I just saw the dumbest attack on Bernie yet

[Fearless]

Let's just start by saying I live in the one of the bluest parts of Massachusetts. There is a guy standing on the corner at the center of town holding up a sign that says, and this is a direct quote... "Bernie Sanders War Pig".

I nearly crashed my car!

On the bright side, not a single car has honked, several have engaged him very adeptly, and dozens have walked past laughing.

[kenfrequed]

1. Hmm

A number of hard core Hillary supporters here have made similar arguments against Sanders because he happened to support US intervention in Bosnia. It is Rovian in it's double think.

[upaloopa]

3. Hard core Hillary suppoters? How do you get to be

hard core? Do you have to have a secret hand signal or something.
I feel left out since I am not hard core enough.

[Dragonfli]

19. Not sure about the hand shake, but, the non public hidden Hilary site membership

Used to produce mud to sling is an indicator of a "hard core" Hillary supporter.
Latest hits include anti Semitic mud pies and charges of extreme racism.and slobbering over blue journalism hit pieces produced by racist hacks.

There are also cool Hillary supporters that simply believe a business friendly "strong on Defense" and compromise across the aisle approach to our social safety net candidate is their preferred choice. I disagree with those that believe such a candidate preferable and that do not sling mud all day, so I can and do get along with them as they are only fiscally conservative usually and can be counted on as allies on social issues that do not hurt big business.

There are all types of supporters on both sides, I like the ones that are decent people no matter whom they support.

[OilemFirchen]

59. "Blue journalism"?

Is that a Candy Crush level?

[Dragonfli]

65. meant to type yellow, sorry - it was a quick post nt

[AtomicKitten]

11. Yep. It's no mystery where that came from.

It's not from the GOP. He voted against the Iraq War which they enthusiastically supported. They would accuse him of peace-mongering as an epithet.

[Chitown Kev]

18. It'a an argument from the left of Sanders...nothing Rovian about it

remember, even Cornel West hesitated (very publically) to endorse Sanders because of I/P.

Please note: One of the famous Chicago Seven did a sit-in at Bernie's Burlington office over Bernie's (understandable) vote for airstrikes in 1999.

[AtomicKitten]

21. I've seen this OPPO research from the Clinton camp before; it's coming from her supporters.

It's called "poisoning the well" in a cynical attempt to divert attention away from her neocon foreign policy proclivities.

[Chitown Kev]

24. Not oppo research, it's readily available...and besides

Hillary attack using oppo from the political left of Sanders?

Everyone on the left does not like Sanders, believe it or not...

[AtomicKitten]

26. Hint: You should use a different screen name when you post elsewhere.

[Chitown Kev]

30. No...I'm fine

There's a method to the madness.

[dragonfly301]

44. Speaking of posting at other sites...

I'd love for you to clear something up for me....who did you vote for in 2000? You mentioned on DKos that you voted for Bush and then I saw another post there that you voted for Nader in 2000 - which is it? It helps with the whole frame of reference thing.

[Chitown Kev]

46. It was a very spiteful vote for Bush

I've said Nader over the years because I was too ashamed to say that I voted out of spite (knowing full well, of course, that Bush wasn't winning Illinois in 2000).

In 2000, I voted for George W. Bush.

At the time, I was on a big-time anti-church and I absolutely hated to see Al Gore in black churches giving a stump speech as if it were a sermon. I didn't (and don't) like it when the Religious Right and I didn't like seeing it on the Left. (Never mind that Vice-President Gore was a divinity student). Never mind what my feelings were (and still are, at moments) about The Black Church.

Also, by running away from the popular President that he served under (a President that I didn't like in spite of his enormous political gifts), it seemed as if Gore wasn't really asking for my vote. And I didn't give it to him.

Now of course, I knew that George W. Bush was a doofus. And in spite of George W. Bush's "victory lap" in Chicago prior to the 2000 election, I knew that there was no way that he was winning Illinois and its' electoral votes

So on a chilly November morning in 2000, I woke up early and went to my polling place and voted for George W. Bush, came back to the house and got dressed for work.

Later that night, I got home as, as I usually do on Election Night, I followed the election returns.

And then...

There was Florida, Florida, Florida.

And for much of Election Night 2000, my biggest fear was that Bush would pull ahead in the national popular vote. And then that deeply and darkly cynical vote that was the biggest "fuck you" to the Democratic Party that I could imagine would really mean something.

