Bernie Sanders's supporters find anger not as compelling this time around

[brooklynite]

Washington Post

LAS VEGAS — One scorching Saturday afternoon in July, some 70 supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) crammed into a community room at a library here for one of the campaign’s organizing sessions. The event, a reunion fraught with both anger and nostalgia for the last presidential cycle, was just a few miles from where the senator’s supporters had erupted during the state’s contentious 2016 party convention.
“We were not defeated. We were cheated!” shouted one woman from the back of the room.

“Who’s a little bit angry? . . . Who’s ready to get to work?” a campaign staffer asked the crowd, questions met with raucous applause. Among those shouting loudest was Marcia Armstrong, a 63-year-old who lives in nearby Henderson and works in customer service for a property management company. She said she was trying to find some positivity and motivation in her frustration, but others — who believe the electoral process was rigged by the Democratic National Committee three years ago — were less optimistic.

“I think they’re just fed up with the whole system, and some of them feel that nothing can be done to change it. I disagree,” she said. “I try to be positive.”

In 2016, Sanders and his supporters shared a visceral anger at the nation’s economic and political systems, which they contended had been corrupted by wealthy capitalists. Hillary Clinton proved the perfect foe for an anti-establishment campaign then. But with a sitting president who has also used anger to galvanize his base and claims to represent the antithesis of the Washington elite, some now find that aggressive messaging unappealing.

[betsuni]

1. K&R

[DownriverDem]

2. My support

will be for a true member of the Democratic Party.

[Thekaspervote]

3. Mine as well... his message is even less appealing than in 2016

[Cary]

4. Cool

VOTE DEMOCRATIC!

It is that simple.

[Cha]

11. I can't wait.. so we can

focus our energy on whomever the Dem is!

[PatSeg]

5. I grew tired of the constant anger a long time ago

It is exhausting after awhile. There certainly are many reasons to be angry, but not every minute of every day.

[Gothmog]

7. Good article

[NYMinute]

8. Anger was not compelling the last time around either in the primaries.

The anger that was fueled with false memes was very effective in the GE though to defeat HRC ... as shown on TV.

[SharonAnn]

9. True, but the anger in the GE was directed to a different audience.

[NYMinute]

10. I disagree. nt