This is coming from a good place. I hope you will consider it. [View all]

[AverageJoe]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by NancyBlueINOklahoma (a host of the General Discussion forum).

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.