So for me, it was a little more than the closeness of the Florida vote that illustrated the importance of one vote. For me it was personal and in a very ugly way that I am not proud of to this day.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/10/1402951/-Connect-Unite-Act-Reston-DC-Michigan-San-Jose-Meet-up-Info-Any-Voting-Regrets

There were other people at DK that admitting to doing it so I figured that I may as well come clean on it...I kept that a secret for 15 years now so if anyone wants to flog me about it...go ahead.

I did vote for George Ryan in 1998 for governor...not ashamed of that as that was one of those weird elections where the Republican was more liberal than the Dem.

FYI: This is why I like to keep the same screen name...For example, I can't find any of the old Pam's House Blend threads since FDL is gone now but I said some ugly things about our current President as well back in 2009.

I don't mind being kept honest!

[dragonfly301]

49. No flogging

I GBCW'd at Kos a few years ago. In ways I'm surprised that so many Kossacks revealed their Republican voting records in that diary and also not surprised because it explained why I rarely agreed with most of them when I was a member. Everyone has their own reasons for picking a particular candidate - I just hope the decisions are well educated.

[Chitown Kev]

52. Oh, I wouldn't say that I have a Republican voting record

I didn't vote for Bill Clinton (or anyone else) in 1996 and I contemplated voting for Nader before childishly wanting to do as much damage as possible without doing damage...had I lived In Florida or Wisconsin, of course I'd have voted for Gore...I thought about that at the time...The George Ryan thing is a little different though, most Dems (esp. in Cook County) probably did not want to vote for Poshard and quite a few didn't...of course, most of our governors go to jail anyway so...

I will say that I was a Hillary Clinton supporter in 2008 (yes in Chicagoland). I really didn't see too much of a difference between Hillary and Obama and I figured that Hillary had a wee bit more experience...then she started going on about those hard working white folks... (I thought for a while (since the late 1990's) that Obama would be President someday but I never thought that he would win in 2008). But I was indifferent about the fact that Obama won the nomination.

I have said that my inclination is to support Sanders (who I have been following since he was elected to the Senate in 2006) as Sanders is a bit closer to my own politics and all that 2008 stuff with Hillary...ugh!...but I am a political skeptic and (more often than not) a political cynic, so I tend to piss off all sides...I am an undecided voter abt. the Dem primary now and...my state's primary isn't until March 15th so...

[MannyGoldstein]

31. Yes, everyone on the left does.

Ipso facto.

[Fawke Em]

2. I would have pointed and laughed, too.

That's like saying Hillary Clinton: Wall Street's Enemy.

[hifiguy]

4. I see what you did there....

[Juicy_Bellows]

5. You should have gotten a picture.

We could use a new one of the 'Get a brain morans' to spread around.

[Fearless]

6. I did! I'll post it when I get home.

[Juicy_Bellows]

7. Haha! Fantastic!

I await, with baited fingers.

[Fearless]

35. Added to the OP!

[Juicy_Bellows]

38. Thanks! What a moran! nt.

[Fawke Em]

8. LOL! That will be a hoot!

Thanks!

[AtomicKitten]

10. We have got to see that!!!

[Fearless]

36. Added to the OP

[AtomicKitten]

40. A genuine contender for this election's GET A BRAIN MORANS!!!

Well done. Thanks for sharing it here.

[Catherina]

25. Wonderful! n/t

[quickesst]

12. Did the guy....

....yell "GO HILLARY!", was he carrying a Clinton sign, or wearing a Hillary t-shirt? Or did everyone just assume he was one of her supporters, and use that assumption for an excuse to insult them? We're you standing there when "several" people engaged him, or were you busy regaining control of your car? Seems to me you would have thought that worth mentioning. I'm just asking.

I was referring to the people replying to your thread. I see nothing insulting with your OP.

[AgingAmerican]

13. Experience tells us it's more than likely one of hers

We see similar every day here on DU.

[quickesst]

17. No...

...you don't. Anyway, I suppose I could just copy and paste my answer to all replies, which would be: "So, you assumed. Got it." Pass it along. Thanks.

[Hortensis]

27. I enjoyed OP's post too, in spite of the rest.

[demwing]

14. It might have been a conservative...hard to say

Which is to say, it's hard to say....

[quickesst]

15. So...

....you assumed. Got it.

