So let me share where I, a moderate Bernie-ite, now stand:

[snot]

Last edited Fri Apr 29, 2016, 11:12 AM - Edit history (5)

I've been a DU member, mostly donating, since gawd knows when; at least 2004 (twelve years).

I've never had a post hidden.

My chances of serving on a jury have always been 100%.

Until a month or so ago, I'd never given a jury vote that wasn't confirmed by the majority. Since then, maybe twice?

I've been blocked from the Hillary group, though I'd never been blocked before. I apologized afterward – I'd accidentally replied with something critical toward Hillary in a group that did not want it.

I've always been a voice for the more progressive base of the party; but I've always striven toward what's real, what we should hope for but also what I thought could work.

If you think I'm the kind of person you should be tossing out of your wagon, all I can say is thank you and goodbye.

I don't care what Hillary says or does at this point; if I end up voting for her, and that's a BIG IF, I'll be puking in the bushes outside the polling place.

On edit: To be clear, when I say "tossing out of your wagon," it's not that I'm worried about getting kicked off DU. If DU can't handle me, I can't handle them, and not a lot of regrets left. I'm talking about the so-called Democratic party – about the apparent belief that they don't need Bernie-ites – a party where, lately, I and my perception of reality seem radically out of place.

[Cali_Democrat]

1. The admins won't tombstone anyone who doesn't violate TOS.

If you don't violate the TOS, you won't have anything to worry about.

[bahrbearian]

11. Tell that to the 7

[Cali_Democrat]

14. The 7? nt

[Live and Learn]

17. +7000

[PowerToThePeople]

2. s'not a member of the borg?

You had to expect it, right?

FYI - this is META imo.

[Electric Monk]

3. If I haven't mentioned it yet, I love your avatar, and I get where you're coming from. k&r, nt.

[snot]

9. thanks!

[Samantha]

4. You are not going to get "purged" if you don't vote for Hillary in the GE

First of all, keep your vote private. Secondly, if you do mention it (against my advice ), don't try to derail her. And lastly, don't advocate for a third party or Trump!

Sam

[MisterP]

34. right, since H.M. can derail herself just fine

[JDPriestly]

5. K&R. It's going to be a very dull place here on DU after Hillary is annointed.

[salinsky]

27. There will certainly be a helluva lot less melodrama ... nt

[insta8er]

30. Not really, the movement is not dead...there is still congress that is up for renewal.

Focusing on those with the same agenda as Bernie might help us to keep Madam President or Mister face like a oompaloempa in check. I believe if we put the power and organisation behind that we can limit their warmongering and selling out as much as possible.

[loyalsister]

6. It should be an election to look forward to for a feminist

But, I seriously resent that she will get my vote only reluctantly and I will be as sad to see her innauguration as I was when W took office in 2001.

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. I hear you, sister!

[Lizzie Poppet]

16. Agreed. Talk about a bittersweet thing!

In the unlikely event Hillary wins in the GE, I'll have mixed feelings.

Not an even mix, mind you: I'll mostly be alarmed and unhappy...but that "first woman president" thing will be a minor comfort to this feminist. Not fucking worth it...

[moriah]

20. Will it not being a raging misogynist be any balm?

If not, no judgement. Me, I cared far more about not having any of the science-denying racist sacks of (well, can't call them manure, because something good can come from it) than the first woman prsident.

[Lizzie Poppet]

22. Indeed so.

It's just immensely frustrating to come so close.

[moriah]

40. To (probably inappropriately) quote Bill, I feel your pain.

I really do. Anyone who supported Hillary in 08 should, and I am honestly surprised at those who are gloating vs actually understanding how much it sucks to work your heart out for a candidate... they get so close... then there's little you can do and feel like the Party and DU doesn't give a shit about you or your opinions now because it's time to defeat the GOP...

I hate it for the people who truly believed in Bernie's vision and message. Truly.

[Lizzie Poppet]

42. Thank you: you're one of the good ones!

Bernie is/was the first presidential candidate I have wholeheartedly supported, sans reservation. Not surprising (I'm a socialist...), but it sure was unexpected and joyous.

I have nearly 200 people on Ignore now (five prior to this ghastly primary), virtually all of them nasty, condescending Hillary supporters. I can't express strongly enough how much I appreciate you being such a contrast.

