This is coming from a good place. I hope you'll consider it. (Reposted to proper forum).

[AverageJoe]

(I guess I originally posted this in the wrong forum and it got locked. Apologies. I’m reposting it here because I think it’s important)


I am sixty years old and have been a registered Democrat my entire adult life. I have voted in every presidential election since 1980. I have voted for the Democratic nominee every time.

I am also an enthusiastic Sanders supporter.

I was a Sanders supporter in 2016. When Clinton won the nomination, however, I voted for her in the general election, as did every Sanders supporter I know who was actually a registered Democrat. It’s no secret that not all Sanders voters did the same.

Since Sanders’s supporters transcend the Democratic Party, there was an unfortunate—yes, catastrophic—bleeding away of some of his voters. Sanders mobilized a lot of otherwise apolitical folks in 2016 who would otherwise not have involved themselves in the process. I think that’s a good thing. We can use every vote we can get to defeat trump and his enablers.

I used to love coming to DU and was a regular here years ago. I find it a lot tougher to enjoy this place now, though, and have since the primaries of the last election cycle. The hard feelings I see almost every time Sanders’s name is mentioned are toxic.

Look, I want to win as much as you do, no matter who your candidate might be. I swear I will vote for that person, should they become the nominee.

I just want you to consider how truly unhelpful to the Democratic cause it is for some of you to belittle people like me, simply because we back different blue candidates.

I want us to win in November, no matter who the candidate might be. I hope you do, too. I am not your enemy, and would be your friend if you returned that friendship. We must be in this together if we want to beat the devil who is defiling the White House.

Okay, the old man has finished his rant.

Peace.

[Dennis Donovan]

1. I wish I could rec your OP a thousand times.

Thank you for staying on DU. I know it's been tough for supporters of Senator Sanders here.

[samnsara]

2. yes we all need to vote for whichever candidate is the nom..

[Freddie]

3. My son is a huge Bernie fan, I'm not

He’s 29, I know BS is very popular with millennials. But in the end he promised me he’ll vote blue no matter who in Nov. I made him the same promise.

[myohmy2]

4. thank you...

...I'm a carbon copy of you...

...even though I've VOTED Democratic all my life, some people keep telling me I'm not a REAL Democrat...

...I'm having a hard time getting that out of my mind...


"Okay, the old man has finished his rant."...

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

51. Yup, Average Joe speaks for me too!!

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together & can't be bought!!
Jump on the Bernie Bandwagon & join The Revolution!!

[RobertDevereaux]

5. Thank you, AverageJoe, for your posting.

[kozar]

6. we must,

come together in the end. I am same age as you, friend. Not a big fan of Sanders,but I listen to him with an open mind. I am hopeful that all Sander supporters are as open minded as you and see the absolute importance of this election. This is not the election to take our toys and go home because we did not make it to championship game of a tournament. This is the time we all need to step back if and when we lose, take a breath, admit we gave it our best shot, and get back into the fight for this country. I am sure that Bernie,Joe, Pete,Liz,Amy,Mike and all would feel same way. This election is even far more different than 2016,, our Democracy is at stake. I'll fight from my side,,you fight from yours, Lets meet together down the road and fight together.


Koz

[Perseus]

16. Yes, we must come together in the end, but we must stay together now. The original post

must be spread throughout DU, then we may be able to find who the trolls are, but I have also been saying that the negativity against Sanders is only going to hurt us. Lets talk instead about what we believe is the strength of our chosen candidates but not to try to get ahead by vilifying candidates we don't agree 100% with, and at the end, it doesn't matter who wins the nomination, we must support them with everything we have.

[randr]

7. I was a Bernie delegate in the last go round

Definitely voted for Hillary. This time I am leaning Amy only to give support to a possible VP shot for her. I give thoughts to a Bloomberg/Klobuchar ticket. I will vote blue no matter who we choose.
Thanks for the thoughtful post!

