what are you seeing in terms of on-line support for Joe Biden?

[0rganism]

outside of DU, i'm getting a really lousy vibe

yesterday i tried to watch a youtube video of a Biden remote presser/town hall kind of thing from 6 days ago, apparently it had been webcast via youtube. the side-chat was 95% anti-Biden, full of hostility and MAGA-trolling. i wish i could say it's not representative, maybe Bernie's reluctance to endorse Biden is costing us, but right now as far as i can tell, the enthusiasm is almost all with Trump.

i get that Biden polls a popular vote lead of 8%+ but i'm not seeing any evidence of it in the culture so far. i look at any comment section for a Biden video, and it's simultaneously embarrassing and terrifying. the likes vs dislikes count is way disproportionate. i don't think the lies and agitprop are going to diminish as the year goes on, either.

and in the videos i've seen, Joe isn't energetic. he's coming across as calm, sincere, and competent, but it's coming across as boring. he's going to be up against a reality tv star, he'll need to over-perform to get any coverage at all.

if i didn't know better, i'd say we have a PR problem. but hell, maybe i'm just looking in the wrong places.

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. It will build....check back in 2 weeks when the new reality sets in, nationwide. nt

[0rganism]

10. true dat, it's probably still too soon

there are likely a fair batch of Bernie-supporters running false flag ops against Joe right now, which will diminish over a couple weeks

[HarlanPepper]

2. Activist Twitter isn't going to be Biden friendly

That’s Bernie country and if it’s not Bernie country it’s Russian troll country. So I’m more concerned with the so called “olds” who actually pay attention and show up to vote

[dogknob]

25. I was Bernie 100%, but I'd vote for an iguana if it meant no more Trump

BTW, great handle, HarlanPepper.

[Demsrule86]

3. Stop it...this is a right wing meme you know...Joe has plenty of energy and will do fine.

[emmaverybo]

6. He's got energy coming from the soul.

[Demsrule86]

7. yes he does.

[0rganism]

16. right-wing meme or not, i know what i saw

and it did not fill me with confidence
"it'll all be fine" -- yeah, thanks, i remember thinking that myself about 4 years ago.

[Demsrule86]

22. This is a concern posts...saw them many times. You don't like Biden...playing with fire here.

And four years ago it was quite different...no matter how concerned you may be Joe Biden is the nominee and you should accept that and support him .

[emmaverybo]

4. Such serious hostility. The meh, too moderate stuff is not what's disturbing. There's a bundle of

smears revolving around the perv label and going all the way to Criminal allegations (unofficially).

But we have to remember the Obama bashing in 2008, some taken up by MSM, liberal MSM. It was fierce and unrelenting.

Honestly? I believe we have a widely appealing candidate Who won’t be thrown off and who is so well qualified and so right for now that these sick claims will not stop him.

[0rganism]

13. exactly - this is what i'm seeing too

i'm really hoping you're correct about Joe's appeal for the long term

[DonaldsRump]

5. I don't think so AT ALL

People are fending for their lives right now. No one (except the deplorables) gives a shite what that idiot in our White House is saying. They are listening to their governors and mayors.

You are looking in the wrong place. Look at the visceral hatred that most have for Trump. It is a return to normalcy that people want and that is EXACTLY what Biden is.

They are enthusiastic to get back to where we were. It wasn't perfect, but it SURE as hell wasn't like this (and since November 8, 2016).

[0rganism]

12. damn, i really hope you're right

maybe i'm just catching a lot of late-primaries flak from Sanders supporters

[Tree-Hugger]

8. I think it will build up

Right now, my Facebook is full of Sanders supporters having meltdown after meltdown.

[0rganism]

11. i hope so. it has to. nt

[snpsmom]

9. FWIW

I'm a late boomer who did my masters late in life with a lot of millennials who LOVE Bernie or Liz. (Liz was my 1st choice, too). My feeds today are full of "Great, which alleged rapist do I get to vote for this time?"
YMMV

[0rganism]

14. i'm seeing way too much of that too

i know it's probably temporary, but it makes me nervous nonetheless

[msongs]

15. for some unknown reason one suspects the joe bashing will explode as of today nt

[0rganism]

17. unknown reason or not, it's been going on for a while

in a way the worst thing for me isn't the bashing, much of which is obviously ridiculous, it's the lack of push-back from Biden supporters. i think there's a PR nightmare developing, and may i be completely mistaken.

[sop]

18. A few "progressive" sites I visit are back at it again, with many contributors and commenters

still stuck in 2016. I won't mention the sites. I don't want to give them attention, but I'm sure most here are familiar with them.

