2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Ok then, Let's spell it out for Hillary "Democrats" [View all]senz
(11,945 posts)First scenario. The differences between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008 were not deeply ideological. They were primarily personal differences -- character, mainly. (If I go into details, you'll get pissed, so let's just leave it at that.)
The differences between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are deeply and fundamentally ideological. There are also serious personal (character) issues, but the push behind the Bernie movement is propelled by rebellion against the direction the country has taken since Reagan -- i.e. the corporate takeover of America which has created conditions that are antithetical to a comfortable, sustainable middle class as well as to the basic principles of democracy.
Second scenario. Teabaggers are primarily the product of rightwing propaganda that has channeled discomfort with societal and economic changes into social fear and scapegoating; there is very little intellect in it, it is essentially a controlled form of mass hysteria. It is partly based in reality but mostly imagination. It's very dangerous. It's also, if you have a liberal heart, sad.
In other words, the teabagger phenomenon is the Republican Frankenstein's monster; it's their own creation turned against them.
I'm getting tired, but I hope this is enough to help you understand the difference between the two situations.