[James48]

8. Me too.

I’m with Bernie. Age 59

[broiles]

24. I'm with Bernie too. I'm 79 soon to be 80, I hope.

[ripcord]

9. We have spent several years registering young people

We have told them to get excited and motivated about the election and many have. The problem is that many are excited about Sanders and they are being told by a significant number of moderates that if they vote for him they are being selfish, a bad person, a bad democrat and a bad American because there is no way he can win. I wonder how motivated they will be after being told to shut up and vote Biden?

[FM123]

10. Yes, we are all in this thing together and in the end, we vote blue no matter who.

[amuse bouche]

12. Everyone that loathes taitortrump will vote for the nominee

Personally, I am tired of the same old, same old.

I love Pete's intelligence, thoughtfulness and calm demeanor. He reminds me of Obama in that regard

[zomgitsjesus]

13. Thank you for this

I was a Sanders supporter too but ended up voting for Clinton and will vote blue no matter who this cycle. Sanders energized a lot of young people who felt alienated from politics and didn't feel like it even mattered who they voted for. I saw many people who never voted before at campaign events. I saw my step-son finally wake up and get interested. I saw hope. This cycle, no matter who it is, I hope we can energize enough people so we can rid this nation of the orange Judas.

[Squinch]

14. It just doesn't work that way.

I am undecided because my heart is for Liz and my head is for Bloomberg. So I am in neither the Bernie nor the Biden camp.

However, like everyone else here I am subjected to the daily fights between those two camps and am intimately acquainted with them.

And you just don't get to say, "Stop being so mean to us," when your side is being every bit as nasty, and even surpassing your "opponent" in terms of sheer dishonesty and gaslighting.

Bernie is my least favorite candidate because of the behavior of his followers. Biden's followers seem to have made the unfortunate decision to try to match the nasty level, so they are becoming my second least favorite group. But at least they are not claiming they are being persecuted.

Eta: of course I will happily vote for either candidate.

When you claim to be persecuted without acknowledging the bile coming from your own team, it's nothing more than a whine and you really can't expect the rest of us to take it seriously.

[AverageJoe]

15. I can only speak for myself

I mean you no ill will, nor am I whining. Best of luck with your candidate of choice.

[blm]

27. I have been feeling the same.

I never thought, even after all these DU primary seasons, that anyone could shake my regard for fellow Democrats and their campaigns.

[krissey]

57. I am disappointed also.

[questionseverything]

47. as democrats i would think we would know better than to lump any group together

<shrugs>

[Rilgin]

53. You might go to the main page and do a count on attacks on candidates.

I am sure there are bad Bernie Supporters. It does not have to be a tit for tat. I have actually started posting to defend Bernie here where there are many many more attacks on Bernie than any candidate, many totally unfair.

I have taken particular note in my recent posts trying to defend Bernie to avoid dissing any other candidate. We need them all and praising your own candidate is much more unifying than tearing down another. Please read above where Your people and first time voters are being told that they are being selfish or not democratic. Imagine you are in their shoes. We need them as we need Biden and all other candidate voters when we get to the actual game and we should not be smearing each other now.

[TNNurse]

17. All I can say is if that anyone who does not vote for the Democratic nominee,

should just leave this forum. They should also expect that we will not understand, no matter the reason.

I am 70, I was raised to be a Democrat. My very first vote at 18 was absentee as a college student. I voted for Hubert Humphrey. I have never been ashamed of a vote for a Democrat.

I live in a very red part of TN. I live in Lamar Alexander's home county. There have been elections where if I did not vote for a Republican in local elections, I would not be able to vote. I was raised to vote as a citizen. I now know that if there is not a Democratic candidate, I will write in a name. This Republican party is unforgivable. I WILL NEVER VOTE FOR ANY REPUBLICAN AGAIN. That party will carry the shame and stain of Trump forever.

[ripcord]

19. I have absolutely no problem backing whichever candidate wins the nomination

I think some people get so personally involved and invested in candidates during the course of the primaries that they take it personally when the one they backed loses so they stay home out of sheer butthurt. We need to remember who we are, we aren't Sanders, Biden, Warren, Buttegeig, Klobuchar or Bloomberg supporters, we are liberal Americans, we are the Democratic party and we are going to beat that fat shitstain.