I'm seeing a lot of the same Pro-Bernie sentiment, how establishment Democrats and Republicans are the same, emphasizing the need for a real revolution, etc. It's not the same level of anti-Hillary vitriol from back in 2016, but once the campaign heats up and Russian troll and bot farms get up and running, I suspect the anti-Biden stuff will increase.

[asiliveandbreathe]

19. I just created this OP..Joe live townhall today..just ended

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1294918

[0rganism]

20. cool, i sent a donation

i hope in the future that live-stream is featured on DU's landing page

[asiliveandbreathe]

21. YOU are the bomb..good on ya...I wasn't sure if I could post in GD yet..

[wyldwolf]

23. Among actual, voting, lifelong Democrats ...

Excitement. Joy.

Among the "progressive" crowd, the kids who couldn't be bothered to actually vote, the ones who believe the sun rises and sets on Bernie, who might be old enough to have voted for Obama... but probably didn't...

...the aging hippies who sat out the '68 election, who believed one Nixon term wouldn't be so bad it if taught Democrats a lesson...

... a lot of pouting. Some are enraged. Mass disbelief. Conspiracy theories.

Face it. Just like the number of yard signs, bumper stickers, crowd sizes, and small donations, internet "excitement" doesn't win elections. Joe Biden just proved that.

[SiliconValley_Dem]

28. EXACTLY! Many Millennials now support Biden. Gen Z is still too spoiled

And may pitch a fit, but historically that age group hasn’t been AS important.

[MineralMan]

24. Did you post in those comments in support of Biden?

Maybe that would help ...

[apcalc]

26. What I am getting is tons of anti-Trump bitching.

He is hated.

[SiliconValley_Dem]

27. I am seeing many VERY progressive leaders supporting Biden already

Not sure what online areas you frequent, but MANY people know the stakes. AOC and her progressive allies in the house, many liberal actors who were outspoken for Bernie are now issuing full throated calls to support Biden.

[Codeine]

29. Online support was overwhelming for Bernie

in both this race and the last; he was resoundingly defeated by actual voters both times. Internet noise is meaningless.

[treestar]

30. I see a lot of right wing trolls

asserting that Biden "has dementia." This falsity of this is self-evident. I see pushback too, listing Dotard's many examples of mental deterioration.

[Blasphemer]

31. There is a slient majority looking forward to voting for Biden and hopeful for change

The loudest voices online (on both the left and right) are angry, aggrieved, hateful, divisive and use smears that have the same energy of the Obama birther smears. Some percentage of this is surely Russian trolling. I ignore it except to the extent that addressing it will stifle any subterfuge against the U.S. elections. Otherwise, I am not remotely worried. The coalition the Dems built in the 2018 midterms and those who have shown up in droves to vote for Biden during this primary tell me that Biden is just the person people are looking for in 2020. The silent majority is ready to reject extremism. It's probably not fair to expect deep passion and excitement in people who are craving calm.

[Liberty Belle]

32. Sadly on Facebook I saw two former Dem Party Central Committee members saying they'll vote 3rd party

which is very disturbing.

One is an Iraqi American who says he can't forgive Biden's support of the Iraq War under Bush.

The other is a Latino-Native American man and marijuana activist (who has used cannabis to treat burns he suffered in a wiildfire). He says he can't support Biden as a minority and because of his opposition to cannabis legalization.

Both think that since California will vote blue no matter what they can afford to throw their votes away, but I am concerned that such talk on social media can be read nationwide and potentially influence votes in states close enough to matter.

I've seen decline--to-state voters also saying they are disgusted at Biden for not supporting healthcare for all especially now with the pandemic - people who lost healthcare due to losing jobs but also older folks not ready for Medicare who can't afford their premiums anymore.

So yes Biden has a big PR problem. He really needs to pick a progressive minority woman as VP and abandon his opposition to a Medicare for All policy - at least say he'd support if we could find a way to pay for it.

I wonder how much we are saving by not deploying troops right now? Imagine if we just cut some less essential military expenditures long term and paid for healthcare instead.

[BlueLucy]

33. The problem with the medicare for all is...

Biden does not like to over promise. He doesn't want to say he will do something when he knows it is not going to happen. Strengthening ACA, adding a public option is doable and will help most people faster. It actually is the most progressive plan since it is the plan that can get done. I really don't think it's about medicare for all. Look how they treated Warren.

[0rganism]

34. that's going to be an unavoidable and severe problem for the campaign going forward

> Biden does not like to over promise

a fair bit of what Trump does is over-promise, exaggerate, hyperbolize, and self-promote. there will be a stark contrast, and a severe enthusiasm gap.

[BlueLucy]

35. All populous candidates do that...

I think we're more than ready to move on from that type of rhetoric. Biden will not only win but win BIG. I don't feel a problem at all.