Come, come! We are all friends here. Or should be; for the laughter of Mordor Republicans will be our only reward if we quarrel.
I love our sparring of minds here at the kos.
It gets ugly, and people can be dicks. This is true everywhere. But most of the time things here stay pretty frosty despite a great lot of debate and disagreement.
Which to be sure is nearly always spirited, frequently vulgar, and sometimes downright horrible. Comparatively speaking I think that's pretty good. We are all after roughly the same thing here, barring the inevitable trolls, and healthy democracies seem to thrive on debate and disagreement, especially now. The winds of politics can be very violent and are in constant flux so a political system that can't bend and adapt is a system that's doomed to break.
But as Democrats we must keep our eyes on the prize. The Presidency. Democratic President ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ and not Republican President Marco Rubio. That's the hill we're trying to climb as a party. Once upon a time there existed a species of political animal known as a reasonable Republican politician, and though such may still exist in isolated pockets somewhere on our world or under it they don't make it to the front of the Presidential race anymore. So there's no sitting this one out.
I personally want very badly for it to be President Bernard Sanders, but no dammit I'm not going to be overly upset if it's President Hillary Clinton (neat trick: both of those names have the same number of letters). Upset, mind, just not overly upset. Not so put out that if she is our nominee I won't work to elect Democrats, or that I'd stay home on election day or leave the President’s circle blank.
Quite the opposite actually, because I think she's going to need the harder push. Some folks, a great many I fear, aren't going to be as acquiescent as I am, and that is one of the reasons why I'm voting for Bernie.
But that isn't my point, and I don’t fuggin want to argue.
My point is that people here who support either candidate need to take thought from the tone our candidates are setting and its strategic importance. I saw it on clear display last night, and there can be little doubt that Americans are also seeing it. Whether they're coordinating or not they’re setting a distinct contrast between the Royal Rumble going on among the Republicans and the relatively friendly and substantive discourse to be found on the Democratic side.
That is, it's like Republican Royal Rumble without the cheeseball humor, and with real and devastating consequences to the contenders and the audience. And this is how Sauron wants it. The Rumble has been amplified tenfold by the masses and permeates countless social media outlets, blogs and message boards, not to mention bars and fistfights, across our country and our world. And Sauron, his fawning friends among the .01%, and his A-team the Republicans are getting fabulously rich off of the shit we Americans throw at each other. Their laughter echoes from sea to shining sea.
I came here and stayed because in this community the rumbling and the guffaws are not nearly so loud. Disputes here are largely settled without a descent into anger, name-calling and/or outright hostility. I have personally found the vibrant and flexible nature of debate in this community to be the best on the internet. Bar none. It's an awesome thing to see at times given how much nasty is to be found elsewhere. There is great strength in these orange halls; a toughness and resiliency to withstand many tumults.
That said, I think this one is shaking them very badly. Right to the foundations. I wasn't around for the ‘07-’08 primary battles, so I don't have that for comparison, but I've read a great many people's opinions that this time it is worse, and I've no reason to doubt them. Sanders and Clinton are more ideologically disparate than Obama and Clinton were/are, and despite the candidates’ evident ability to get past it that disparity so far seems to be reflected in their supporters.
We'll have to get past it somehow. Or in about 9 months Sauron and the GOP will be toasting our defeat, and laughing all the way to the bank.
We can stop them. Yes, Clinton supporter, I mean you and me.
I am a Berner, but we are still allies.
Do you know if you are registered to vote? Do you know where your polling place is? If not, click here for a handy resource for finding out.
Do you know which Democrats are running in your state or district this cycle? Do you know when those elections will be held? Do you know when your state’s presidential primary or caucus is held? Do you know what ID you will need in order to vote? If not, click here for another handy resource.
Bernie News Roundup, by LieparDestin.
Hillary News & Views, by Lysis.
I will advocate for my candidate and call out nonsense from my side when I see it, and you do the same.
But either we both kick ass and try to get along, for most of the next year, or we're going to get rolled. It's as simple as that.