Our GD-P "Fair Angels": An Honor Role

[Tom Rinaldo]

Though this thread is posted under my name, the initiative for it came from David Zephyr who PM'd me to discuss what we can do to promote more civil and respectful exchanges between supporters of the two leading Democrats still running for President; Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. This is an idea we came up with jointly.

Please use this thread to give praise to DU members who you realize do NOT support YOUR candidate for President, but who you believe can be counted on to frequently make REASONABLE efforts to be fair toward a candidate who they do not support. And please use this thread to show appreciation for DU members who will sometimes step forward to defend supporters of candidates who they do not support them self.

To qualify as a GD-P "Fair Angel" a DU member should be someone who you know is willing to step forward and openly call "FOUL" on a thread that either unfairly attacks a candidate who they do not support for President, or the supporters of that candidate.

Remember that our Angels are only human. No one has to be perfect to be a GD-P "Fair Angel". We aren't looking for consistent saintly behavior, just people who have shown an ability to rise above narrow political self interests to speak out on occasion when posters, especially posters on their own "side", start going WAY over the line in trashing other Democrats here or spreading smears that should have no place on Democratic Underground.

Let's keep this a positive thread, please. We urge you NOT to bring your own disputes onto it. Let's make this a "like mother said" zone: If you don't have something nice to say about someone, then say nothing at all.

[Tom Rinaldo]

1. As a Clinton supporter let me start by nominating two Obama supporters

I want to show appreciation to Bonobo and WesDem for their open mindedness, and for their repeated efforts to be fair toward supporters of Hillary Clinton while trying to keep discussion here on DU respectful and serious.

[MzShellG]

99. I nominate bigtree.....nt

[fight4my3sons]

2. I'm an Obama supporter and would like to nominate Terrya.

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. So far we have Bonobo, Terrya, and WesDem

I know there are others. It is hard to keep a positive thread afloat because it isn't controversial enough to get constant kicks from people weighing in. If someon deserves a kind word, why not share it?

[Marrah_G]

4. Sadly this dropped like a rock - KICK

And I nominate....YOU!

[shadowknows69]

5. I nominate Marrah_G

[terrya]

6. I'm going to say Magic Rat

Magic Rat is a strong supporter of Obama.

But yet, to me, he's always been fair.

[Armstead]

14. And makes very funny photo posts

[robbedvoter]

7. Another nomination for you, Wesdem and Bonobo

[tekisui]

8. I'd like to recognize terrya.

They are fair and civil. In one post they even admitted it was put up in a moment of heightened emotion, and hoped it would sink. Thanks for the civility, terrya.

[RandomKoolzip]

30. Me too!

Terry's always been fair (and funny). He's got my vote.

[caseycoon]

9. KICK! Good idea

[mohc]

10. Monkeyfunk

In my opinion a very even handed and fair Clinton supporter.

[Marrah_G]

11. I second that !

[Hepburn]

21. I would totally agree with that. Monkeyfunk is a good head, IMO. n/t

[RandomKoolzip]

29. Thirded.

:thumbsup:

[meow mix]

107. i demand monkey have his "Thread Angel" badge revoked..

he say bad things,hee hee

[goodgd_yall]

115. Another one for MonkeyFunk

[maddezmom]

12. I'd like to nominate you and David Zephyr

for trying to work on the issue. :thumbsup:

[maddezmom]

13. and DeepModem Mom

:hi:

[yardwork]

38. I nominate maddezmom and all the mods who volunteer in GD-P!

[Tom Rinaldo]

15. We are not the first or the only ones, just the most recent ones...

...but really eveyone who takes part in this thread, even if only to kick or reccomend it, is working on the issue also.

I hope this thread sticks around for a while, because I pledge to pay closer attention to posts made by DU members who do not support Hillary Clinton that make a real effort to be fair and respectful, or to call out uncalled for negative slams against Clinton or her supporters. When I find them, I want to acknowledge those people here.

[terrya]

23. I'll second both of those nominations

:thumbsup:

[David Zephyr]

94. You are a real asset here, terrya.

And it needs to be said.

[terrya]

121. Thank you, David and you are also.

I always like seeing you around here. You are definitely one of the good ones here at Democratic Underground.

And that needs to be said.

[David Zephyr]

70. That honor would go to you, maddezmom, for all you and the mods do.

I don't have that wisdom of Solomon that you all do. I thank you for it.

[blm]

91. gotta agree with maddezmom on this one....

.

[Sulawesi]

16. Proud2BAmurkin? KennedyGuy?

Just kidding!! I give MonkeyFunk a nod.

Great idea for the post btw!

[Jersey Devil]

17. Well, I'm a devil so why should I promote angels?

Hey look, there's a fight going on for the nomination and it's a pretty tough, knock down fight, but I don't see a lot of disrespect towards other posters. The disrespect is toward other candidates and that's the way politics works.

