What is going on here?

[uhhuh]

I have seen something here lately that I never thought I would see since I signed up for DU in 2002.

I have seen people like Jimmy Carter, Sen. Jeffords and Al Gore trashed and reviled for possibly giving support to Howard Dean.

I have heard that Andrew Young and Charles Rangel have been called foul, foul things for supporting General Clark.

I have seen people speak ill of Kerry for getting large groups of veterans to help campaign for him in Iowa, indirectly attacking them.

What has become of us when we take the people we used to hold up as examples of what we came here for in the first place in order to push for an advantage for the candidate we like as if it were some sort of game?

The 2000 election which was stolen from Al Gore is the reason that this place exists. He was a beaten hero on these pages and was always viewed as a good and decent man in the past, but the fact that he supports a candidate that some don't like has brought out all the RW trash talk about him as if he was a repug.
Sen. Jeffords was a true American when he went indy, but by supporting Dean he is suddenly part of the problem?

A great person like Young gets called an Uncle Tom for supporting Clark?

Veterans are being duped for supporting a fellow veteran in Kerry?

Granted, some of this is second hand, and I haven't listed all of the things I've seen about all the candidates' high profile supporters or what I've heard referred to from other threads, but the point is that the very people we have almost all hailed as important Dems on this board are being abused because of our particular candidate choices.
I find it disgusting, and I see it as a symptom of why we Democrats have fared so poorly of late.
It is perfectly justified to attack the candidates on their records. In fact, we must look to their records to make the best choice possible. It is outrageous to take solid Dems, with a noble and good history and slime them because of their candidate preference.
I am concerned at the level of hate that at this point seems so all consuming here, to the point of irrationality.
I'm getting to the point of not caring anymore about which Dem gets nominated. I will vote for them anyway but have faith in none at this point. Thank you DU for making them all seem repulsive through the hatred expressed by their supporters and detractors.

[liberalnurse]

1. The Board is infected.

[Bucky]

2. This is the best night on DU ever.

A lot of the people who are being rude in these discussions are starting to reveal themselves through an elaborate, OBVIOUS prank designed to disrupt the board. But rather than disrupt us, what we're seeing is that the majority of the people who've been rude and disruptive over the past couple of months aren't serious Democrats at all--they've been pranksters and disruptors.

This is great news. It's revealing that the polite, well mannered folks who disagree with me respectfully are the real Democrats. And it's showing the true colors of people who behaved badly on this board for some time. It's showing they were never really "with us" in spirit.

I suggest you read the names, make note of who's saying provocative things, and keep in mind who these disruptors are. Tonight's a nite for DU to lose a lot of dead weight.

[LibertyorDeath]

3. Yes there are many stealth freeps infecting this great place.

[Dookus]

4. yes....

as the others have said: a cabal of long-time members have decided to use today as their freeper coming-out party.

Are they all freepers? Probably not. Are some of them? Definitely. Do they deserve to be banned? Absolutely. Are they real Democrats? of course not.

[Hoppin_Mad]

5. "real democrats' ? coming from you - who won't vote got the nominee

If it's Dean ?

THATS Funny !

[MrMoJoeRisin]

6. Dean is too divisive

as far as he's concerned you're either a voter a non-voter.

[janx]

7. I'm afraid you are probably right.

And people are going to have to start getting more realistic about Dem chances in the general election.

[Gore1FL]

11. non-voter vs voter

That seems rather Boolean to me. What other option is there, and which candidate believes there is an in-between of voter and non-voter?

[Printer70]

8. Incivility

...breeds incivility. It takes fellow supporters of the same candidate to rein in those on their side that take it too far. They're the only ones they MIGHT listen to.

[JNelson6563]

9. I don't knwo myself

but I didn't change my opinion of anyone if the endorsed someone other than my candidate.

For instance, Joe Wilson has endorsed Kerry. I still think the world of him and I always will. I hope that no matter who we elect in 04 they have a spot for him in the Admin.


Everyone's entitled to their opinions and choices and to change your views about someone very worthy of respect cause they chose someone besides your guy is telling of a serious lack of maturity IMO.

Julie

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Well, I've been here since mid 2003

and I agree that things have descended downhill in that time. Fewer serious discussions and more ranting, although the actual number of serious discussions may not have dropped much, it just seems that way with all the ranting.

I don't think the place has been infiltrated all that much. I think that DU simply has the same concentration of assholes, idiots, crybabies, trolls, whiners, tunnel-visions, naifs, argumentarians, and other such annoying types as the general population, and the primary season has brought out their worst traits. There really aren't all that many of them, though, and are best ignored.

Big deal, though. Elections often bring out the worst in all of us, and it's easier to be a huge pain in the ass when posting anonymously on a board than in meatspace. Rest assured, however, that there are still enough of them out there in RL to make our lives miserable.

This too shall pass.

Life goes on with or without jerks on DU, and we have an election to win.

[RandomUser]

12. It's disgusting

You're right. It's disgusting when good Dems get smeared just for endorsing a candidate. I would never do it to Jimmy Carter, even though Michael Moore, Rangel, and Young and others get smeared for endorsing Clark.

In the end, we're going to have to come together. Or we'll hang separately. Everytime I see a Dean supporter smear someone for endorsing Clark, it makes it that much harder for me to like Dean, and I have to remind myself it's about kicking Bush out, and not about the Dean supporters smearing Rangel or Young or Moore. And I'm sure this goes both ways, and some Dean supporters feel the same.