[blm]

28. Yes. It's the MOST important factor.

Hands down.

[yellowdogintexas]

34. I also cast my first presidential vote in 1968 at age 18

for Hubert Humphrey! Absentee from college.

I was fortunate to be a Kentuckian where 18 year olds could vote starting in 1956.

I was raised to be a Democrat too. (are you sure you are not my sister?)

When I lived in TN I voted for Alexander because the D was unacceptable and I regularly voted for Senator Howard Baker (who must be rolling in his grave about now) because he was Howard Baker. Otherwise always Democrats
I am gravely disappointed in Alexander.

Voting is in my blood. I am appalled at those who seem to not care if they do or not.

[ananda]

18. Agree!

I am a very liberal leftie and I feel that I have no place here.

I mostly come here just for some of the good info.

I will vote for Sanders in the primary here.

But I will support whoever runs against MF45. Period.

[ramen]

20. Amen. No sense shooting ourself in the face to spite the nose etc

Another poster pointes out there are some Sanders supporters who behave badly. This is true. No candidate is free of supporters who, well-intentioned or not, can act in ways that are counterproductive to the unification which we desperately need to get someone less diablolical into the white house.

How we conduct ourselves during the winnowing process of the primaries matters towards our outcome in November. All presidential elections are important but I think it is safe to say this is one the most consequential of our lives. Let's act like it.

Obligatorily but also quite sincerely: whoever the Democratic nominee ends up, I'll be out there shoulder to shoulder with other volunteers supporting them with a bullhorn, be it Sanders or Biden or anyone in between.

[Tom Rinaldo]

21. Wonderfully stated

I will strongly support whoever wins the nomination of the Democratic Party for President. And I will not trash any of our candidates, period. Nor will I be distracted from our common goal of defeating Trump by anyone either misguidedly or maliciously acting like a jerk supposedly in favor of any of our candidates. The national election isn't about what some asshole screams out about Democrats in some bar somewhere, or some fact free conspiracy theory about small donors being secretly orchestrated by Russia. One of at most 6 people will end up leading the Democratic Party into battle this summer. All of them have millions of people who support them. No good is served by needlessly alienating any of those voters.

[IronLionZion]

22. Vote blue no matter who

DU was a disappointing place after the 2016 election as DUers looked for someone to blame while Trumpsters blamed immigrants and minorities. I could have easily blamed the anti-H1B DUers who opposed Hillary for her position on that divisive issue. DUers who think I'm an H1B, probably voted for Trump because he promised reforms, but they will never admit it.

None of that is helpful for this year's election. Forward! We have to get as many people in as many states to vote for our party's nominee as possible. That's essentially it. We need to win the electoral college and the Senate and other downticket races everywhere through high turnout.

[PWPippinesq]

23. Like many here, I was a big Bernie supporter in 2016.

Then, I voted for Hillary. Even in 2016, I stated often that I believed we needed to hand the torch to a younger generation. It will be their future (I'm 77) and they should have the most influence on creating the future they envision and getting us, with the help of their elders, out of the mess that those of us before them created. I still feel that way, even more so. I am leaning towards Mayor Pete. His brilliance, steadiness and core strength remind me of President Obama. Perhaps, like Obama, he can overcome prejudices and voters will be able to see the great potential embodied in him. As in 2016, I will vote for whomever becomes our nominee and will work diligently towards our team prevailing.

[Nanjeanne]

25. Thank you. You are me. Almost 70. Never voted other than Dem. supported

Bernie before and still do. Voted Clinton in General. Hard to post anything here on DU anymore as a Sanders supporter. But I take solace in knowing DU and Twitter are not the real world.

Thanks for posting what many of us feel.

[NJCher]

26. you have a gift

for words. Thank you for posting.

[Reader Rabbit]

29. Thank you so much.

I returned to DU after many years, hoping to find some sanity and like-minds in the era of Trump. At first it was a comfort, but lately, I find myself coming here less and less.