[Tom Rinaldo]

69. We can fight hard AND fair

I don't only care about who wins the nomination, I care also about who will win in November and how well we can work together to make sure that person is a Democrat

[Dinger]

18. Tom Rinaldo For Me

How refreshing to see a post like this!:patriot:

[Tom Rinaldo]

22. David Zephyr initiated our email exchange

He deserves a lot of credit for this.

[Dinger]

28. David Zephyr Too

Definitely!:)

[Armstead]

35. Seconded

and :kick: 'ed

[yardwork]

39. Tom Rinaldo and David Zephyr - Angels for starting this thread!

[Armstead]

19. You for sure

You are consistently respectful.

I think many others have mixed records in that regard. Probably depends on the day.

Sometimes an exchange can start out testy but end in either agreement or polite "agree to disagree."

(My memory bank is a little foggy at the moment, but will post names if they come to me.)

[Tom Rinaldo]

25. Armstead, you qualify in my book

Everyone has a mixed record, and yup, the day has a lot to do with it, lol.

But you are always reachable with a good argument, you are not among the many who are constantly gaming this board looking for a way to score cheap points.

[Bonobo]

20. K&R.

We shall see how things go after the nominee is decided.
I think the worst offenders here are the personality types that thrive on attention. And they have learned, like toddlers, that you get attention when you scream, cry and pout. Fortunately, they will become bored when the only targets are fellow republicans, not responders on DU. Then, they will leave.

I want to say thanks to Tom and MonkeyFunk, Marah_G and NanceGreggs and DavidZephyr and OccamBandage, all good posters whatever side they are on.

It will be nice when we can all cheer for our fantastic candidate against their grump old curmudgeon.

[Tom Rinaldo]

24. All good candidates, yes. But let me underline OccamBandage

... who really took on a trash thread on DU yesterday even though it was Clinton being trashed.

[Bonobo]

26. Didn't see it, but I find his analysis to be very sharp indeed.

[yardwork]

37. I support that nomination of OccamBandage.

I saw his work yesterday - it was great!

[calmblueocean]

27. Tom Rinaldo & Occam Bandage, for starters.

There will be more, I'm sure, but these are the first two that come to mind for me.

On Edit: Armstead, too.

[Tom Rinaldo]

31. Kick n/t

[terrya]

32. I nominate RandomKoolzip

He's one of the smartest, most honorable, most decent, funniest DU'ers. Very fair always.

[displacedtexan]

33. Definitely Armstead!

The initial "my candidate or the highway" time has passed.

I'm seriously upset by those who now claim they won't vote for ___ or ___,
regardless of the primary season outcome.

We have two really strong primary candidates and only one chance to vote
on Nov. 4th.

If we remain split, we'll lose it all.

And yes, I'm a Clinton supporter, but I'll work for Obama if he gets the nomination.

[Cameron27]

34. I'd say

WesDem, of course, you Tom, DeepModemMom, Monkeyfunk and rinsd for a start. :-)

[asdjrocky]

36. I've always enjoyed Nance and Armstead.

I've had some good exchnges with Attomic Kitten as well.

[thevoiceofreason]

40. Heck, I like rodeodance

Spirited, but never mean-spirited.

[NMDemDist2]

41. Horse with no Name

that's my contribution

[hfojvt]

42. I am thinking Bigtree and Ruggerson

but not exactly. Not that they call "foul" on BS attacks on Obama, but that they strongly support Clinton without engaging in them, AFAIK.

[helderheid]

43. rec'd now kicked.

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

44. Let me give a shout out for DU Adbot. Always fair, if pandering and solicitous.

ed to sp shout properly

[terrya]

45. Another one: Katzenkavalier

He's always been fair around here. He's a good guy.

[Tom Rinaldo]

66. Excellent choice. I was trying to remember how to spell his "name", lol

Thanks for doing it for me!

[asdjrocky]

46. What a shame, I've seen one word attack posts that go over better than this.

[Tyler Durden]

51. What did you expect?

The rest of the board considers this forum the worst kind of snake pit. GD-P has the dubious honor of alienating more posters, casual AND long timers, than any other forum on the site.

[asdjrocky]

58. First rule of GDP?

[bigbrother05]

117. Don't think you would qualify in this category

See a lot of quality folks getting props here, but with your viewpoint (want to strip the REC function from GD-P), don't even know why you have shown up.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2888581


Might want to avoid the "snake pit" if you don't want to get bitten.

[Tyler Durden]

120. Bull.

If you want to pat someone on the back, I suggest the lounge. I go there A LOT because hanging out HERE was like watching competing gangs of playground bullies, and there are quite a few in your "ANGELS" category that have played that game as well.

There is nothing wrong with this place being TOUGH, but there is plenty wrong with it being ABSURD.