[demwing]

16. No, it's just hard to say

And what I mean by that is its really hard to say

[m-lekktor]

20. I believe it was a far leftist. this is why i hate it when Bernie supporters are called far leftist.

Actual far leftists DO NOT LIKE BERNIE, they think he is a sellout running under the auspices of the Democratic Party. I follow or have facebook friends who consider themselves marxists or some version thereof and they DO think Bernie sucks when it comes to foreign policy based on votes he has made and defense industries in Vermont he has supported! I see what they write about him as it comes through my newsfeed and I can picture one of them on a streetcorner holding this sign.

I am the last person to stick up for Hillary or her supporters but people have to stop living in a simplistic binary bubble and realize all aspects of a situation. There are others who are against Bernie besides Hillary supporters or republicans, and they are on the left, the ACTUAL far left, and to deny this is to deny reality.

[Chitown Kev]

28. THANK YOU...all these supposed "lefter than thou" Sanders supporters

need to go read some socialist websites

Hell, look at the website of sanders' former political party, the Liberty Union Party. Look at Counterpunch. Look at Black Agenda Report. What I consider to be true leftists don't like this man.

Let me add: A really big issue that a lot of far leftists are having with Bernie even now is that Bernie has already agreed to support Clinton if she is the nominee.

[m-lekktor]

51. yes Black Agenda Report doesn't like Bernie either.

CIndy SHeehan hates him as does Paul Street whose opinion pieces appear on Counterpunch and Zmagazine website, I am either facebook friends or I "follow" leftist commentators on facebook so I see it ALL daily.

[m-lekktor]

56. Let me add, it's not that Bernie supporters claim to be "lefter than thou"

it's that Hillary supporters tend to make that claim for the Bernie supporters, but as an insult and to marganilize. it's a daily project for one Hillary supporter in particular. that gets to me. THey need to know there are people much more left than Bernie and the fringe left do NOT like him so stop accusing supporters of being fringe left.

I am a Bernie supporter but i am not one who believes electoral politics makes much difference within the current system.

[Chitown Kev]

57. yeah...we are on similar wavelengths, actually

w/r/t the current electoral system...I think that the current electoral system will not allow for a lot of institutional change...or it will only allow for incremental change at best...and Sanders will be subjected to those rigors as well or, if elected, he'll be a one-termer and an ineffective one at that, IMO.

I've thought from jump that Sanders REALLY enhances his position in the Senate a lot more even without the seniority. And part of what I have been debating is whether or not he'd be more valuable in the Senate (where he could play Huey Long to Hillary's FDR, so to speak).

[quickesst]

42. That's why I asked...

... the questions. Yes, I'm a Hillary supporter, but rest assured that if Bernie pulls it off and wins the nomination, and I say this as a non religious person, I hope and pray he wins it all. In the meantime, I will support and defend my candidate of choice when I feel it is warranted. Labeling someone by assumption or a guess is not how I was brought up, and it's not how I live. It could have been a person as you described, or a Paul supporter, a Trump supporter, or it could have been a Clinton supporter, and I am not really addressing the OP but some of the replies to it. To assume, or accuse without facts will only gain support from those who are doing the same. Bandwagon effect if you will. Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

[m-lekktor]

50. People just can't believe there would be leftests that don't like Bernie and there are.

Cindy Sheehan started a petition to call Bernie out for referring to Hugo Chavez as a communist dictator, she and others were furious, she is my facebook friend so I see it all. I didn't pay much attention to the exact wording so i don't know what exactly she was trying to accomplish with a petition but, there is that for example. You can also see plenty of anti Bernie opinion pieces from the left on Counterpunch, by Paul Street for one. Also Black Agenda Report.

[quickesst]

58. Personally,

... And quite simply, I'll be glad when this is all over and done with, hopefully with a Democrat in the White House. Then I can start coming to DU for the original reason I joined. That would be to get the news with all the horseshit wrung out of it, laugh and smile a little, and to feel good about being a Democrat. Well, that, and watching the Republican Party get the hell beat out of it. but until then I suppose the battle will rage on , and I suppose this peaceful little lull in the action must end. Now, GET OFF OF MY LAWN!!!

[Fearless]

60. Actually I had stopped in town for dinner.

I discern no liberal or conservative tenancies, just a generally paranoid person of the chem trails variety.

He did not raise support for any candidate, just rather anti Bernie for really no factual reason.

