I have been on DU for almost nine years now.

[Jarqui]

50. I've always supported Dems

I was upset with Johnson over the Vietnam war (but pleased with his efforts for civil rights).
I was way more upset with Nixon for a bunch of reasons - lack of integrity was at the top of the list
I always liked Jimmy Carter and think to this day that he's never got the respect he deserves. His loss was something like Hillary's - I still feel we were cheated.

Couldn't stand Reagan.
Willie Horton ads were the first swift boating theft of the presidency.

I still supported Bill Clinton after NAFTA which I regard as the biggest mistake any US president made in my lifetime (bigger than Vietnam or the Iraq war). I did not like his wife as much because like many, I had problems with her integrity or accuracy of what she said and lacked faith in how genuine she was.

I came into 2007 unsure. I liked Biden but did not know all the candidates. Like many, I thought Hillary was close to a sure thing. I was not a gigantic fan of hers but I would never support the GOP. Up to that point, I never disliked the GOP more than during Bush II years.

Obama blew me away and I had trouble with Clinton and her tactics against during the 2008 campaign.

But Hillary was a pretty good soldier for Obama. She was professional. Didn't seem to lust for the limelight. No sour grapes. She went about her business and worked very hard as Secretary of State.
She stood up to the Bengazi hit job well (though some of the criticism - a much lesser proportion - was warranted).

Coming into 2015, I felt that if Obama could forgive her and back her, then that was something I had to seriously consider and I did. I got on that bandwagon - 100% all in.

In March 2015, she lost me with the email press conference. Like many, I felt she was dishonest about it (and I still feel that way). Integrity is a big deal for me in candidates. That's never been a strength in the public's perception of Hillary and that is based on her own words - she can't blame anyone else for things she said that were not true.

So I was looking at Sanders. I was warming up to him at the time but felt he didn't stand a chance against Hillary and I expressed that. I was immediately banned without explanation. I'd never been banned by a forum before. I appealed twice. No Response. I couldn't believe it. I wound up supporting Sanders. I still like him but do not support him for 2020 - I want someone new.

When Sanders lost, I crawled into a cave because I had serious problems supporting Hillary over the integrity issue. I looked at the 3rd party candidates and couldn't do that. So I was just going to sit it out. As Trump drew closer to Hillary, the thought of him killing Americans by taking away their healthcare pushed me back to holding my nose and supporting Hillary which I did to the bitter end in Nov 2016. I thought Bush II was as bad as I ever felt about a president and then Trump came along ....

When I think of Nixon (messing with Vietnam peace as a candidate), Reagan (messing with Iran hostages as a candidate), Bush I (Willie Horton), Bush II (ballot counting and swift boating Kerry) and now Trump (Russia) - the GOP presidents of my lifetime have always won the office by devious means (voting restrictions, gerrymandering, campaign $, etc on top of that). Johnson, Carter, Clinton & Obama - Dem candidates who won always won fair and square.

If Trump finishes his term, I feel we will have basically been cheated for 32 years of the presidency during my lifetime. The GOP since Eisenhower can't seem to win the office fair and square.

Does someone want to ban me for feeling that way? I would hope not.