Much like you, I supported Bernie in the primary and Hillary in the general. All of the Bernie supporters I encountered—and there were many, since I chauffeured my elderly mother and her entire arthritis posse to countless events—voted for Hillary in the general. And not one of the people I met during that primary season bore any resemblance to the Bernie Bros we hear so much about.

I would hope that members strongly consider who ultimately benefits from their negative posts about any candidate. If we continue this circular firing squad, there will be no one left to stand up against Trump.

[blueinredohio]

30. Average Joe, I'm 62. I also voted for Benie in the 2016 primary and

I also voted for Hillary in the Election. I have and always will vote blue no matter who. So you weren't alone and I understand some people get mad if their candidate doesn't win but we have to stick together.

[Pisces]

31. People are afraid of a Trump reelection and fear always brings out the worst in people. Try and

Ignore the ignorant as much as possible

[Mike 03]

32. Nicely done.

Thank you. I will categorically, unambiguously and enthusiastically support your candidate in the GE if he's the nominee.

[DinahMoeHum]

33. Remember who the real enemy is, folks.

[yellowdogintexas]

35. props to Bob Cesca for coming up with that phrase

he even used it as a name for one of his podcast segments

[Malmsy]

36. Namaste. (eom)

[mountain grammy]

37. Excellent! Well said!

I was all for Bernie until Hillary was nominated. Then I believed what Bernie said at the convention “ Hillary Clinton must be the next president of the United States “. I campaigned for her and donated to her campaign and, of course, voted for her as I will for our candidate this year. I hope it’s Warren or Bernie or both, but we cannot lose this election.

Thank you for this post. I rarely post or even read posts on this forum. Glad I read yours.

[berksdem]

38. great post!

I could not agree more... no matter who ends up going against the mango-man I will support. I voted BS in the primary last election and voted for Hillary in the GE. As it stands now I am still undecided yet lean towards Pete and Biden right now. This is all about removing Trump from office... GOTV!

[Marcuse]

39. Agreed. My first vote was for McGovern. I voted for Bernie in the primary....

...even as I anticipated supporting Hillary in November.

It was easy.

[Bluethroughu]

40. Thank you, I voted for Sanders in the primary...

Then voted for Hillary as our next President, along with everyone in my home or that I am close with. We all cried when she lost, and it took us a good while to get through it.

Considering the following day, my sixth grader arrived at school to a white mob of children chanting "build the wall" and "go back to where you came from" to a group of Hispanic children. My son is half Hispanic. It was not a good time for us, and has not been easy since.

We will vote Blue no matter who, but I would appreciate if our party built on our differences, instead of tearing each other down.

In the end, we are in this together, we are the majority and we will win!

[treestar]

41. I would never vote against my interests because someone

"belittled" me. We have to look at a much bigger picture.

[questionseverything]

48. great for you but why try and run off someone that is not as strong as you if they want to vote blue

[Dem2theMax]

42. AverageJoe, I completely agree with you.

I responded to your original OP. Copying and pasting it here.


I don't understand why we can't be kind to each other even while we are supporting different candidates.

The end result is the only thing that matters. This country needs to elect a Democratic president.
( And all down ticket Democratic candidates as well.)
That is our one and only goal right now. Once we get that Democratic president in place, then we can get into the serious issues of the day.

While the Republicans are tearing this country apart, we need to be bringing it together. And we can't do that if we can't even be civil to each other on a message board.

After the Senate voted to acquit drumpf, I actually noticed a different tone here for about 24 hours. People were actually being nice to each other, no matter who their candidate is. Now it's back to 'normal.'

We can do better than this. We have to do better than this. If we don't, the price we are going to have to pay is one we cannot afford.

[Doremus]

43. Very true! Time for those who boast of loving our big tent to start acting like it. nt

[Uncle Joe]

44. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for sharing AverageJoe.

