Democratic Primaries
Related: About this forumDemocratic candidates are not clay pigeons. Support the nominee even if they're not your 1st choice.
From Facebook, credited to a Cory Burns:
Liberal Friends, listen to this right now: Democratic Nominees are not clay pigeons.
I repeat.
DEMOCRATIC NOMINEES ARE NOT CLAY PIGEONS.
But, whatever do you mean? What is this metaphor?
It goes like this.
One by one, over the next couple of months, Democratic nominees are going to launch their official bids for President. They are going to launch themselves, one by one, into the sky, right into our line of vision.
Our job is not to shoot them.
Our job is NOT, the second we see them cross the sky, to reach out for the gun being handed to us by conservatives (because duh, conservatives and guns) and take aim, and blast them, one by one out of the air, for not being absolutely perfect.
Not likeable enough. BOOM.
Not an inspiring enough speaker. BOOM.
Said that awkward thing that one time. BOOM.
I wouldn't want to have a beer with them. BOOM.
Too old. BOOM. Too female. BOOM. Too white. BOOM.
Not a fucking flawless progressive superhero. BOOM.
Because what happens next? We shoot the candidates down. We degrade them. We belittle them. We smear them. Then we hand the gun to the media. They do the same. They hand the gun to the conservatives. They do the same. Then the bots start reloading. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
And then at the end of primary season, we have to pick up the shattered remains of whoever got the most votes and attempt to glue them back together into a candidate who can win the general election.
And we will lose. Because we learned fucking NOTHING from 2016, apparently.
Trump didn't win because every conservative loves him. Most of them hate his fucking guts. But they held their noses and voted for him because he was the only way to push their agenda forward. And holy shit, have they pushed it. Despite his complete ineptitude, his bumbling, his gross incompetence, his blatant corruption, they have shoved through some really damaging policies that are hurting real people every single day, and they will continue to do so for as long as we let them.
So, here we are. You're not jazzed about Liz Warren? Awesome. Beto not your boy? Swell. Sick of Biden memes? Good for you, friend. Keep it to yourself. Why? Because EVERY SINGLE DEMOCRAT WHO RUNS IS INFINITELY BETTER FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY THAN THE FLAMING RACIST POPULIST TRASH CURRENTLY STEERING THIS COUNTRY DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN.
I'm not sure if you noticed, but we already elected a guy based on a cult of personality rather than on whether he was qualified in any way to do the job, and we're going to be putting out the flames for DECADES.
But what do we do instead, you ask? Watch debates. Compare platforms. Be informed. Choose your favorite BASED ON REAL FACTUAL POLICIES AND EXPERIENCE, NOT ON YOUR DELICATE FEELINGS AND WHETHER YOU FEEL SUFFICIENTLY ENTERTAINED OR INEXPLICABLY HAPPY AT THE VERY SIGHT OF THEIR GLOWING FACE. Then get involved. Register people. Drive to the polls. Hold signs on street corners. Write postcards. Knock on doors. Don't tell us why the other candidates suck, tell us why yours is THE BEST. Fight FOR them. Remember how we used to fight FOR things, rather than against them? I know Trump makes it hard to remember, but I promise, that's a thing we used to know how to do.
Then we all, collectively, wholeheartedly, throw our weight and energy and voice behind whoever gets the nomination. If we do that, we win. Period.
It's not a question of who can beat Trump, don't you get it? A sentient fucking houseplant with a liberal platform could beat Trump, if we do this right. It's a question of whether WE can beat him, or would we rather tear ourselves apart?
Look around you, folks. The stock market is in free-fall. Our international reputation is in tatters. Our foreign policy is for sale to dictators. Our free press is under daily attack. Our Supreme Court is one conservative white dude away from full-on Gilead, and we can't keep asking an 84-year-old-woman recovering from broken ribs and a third bout of cancer to hang on for six more years because we can't get our heads out of our own asses. I mean, she'll do it, obviously, because RBG is a BOSS, but she shouldn't have to.
I repeat. This is not a test of our candidates. There are lots of good, solid options. It's a test of US. Of OUR ability to unite. Of OUR strength. Of OUR ability to put aside selfish arbitrary purity tests and scales of "likeability" and to just FUCKING GET IT DONE. We don't need the perfect candidate to rescue us. We need to realize that we can rescue ourselves.
