We are about to face a new problem on DU but it isn't really new.

[PurgedVoter]

When it became inescapably obvious that Bush was horrid, we had a lot of middle of the road people join. Old timers will remember this pattern. Keep in mind that middle of the road means pretty damn far right. As folk flee the blogs that worship the Orange Menace, many of them will come here. With them they will drag a lot of their old beliefs, methods of thought and tactics.

We have a tool that will help us deal with most of the problems that will come with the influx of new people. That tool is reality. As we hold to reporting the truth, stay careful to check sources and shoot down lies, we will alienate a lot of the newcomers. If they are not yet ready for truth, a lot of them will flee.

A lot of the new people will feel like trolls. They have been listening to trolls for most of their lives. Most of us are a little bit troll susceptible, these folk will be troll tolerant and troll supportive. The will be very quick to jump on divisive subjects. They will also tend to support the arguments on the less left wing side.

Right now, I expect a few sharp comments when I say how much I love AOC. As we gain converts, I doubt a lot of them will convert to respecting the voice and advocacy that AOC provides. Keep in mind that all of the new converts will be racism tolerant, and bully tolerant. Reality hitting them in the face may have shown our new members that their old leaders are the enemies of all that is good. That does not mean that they will be able to escape the next set of lies that target them.

Remember the Tea Baggers. Bush had effectively killed the Republican party. Money and a new sales pitch led all the fleeing rats right back to the ship. If anything they were even stupider and more evil than they were before. I don't know how to inoculate these people. My advice to them is to always vote for compassion and intelligence. Sadly, I am not sure that a lot of the Republican sheep that will be heading our way can identify compassion and intelligence.

[greenjar_01]

1. Eagles, Frogs, Jake from State farm, X-IX, etc.

[efhmc]

2. I do not believe anyone who was a DJT supporter will ever become a Democrat.

[PurgedVoter]

4. I know a Spanish teacher who changed.

She was single issue, right to life by her view and happily voted for Trump and supported the Republican party.
Children in cages changed her point of view. I asked her to please vote for the most compassionate choice in the future. I think I reached her at the right moment.

This woman was a Trump supporter that was capable of admitting an error and feeling guilt. Not every Trump supporter has that. I warned her that single issue will leave her open to manipulation. I warned her that anyone against abortion that did not want to provide prenatal care to the poor was not actually pro life and probably a liar. That argument, I think, may have gotten though.

[customerserviceguy]

7. There were probably people

who thought he was the lesser of two evils, but their minds have been changed.

The OP makes a good point, will we let purity drive away people whose support we'll need?

[IndyOp]

9. I have right-to-life College students whose entire families and

church communities voted based on what they believed to be true about Trump being anti-abortion.

Several look and sound sick when talking about COVID and Trump's impotency.

[lunatica]

3. They get weeded out pretty quickly

They advertise their beliefs and we catch them quickly. The question is, why do they bother, but then one remembers rational thinking, logic and reason are meaningless to them. They really believe they can fuck with our minds.

[Hoyt]

5. Easy to identify the new ones, but the old socks are the real threat, as are those pouting

because their candidate lost.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Again!

Totally agree & it appears to be happening again.

[milestogo]

8. No doubt some will find it confusing that Bernie is considered as awful as Bush on this forum.