[moriah]

43. You're welcome.

Maybe because of my disappointment in 2008, and my being happy with either candidate this year (because while I am more pragmatic and didn't realize I could actually be considered a "moderate Democrat" by some until I registered on DU, since at 8 I remember being called a "liberal" like it was the dirtiest word they could think of when I said I wanted Dukakis -- there's a reason Nickelodeon's "Kids Pick The President" was one of the most accurate polls at the time -- I do wish for more progress than I rationally expect to get), I wasn't as invested this time...

Maybe because when I saw DU (and Daily Kos) in January, I was pretty sure that this time around I would be trying to discourage any PUMAs again.... (still quite surprised)

And maybe because I managed to fark up my ankle in late December, and had surgery on it March 15th, I had other things on my mind...

But while I made my choice in January, and attended both the opening of the Little Rock campaign office and the Super Tuesday Watch Party on crutches after casting my vote, and phonebanked until surgery, I didn't make my first donation until the $2.00 I sent for my "woman card". I also figured drugged and in pain *probably* wouldn't help keep my zero-hide record, so wasn't active much this primary until recently (still in pain, but not drugged. Heh.)

I hope to try to live the Testimony of Civility through the end of the primary season, and work to kick some Republican tails in the meantime and after.

But I really do feel for you. And I wish more people could remember there are real people on the other side of the screen... it's one of the "features" of the Net. We say things online we'd never say to people's faces, not always to the good either.

[Garrett78]

23. Why do you say it's "unlikely?"

I don't understand this impression some folks have that Clinton will be the underdog against the Republican nominee. Demographics and the state of the Republican Party make Clinton a heavy favorite.

I understand why some object to Clinton, but this notion that she is unlikely to become POTUS doesn't jibe with reality.

[Lizzie Poppet]

24. For several reasons.

First and foremost is her deep unpopularity with independents. That will simply kill her in non-Southern swing states.

Second (and closely related to the first) is her "deep insider" status. This election has been termed, with considerable justification, as the "year of the outsider." Again, that will be difficult to overcome in swing states, particularly those that don't have large African American populations.

I believe that a genuinely significant number of Bernie supporters won't vote for her under any circumstances.

Lastly (although I can think of more...), there is no better candidate to motivate the base...the Republican base. I can't state strongly enough how deeply she is loathed by the far right.

[Garrett78]

25. The myth of independents.

In 2012, Obama lost the independent vote and lost it by double digits in the crucial state of Ohio. Yet he had no trouble winning in an electoral college landslide.

About half of Tea Party members refer to themselves as "independent." What a phony label.

I don't see how the Republican candidate can reach 270 without winning *both* Florida and Ohio. I don't see that happening.

Most swing states have a substantial percentage of POC. Of course, there really aren't very many swing states. If Trump is the candidate, though, there will be an increase in the number of states where Clinton is viable. Even some of the reddest of red states (Mountain West territory), where Sanders racked up a lot of his delegates, might be in play.

[fun n serious]

36. Everything you mentioned has not hurt her yet

She is winning BIG. Bernie simply did not appeal to DEMOCRATS

[loyalsister]

33. I have heard some people say that they believe a woman would be less likely to go to war

Not in this case! One of the weird things I have noticed in contrast to Pres. Obama is that he has a more feminine approach in being nonconfrontational and leaning toward negotiation rather than aggression to find solutions. It's interesting that as president Bill also had a less aggressive style.

Hillary is aggressive in both her personal interactions and in foreign policy. Unfortunately, it is more in the interpersonal style of Bush and Chenney.

[snooper2]

21. So now Hillary = Chimpy, Good Job! You have not only jumped the shark, but killed it along the way

[LisaM]

28. You'd be as sad to see Hillary elected as George W. Bush?

This site has lost all semblance of reason. Among other things, Bush gave us Roberts and Alito on the Supreme Court. He also ignored all warnings about 9/11 while he was on vacation, and he proceed to completely dropped the ball for the people of New Orleans when Katrina struck.

If you think Hillary would have done any of the above, well, I don't really know how to respond to that, but I certainly think you're incorrect.

[loyalsister]

31. As sad, because she has given us every indication that she will initiate acts of war

Hillary enabled Bush by either being stupid enough to trust him not to go to war according to one justification OR knowingly supporting the start of a war with a politically expedient vote in favor of IWR.

I tend to think it was the latter because I am certain she is too smart to have not known what Bushco had in mind. Since then she has shown her inner BushChenney with the disgustingly machismo comment "we came, we saw, he died" that very clearly reveals a romanticization of war (especially considering the fantasy of being under fire in Bosnia). These are the personality traits of someone who wants to be a wartime president.