I mentioned it because the idea is hilarious and I was thoroughly proud of the response. People called him on his nonsense. It's nice to see people displaying political knowledge from time to time. People literally stopped in their tracks and stared in disbelief, which was quite unexpected. Generally I feel people don't care enough to say anything. But that people know who Sanders is and his positions strongly enough to confront someone over it, is to me very promising.

[quickesst]

64. I understand

I feel the same way about people like that. I have never went negative on Bernie, and I do not intend to. I also made it clear that your OP was exactly as you intended with no ill intent or assumptions. I was simply disappointed with some of the replies which had no basis in fact. I firmly believe that one of two people will be the next president. I prefer one, but I'm good with either.

[beam me up scottie]

22. Could be a real fringe leftist/socialist.

Which is why people who call DUers who support Bernie the same thing are clueless wonders.

[m-lekktor]

23. that is what I believe for sure.nt

[beam me up scottie]

45. Although plenty of HC supporters here have called him a hawk.

So it's not impossible that he could be another one.

[m-lekktor]

47. true but i don't picture a Hillary supporter picketing somebody for being a war pig

when she is even worse in that regard. that would be bizarre but you never know.

[beam me up scottie]

48. I wouldn't put it past them, they support Hillary who's more of a hawk.

Just like they complain when rich people like Spike Lee support Bernie.

I don't try to get into their heads, too scary.

[hootinholler]

29. And I thought Bernie only covered some folk songs

I had no idea he did some Black Sabbath too!

I'll have to hunt that one down, thanks for the heads up!

[Fawke Em]

55. LMAO!!

Metalheads for Bernie!

[MannyGoldstein]

32. Where? PRC? Somerville?

I want to go and mock them if they return.

[NCTraveler]

33. Amazing. First post goes straight to Hillary....

When the op has nothing to do with her. It's followed up by petty after petty attack on her with unquestioned pats on the back. This is the echo chamber phase of the social experiment.

[merrily]

34. No, Reply 1 went to what some supporters of Hillary posted at DU.

[NCTraveler]

37. Keep telling yourself that.

We both know supporters of each candidate have said some pretty atrocious things. Echo chamber indeed. Pat pat.

[merrily]

39. Huh? You mischaracterized Reply 1, so I corrected you. I have no idea what you are on about now.

[Chitown Kev]

41. The TRUE far left has neither forgiven nor forgotten

that Sanders endorsed Bill Clinton over Ralph Nader in 1996.

Ralph Nader and Bernie Sanders, probably the most famous figures on the American left, are in many ways a matched pair. Ascetic and tenacious activists, their shared critique of U.S. capitalism is inspiring a new generation of citizen-visionaries.

Nader and Sanders have parted ways, however, over the consumer advocate's presidential campaign. The Vermont congressman's support for Bill Clinton's reelection has "disappointed" Nader and caused him to question Sanders' status as "a real progressive."

In an interview prior to his speech last Sunday to an overflow crowd at Saint Michael's College, Nader accused Sanders of putting "personal political survival" ahead of the principles the Independent socialist has always espoused.

Nader theorizes that "Clinton's people told Bernie he had to support Clinton or else they would help the Democrat [Jack Long] in the congressional race." The Democrats' promise to bestow a subcommittee chairmanship on Sanders if they captured control of the House may also have encouraged him to cuddle up with Clinton, Nader suggests.

"Supporting me would not have been the most courageous act of his career," Nader says of his erstwhile ally. "You're not a real progressive if you don't work to build an alternative to the Democrats — which is something Bernie Sanders says he stands for. You've got to plant an acorn, which is what I was trying to do."

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/left-out-bernie-sanders-and-ralph-nader-part-company/Content?oid=2433945

I agree with Bernie Sanders on his overall view of things w/r/t third parties but go and google up some of the MANY criticisms that Nader has had of Sanders over the years.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

43. This guy is going to:

get the right wing warmonger vote for Bernie.

[JoePhilly]

53. Check the cankles, its HILLARY!!!!!!!!!!!!

A nut has a sign ... Hillary must have sent him.

[Fawke Em]

54. After seeing him, I wonder if he was being ironic.

Maybe he actually likes Sanders and just wants to get in a conversation about the true hawk in this primary race: Hillary.

[Fearless]

61. I thought that too at first

But after approaching him, definitely not.

[Fawke Em]

62. Ah. OK.

What was he like?

[Fearless]

63. Like a tape recording of Fox News conspiracy theories.

I should have asked about water fluoridation. It would have been enlightening I'm sure.