[ibegurpard]

45. Thanks for writing that

I appreciate it

[MasonDreams]

46. Voted for Jimmy Carter and Hillary, and all D in between.

Sanders got soul. Just like my man Jimmy Carter. After the orange monster, we need Bernie in the White House.

"Moderation in temper is always a virtue;
But moderation in principle is always a vice."
Thomas Paine

[Wednesdays]

49. If we truly want to be the party of the "big tent"

then we need to accept and welcome those whom we might otherwise consider "not really Democrats.". This includes people ranging from Bernie to Bloomberg.

Let it be tRump's party to expel the "impure." You saw that in vivid color over what's happened the last day or so. They'll peel off those they see as RINOs a few at a time until there's no one left.

[Awsi Dooger]

50. It doesn't seem as bad to me here as 2008 or 2016

Maybe comparable to 2004. But if I had to estimate I'd say 2004 was more contentious and heated than 2020.

I guess a Sanders backer might feel differently. I'm not in those shoes so it's difficult to estimate.

Come on, there is legitimate concern regarding how a socialist would fare in a general election, United States circa 2020. Anything negative toward Bernie Sanders has to be evaluated along those lines. If socialism had a 90% approval rating then Sanders would be cruising to victory and some of us might not even mind that he's not a Democrat.

[AverageJoe]

55. I have no problem with anyone disagreeing with Sanders

What I find disheartening is the constant bashing of Sanders as a person and likewise of those who support him.

I, for example, disagree with much of what Vice President Biden has advocated for and done in the past. I believe that is fair game, and I don’t feel uneasy about saying it. I would feel very bad, however, if I declared that Biden is an awful human being, or that those who support Biden are awful people. It would be unfair and divisive.

It has been my observation that there are many here who do not feel similar constraints with regard to personal attacks on Senator Sanders and his supporters.

I’m not here to fight with my fellow Democrats. I just wanted to make the point that we all have the same, ultimate goal, ridding this country of the scourge of trump and his Republican enablers.

Sanders is my guy, but all I really want is for us to nominate someone who can win. Whoever becomes the nominee gets my enthusiastic support. We’re all in this together.

[Rilgin]

52. Thank You

I have been reading DU for years and years but stopped posting in the middle of the last primary. I just started posting recently again but am struck by how much attack on Bernie there is. Posts like yours give me some sustanence. I also am 60 year old and a life long democratic voting for politicians I loved and some I held my nose for.

I probably will stop posting because it is tiresome to keep saying to people stop attacking Bernie and start praising your own and defending him against the worst attacks. He is not even my first candidate this year although I love him.

Again, TY for making me feel less alone and there are others that echo my dismay at the state of the dialogue between candidate supporters and add arguments that although defending Bernie are not attacking any other candidate.

[people]

54. Coming from a good place . . .

I seldom post here but I have been taken aback at the vicious posts about anything Sanders. I do not want to participate here because I do not want to be attacked for whomever I ultimately decide to vote for in a primary. I am still unsure as to whom I will vote for. I love the bold economic analyses of Sanders and Warren. I worry that with all the others that if any of them were to be elected absolutely nothing at all would be done about income equality. We are a wealthy country and should be able to do a lot more - health care should be available to all, along with education, etc. If that is unrealistic because we have to assume that forever and ever the Senate will be Republican maybe we should all just quit right now and never aim to make any major changes. How do you think the ACA got passed or the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Voting Rights Act of 1968? These things were done because of great grit and determination despite EVERYONE saying each of these laws would be impossible to pass. So, let's try not to be totally defeatist and especially let's not attack any of the candidates as being HORRIBLE people. None of them are (well - not so sure about Gabbard, but . . .). Thank you Average Joe. I really appreciate your post.

[Scotch-Irish]

56. Very well said. I think Sanders is awesome.

I'm for Elizabeth Warren in the primary, because I think she's wicked smart and she REALLY DOES have a plan for a zillion things that need to be fixed in our country. And her plans are all based on formulas that will work beautifully, no matter what the media or her opponents might try to say. But I think Bernie is a strong leader, and a truly great orator, and explains the problems we are having so clearly.