[LisaM]

32. It's not as if Bernie Sanders is a pacifist.

He's said it himself (I heard him say it in a debate, no, I don't have a link) - he's also supported plenty of war funding and that miserable failed bomber they've been testing.

I think Hillary was in a difficult position after 9/11, and I think that by voting for a resolution to give authority to someone who betrayed that trust, she made a difficult choice that turned out to be wrong. It wasn't as if it was a close vote though - lots of people we've re-elected since then made the same choice. I think both Obama and Sanders were in a position where they could vote "no" on the resolution because they had different constituents than she did. That's the unfortunate reality of politics.

I don't think that makes her eager to be a wartime President, and I'm sorry if you think she's like Bush, but I think you are wrong in that assessment.

[loyalsister]

35. Is he proud to have the Iranians as an enemy?

That she is already naming another country as an enemy gives a pretty good indication of what she wants to do.
Her machismo statements are a reminder of Bushes wannabe cowboy talk.

[LisaM]

37. Well, I'm obviously not going to convince you of anything.

I'm pretty sure she has no intention of initiating war with Iran, and I don't see her as a "cowboy" (and I don't see Sanders as a pacifist, even though he's making political hay off one vote).

So this conversation is pretty pointless and we'll only know the reality if Hillary gets elected.

[snot]

38. Just checking in to agree;

or something. I really don't care why the h*ll Hillary voted to authorize the Iraq invasion. The best possible explanation is stupidity.

[northernsouthern]

7. I got your back!!!

It is a white house petition set up for our election!

The 2016 Gerneral Election may be between two presidential candidates with the lowest favorability ratings in history.



https://wh.gov/ioBB9


I hope you like it!

[Nye Bevan]

12. There's no way of knowing whether you have ever had a post alerted on.

If one of your posts is alerted on and the jury votes to leave it, you are not notified.

[snot]

19. Ok, thanks for that info.

[NCTraveler]

13. I have no interest in tossing you out of anything.

And don't posses the power to do so if I wanted to.

When a person claims they will vomit if they vote for Clinton, I just hope they do show up to vote. Selling Clinton to someone with those feelings is a waste of time. I mean no disrespect by saying that. We want your vote. On that day you say you might vomit in the bushes, it's a couple hours after you vote that is going to have me concerned. You see, Trump is my enemy.

[TCJ70]

15. I pretty much feel the same way you do, I can't vote for her...

...as I don't want to be associated with whatever stupidity will most likely come about from her presidency. I will vote down ticket, though. I put as much time researching those folks as our candidates.

[moriah]

18. If it makes you feel any better.....

... in January, looking at DU and DK, I fully expected Bernie to be our nominee. And I planned to be telling disappointed Hillary supporters to not go PUMA.

You're not alone in your desire for more Progressive values in our Party, or Bernie certainly wouldn't have done as well as he did.

I would gladly ship anti-emetics to everyone in need if it would help them vote for the Nominee, but only you can make the decision in the end. I'll phonebank even more to try to help keep Trump out of office than I did to get Obama in office, because I know there will be people who may be puking in the bushes who just can't make those calls.

In 2008 I recognized that the reason for "Rally Around The Nominee" time wasn't to shove me and my reasons for supporting Hillary out. It was to work to make sure we got the White House, and criticism of our Nominee, once it was decided, wasn't going to help with that. I, fortunately, wasn't needing anti-emetics to vote for Obama.

But this year I might be shipping anti-emetics to others more surprising. I have a friend who has been a long-time Conservative who hates Trump so hard, and posted when he cast his primary vote for Cruz that if it came to Trump and Hillary, he'd be puking in his mouth but voting for Hillary. Kinda shocked me.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

26. I don't vote for labels.

[Thinkingabout]

29. Just as many who are blocked from the Bernie group, me, mostly from posts not in the Bernie

group but one post which did not disparage Bernie.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

39. This BernieBro WILL vote for Clinton, if she's the nominee.

Even Bernie has recognized and stated that she would be better than any (Trump, Cruz, Kasich, Ryan) of the Republican probables.

Yes, I'll have to hold my nose. Yes, I'll have to drink heavily after voting.

But I'll do it.

[moriah]

41. So, November First Aid Kit for helping defeat the GOP:

Clothespins
Anti-emetics
Barf bags for those who can't make it to the bushes, to keep the poor people working to let us vote at all from having to clean vomit from the booths
Copious amounts of alcohol/marijuana where it's legal
BC Powder for the hangovers....

Is there anything else I need to add?

In seriousness, I really would send all of the above, if needed, to anyone. But in the end, everyone's vote is their own.