It's 2016 all over again. Biden isn't just fighting Trump supporters, but Sanders supporters as well

[GusFring]

And it's really starting to piss me off.

[yardwork]

1. Russian propaganda and brainwashing at work.

[lagomorph777]

2. Yes - not actual Bernie supporters; they are Putin's bots.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Exactly. Never were Bernie supporters.

[comradebillyboy]

6. Bri Bri, David Sirota, Krystal Ball, The Intercept, Jacobin

and many many more are not Russian bots. They are Sanders supporters who are actively working to harm the Democratic Party and its nominee Joe Biden.

[TwilightZone]

7. Unless you think his own staff are Russian bots...

your assertion is inaccurate.

People have been excusing their behavior the entire campaign. They're the real problem.

[Cha]

18. Yes, they were/are the real Problem.

[NurseJackie]

25. "were/are"

... that's exactly right. Mahalo!

[yardwork]

8. Many of them are actual people. I think they are being influenced by Russian propaganda.

[Cha]

17. Well, we know BJG, Sirota, and Turner Pushed Jill Stein in

the GENERAL ELECTION. they had their own "propaganda".

StaySafe, yardwork!

[yardwork]

19. True that!

Hope you're doing well, Cha! Love you!

[Cha]

20. ..

Love you, too, yardwork!

[Hortensis]

4. Yeah, well, what if they gave a riot and no one came?

They lost one huge thing, but they get to win a booby prize if they piss enough people off to break some windows.

Btw, this from Scientific American explains something of what's going on with this faction or type of Sanders supporters. It's not Sanders or a desire to save the world. They WANT to fight and look for leaders they believe will provide them a mob to join. Right now they're bitterly and aggressively disappointed. Sanders has canceled and Trump's in trouble. They really want a strong, destructive leader, but will probably end up voting for Trump for the destructive part at least.

Tell 'em to fuck off, but not actually to them.

The Personality Trait That Is Ripping America (and the World) Apart
People who are antagonistic resonate more with populist messages

Agreeableness (the opposite pole of antagonism) consists of two main aspects: politeness and compassion. Politeness reflects the tendency to conform to social norms and refrain from belligerence and the exploitation of others, whereas compassion reflects the tendency to care about others emotionally. People who score high in politeness are preoccupied with fairness whereas those who score high in compassion are more preoccupied with helping others, especially those in need.

On the other end of the pole, people with low levels of politeness (antagonistic people) tend to score high on measures of aggression, whereas those with low levels of compassion tend to score poorly on measures of empathy. ...

There are also deep implications of this personality dimension for politics. Politicians who are more antagonistic get more media attention and are more often elected than more agreeable politicians. In the general population, antagonistic people are more likely to distrust politics in general, to believe in conspiracy theories, and to support secessionist movements. ...

There has been an increasing recognition in psychology that personality traits interact with messaging from leaders. "A crucial skill for politicians is... to speak the 'language of personality'... by identifying and conveying those individual characteristics that are most appealing at a certain time to a particular constituency," ... They found that voters select politicians whose traits match their own personality. ...

Perhaps the most important interaction in the world today, however, is that between antagonism and populism. The core feature of populism is an anti-establishment message and a focus on the central importance of the people (Me: phony because populist leaders always rule in reality). The anti-establishment message portrays the political elite as corrupt and evil, and disinterested in the interests of "the pure people." ...

What happens when antagonistic citizens receive an anti-establishment message? They found strong support for the notion that the anti-establishment message of populists resonates the most with highly antagonistic people. This finding was confirmed in seven countries across three different continents. Antagonism predicted support for populists for both right-wing (Trump's) and left-wing (Sanders).

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/the-personality-trait-that-is-ripping-america-and-the-world-apart/

[Midnight Writer]

11. Thanks for this post. Was talking about this very thing last night with my brother.

He noticed that it seems these assholes who are always looking for an argument or spoiling for a fight are all Republican fundamentalists.

[Hortensis]

12. Interesting, in-person observations presumably?

We're in the deep south Bible Belt, so we see that a lot around us.

Left and right populists can be easily mistaken since they have so much in common, including various degrees of social conservative hostilities, and there is a lot of movement back and forth depending on who's winning since so many value that above all.

While they're committed to one leader, though, they do sing that leader's song. Sanders' is a secular religion of class warfare and universalist anti-capitalist, anti-democratic solutions. Trump's is religious, hierarchical, authoritarian nationalism.

But here's one of the songs they sing to their crowds several times every time.

“Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American people."

Only one of them said those exact words copied, at least in the particular speech discussed, but doesn't matter which.

[Midnight Writer]

13. Yes, he was talking about people he works with and some family members in his Facebook circle.

I myself have long thought that our political differences are defined by personality imprints rather than policy preferences or logic, and that the Republican Party intentionally appeals to those who are "easily riled".

[Hortensis]

14. Yes, me too. Personality genetically linked and then

formed by life. I've read that culture dominates, but our brains literally process information in different orders, liberals for analysis first, conservatives for emotional reaction first. And lots of other striking differences even if we're so alike in most ways.

And, yes, the Republicans have studied how to manipulate individuals, crowds and whole societies intensively against their own interests and work it for all they're worth.

[empedocles]

5. Not all bots. BS people out there first.

[Aristus]

9. No.

Sanders-supporters are fighting him.

Not content with cutting off their noses to spite their faces, and, not incidentally, usher in a second Trump term, Sanders supporters want to cut off their whole damned face.

I don't know when a certain segment of the left (and please don't ever tell me I'm not a real progressive, or I'LL cut off your nose!...) decided that a candidate had to be perfect. Was it when the not-a-bomb-throwing-anarchist Barack Obama warned us not to make perfect the enemy of good?

Was it when the brilliant, hard-working Hillary Clinton spoke to people on Wall Street?

Was it when the bona-fide environmentalist Al Gore sighed when listening to the brainless burblings of proto-Trump George W. Bush, lazy, feckless, bankruptcy-prone son of privilege? Is that why people decided to vote for Ralph Nader, who had no hope of winning Election 2000, but might help Bush attain the Oval Office?

These are not people who want to make perfect the enemy of good; they want to make perfect the enemy of everything.

They want to defend the castle by burning it down.

Enough is enough.

[JI7]

24. you make the mistake of thinking those people actually support

more liberal policies and are upset someone isn't pure enough.

the reality is those people are pretty much like trump suporters and angry over gains in rights for women and minorities.

[Sugarcoated]

10. Here's a post/thread in Biden's Twitter feed

Perfect example. He needs more people there having his back against these angry bitter idiots

Link to tweet

[sarcasmo]

16. Russian bots, Vlad and Trump vs Biden.

[garybeck]

21. Wrong.

Bernie and the vast majority of his supporters are voting for Biden.

Your comments make it worse not better

[JI7]

22. those Trump and Sanders supporters are pretty much the same group of people

it's easier to deal with when you accept that fact instead of thinking there is a difference.

The goal for them is to help Trump and Republicans win and Biden and Democrats lose.

[Tribetime]

23. No don't think so

[Vinca]

26. I pretty much think the latest accusations against Joe have their roots there.

They probably figure if Joe is gone, Bernie is the nominee. Maybe, maybe not. In any case, it's not only putting our democracy at risk if Trump wins again, it's putting our lives at risk.