So, how about it, Resistance? They want us to forget that we have the numbers, the motivation, and the power. They want us to implode. Let's explode instead, and leave nothing but a charred ruin of this nightmare administration in our wake.
BOOM.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
elleng
(130,156 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,308 posts)Thank you for lifting this from FB and posting it here.
So right on, and so fucking important.
I hope everyone reads it, and more importantly, agrees and acts accordingly!
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
PTWB
(4,131 posts)At the end of the day we are all Dems. We need to support each other and the eventual nominee, who ever that may be.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
LonePirate
(13,386 posts)If Bernie is not the nominee, a significant number of his most vocal supporters will not support the Dem nominee, just like in 2016.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
bhikkhu
(10,708 posts)From a broader perspective, his progressive policies have been adopted by the party as a whole. So it is highly likely even if he doesn't win the nomination that the one who does win will be a good representative of his policies and gain his full support.
Of course, I'm blacking out the memory of the last time around and hoping for the best...but it's still possible.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Demsrule86
(68,352 posts)will work tirelessly to elect them.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
JudyM
(29,122 posts)Because - even though accepted as a Dem candidate by our leadership - he isnt an actual Dem candidate, he is too old, already had his chance, is only in it for money (cough!), etc, right? So folks should be blasting him continuously, right?
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)I strongly believe it's important for anyone who wants to represent the Democratic party to be someone who can unite the party and motivate the party. It simply serves no good purpose for anyone to publicly state that the Democrats are "corrupt" or that the Democratic party is an "absolute failure". Those types of smears do not unite or motivate us.
And lastly, I think it's vital that we stand up to anyone who says that the Democratic party is "the party of the one-percent", or that the Democrats are the party is the "party of the elite". Again... totally false!
Again, I totally understand that it can be difficult to listen to valid criticism of one's favorite candidate. But what's worse is when people make excuses for the FALSE rhetoric about the Democratic party that's regularly being bandied about.
Things like that very dangerous (and demoralizing). WHAT GOOD PURPOSE does it serve for someone to make false statements that infer that there's "no difference between Democrats and Republicans." Nothing could be further from the truth! It's bullying and it erodes trust in the party and in each other. It's so harmful and I'll never hesitate to speak out against the lies.
All I'm trying to say here is that these types of smears only divide us. They make us suspicious of each other and question motives and agendas. And all of those things only serve to demoralize us and weaken us as a party. It's very destructive, and anything that weakens the Democratic party only serves to benefit the GOP, and Trump, and Russia.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Voltaire2
(12,626 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)I've been hanging out at uncountable Democratic elections, protests, debates, discussions, committee meetings...
Even ran for office once myself.
I have never, ever seen anything positive come out of a smear campaign. Anyone's smear campaign.
Even if you started out agreeing with the smearer, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth and encourages you to step back. Maybe not support anyone, and maybe not even vote or participate at all.
That is not good. A democracy only works when we are all honest and engaged.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)And yes, I'll support him if he's the nominee.
I supported Bernie during the 2016 primaries. Then when he didn't win, I supported Hillary in the general.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
BannonsLiver
(16,162 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
JudyM
(29,122 posts)connects with a lot of people. His principles are also mine (with a couple exceptions), and represent why Im an ardent Dem.
One of my core concerns is the rampant spread of conflicts of interest in all three branches of government, because decent environmental, economic and social policies (and more so lately, foreign policy) hinges on influence being courted by those with money. Period. This is, IMO, why we are where we are today! Starting most stunningly with Bush v. Gore which led to Citizens United. Election fraud, environmental destruction, you name it. Im fine with any Dem as long as conflicts of interest are taken care of.
The aggressive posts against Bernie are anti-Dem despite protestations to the contrary.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
BannonsLiver
(16,162 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Voltaire2
(12,626 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Andy823
(11,495 posts)I for one will support the winner, whoever it may be.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
EndGOPPropaganda
(1,117 posts)I will not say negative things about other candidates, only positive things about my candidate
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)to see how it's going.
Glad I caught this.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden