes its head from its ass Donnie the Dimwit will win in 2020. Every single voter in Ca and Ny could vote Democratic causing Donnie to have far less popular votes and he would still win if the electoral college results didn’t change. If people don’t think other states aren’t important they are psychotic. This doesn’t mean trying to convince hardcore Trump-addicts. It means getting to independents and those who had buyer’s remorse. A good candidate and a damn good strategy is needed for that. This is about showmanship and kicking Trump in the balls, small though they may be, in the general.

AverageJoe

(2,292 posts)
49. The toxicity is overwhelming
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 09:25 PM
Feb 2020

I can’t stand all that vitriol. I have my preferred candidate, but I’ll vote blue no matter who!

Or, as we say in Alabama, vote blue, y’all!

Whiskeytide

(4,457 posts)
62. I'm becoming more fond of the Lounge, too. I was ...
Tue Feb 11, 2020, 10:36 PM
Feb 2020

... in there for a while last week and was apparently grinning. My wife asked what I was doing and I said DU. She said “Really? Then why aren’t you pissed?”

I laughed, but she was right.

Xolodno

(6,308 posts)
68. I think its a cruel joke that...
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 01:45 AM
Feb 2020

...the Lounge, where I go for cat videos, jokes, animal cuteness, etc. is right under it. Can't tell you how many times I accidentally clicked on DP (the irony of the initials) and was horrified.

Hermit-The-Prog

(32,891 posts)
69. DP is another safety valve, venting steam that might otherwise blow shit up. ...
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 01:51 AM
Feb 2020

My only wish is that there would be more lifting up and less tearing down. More analysis of how a candidate or the party can unite and do battle against GOPers and oompa-loompah would be a good thing.

The intensity is due, in part, to the desperation and frustration of the dire national and global threats we face. All skeletons will be dragged from every closet and rattled as warnings of doom. Let us try to not make these self-fulfilling prophesies. Restraint can improve our chances of making things better rather than worse.

MustLoveBeagles

(11,558 posts)
74. It's not for the faint of heart that's for sure
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 02:08 AM
Feb 2020

I have a love/hate relationship with it. I'm a regular poster there who has to take breaks to keep my sanity. I'm sure the supporters of other candidates feel the same way. I'd taken some time off and then returned on the day of the Iowa primary. I picked the wrong week to return. Most of the time I can shrug off or ignore the silliness but this last week I was triggered like nobody's business. I'm a Biden supporter and I've been quietly fuming all week about some of the negative posts. A few days ago I finally had enough and I'm afraid I lost my temper a little. That's not like me at all. I hate confrontation.

Response to Whiskeytide (Original post)

KentuckyWoman

(6,653 posts)
84. I'm more of the opinion some of that is POSTED by republican operatives and strategists
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 07:30 PM
Feb 2020

Vlad maybe has his squad in there too.

Whiskeytide

(4,457 posts)
86. That really wouldn't surprise me. For the Russians, maybe we need to start ...
Wed Feb 12, 2020, 07:44 PM
Feb 2020

... asking posters who won the 1937 World Series!

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