[yardwork]

47. kick

[meow mix]

48. can i be an angel plz

:evilgrin:

[Tyler Durden]

50. Nope.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4651425&mesg_id=4651425

[calico1]

49. GoPsUx has posted a number of

threads trying to bring some sense back into the forum. I think he should be a member of the Fair Angels. :)

[Bongo Prophet]

62. I second that. GoPsUx is one I couldn't recalll in my other list. n/t

[BuelahWitch]

108. Another vote for GoPsUx

Even if his username is so damn hard to type! :rofl:

[goodgd_yall]

111. And another n/t

[Tatiana]

52. Tom Rinaldo and bigtree

There is nothing wrong with vigorously defending your candidate as long as your argument is based on facts and these two always have facts to back up their assertions.
:toast:

[ZinZen]

53. Dem Since Birth

is a good level headed Hillary supporter. Same goes for you Tom.

[harun]

54. I nominate ayeshahaqqiqa

[THUNDER HANDS]

55. i like everybody on the Clinton side

well, everbody who survived the mass banning last week.

:)

I think they're all cool and I like how they stick up for their candidate. IMO, Hillary doesn't deserve supporters as good as the one's she's got here.

[Auntie Bush]

81. Thanks Magic Rat

I'll take that. Sure us had to defend Hillary around here.

[redqueen]

56. I haven't been around in a while...

so I'm not sure whom to nominate.

But I love this idea. Those Angels sure have their work cut out for them. *sigh*

[Viking12]

57. Props to goodgd_yall

Last night he made a post referring to poll numbers. His interpretation of the data was flawed and when that was pointed out he quickly self-deleted the thread.

[Tom Rinaldo]

67. A great example of someone and something to be supported n/y

[Recursion]

59. babylonsister and jackson_dem

Both examples of people who fight hard for their candidate without being childish about it.

[asdjrocky]

60. And before I forget-

Old Crusoe is one of the best of the best in this, or any other place.

[Bongo Prophet]

61. Old Crusoe, MagickMuffin, Redstone, Mythsaje, Nance Greggs, Syrinx, about 6 others

i am too un-coffeed to name at the moment.

And of course, myself. ;)

--for months we have been warning of the decline in civility.

[tammywammy]

63. babylonsister, MonkeyFunk and WesDem are the ones off the top of my head

:)

[David Zephyr]

64. Good morning from the West Coast, Tom.

Actually, Tom is far too gracious (as always) and I should say the following:

I have noticed that without fail, Tom would jump into threads that were clearly over the top and hurtful and are personally vindictive to weigh in with reason and decorum. This he would do even when the posts were from zealous supporters of his beloved candidate, Hillary. In many ways, my pm to Tom was really in appreciation and recognition of that characteristic within him.

And at the risk of embarrassing him further, clearly Tom Rinaldo would obviously be my choice as a standard for high conduct here.

Of the "undecided" posters, I would have to say that Kentuck has also held a balance that just seems to be his nature and character.

As committed as I am to Senator Obama, if Hillary should be our nominee, make no mistake, I will be there behind her 100% against John McCain and what would be another four years continuing the policies and wars of the Bush/Cheney Administration. And while I would be terribly disappointed should Barack not be our nominee, I would suck it up and stand proudly with HIllary.

That said, I will continue to be an advocate for Senator Obama just as Tom is for Hillary.

All of the names mentioned upthread are excellent examples of those who can give and take, who can dish it out and take it, but would rarely, if ever, drag a thread down to a level beneath our collective intelligence and grace.

[Tatiana]

71. You are one fantastic individual, DZ!

:toast:

[tishaLA]

65. DemSinceBirth and MonkeyFunk

[asdjrocky]

68. Also- Waiting for Hope.

[Tennessee Gal]

72. jackson_dem is my choice

[Cameron27]

83. He's a great choice,

and ruggerson too.

[no name no slogan]

73. All this kumbaya crap is making me sick

K&R'd!

[goodgd_yall]

112. Lol!

[BootinUp]

74. I'm glad to hear David Z has changed his tune

it was pretty depressing when he was attacking Hillary for staying married to Bill a few weeks ago.

[Tom Rinaldo]

75. You get a slap on the wrist for that one Jim, lol

You violated the "what mother said" golden rule I requested from ya. None of us are going to rack up perfect scores on this front, but some of us will at least make an effort to push back against the mud sometimes. David fully earned his "wings".

[BootinUp]

76. i have always had a little problem with authority, lol. nt

[ZinZen]

79. Jim4Wes!!

and Monkey Funk are two other even keeled Hillary supporters.

[BootinUp]

82. I have failed too often

to accept your nomination, lol. but thanks. :)

[Armstead]

105. I'll second Jim4Wes

Despite our sparring. :)

[JohnnyLib2]

77. Late getting here, but I nominate Umbram.

U. has made some very thought-provoking posts about voter motivation.
And, I was taken to task for good reason.

[maddezmom]

78. Another one, VolcanoJen

:)

[Sapphocrat]

92. I'll second that. n/t

[maddezmom]

100. I'm glad she's back and posting

:)

[BootinUp]

80. Occam Bandage, WesDem, seasonedblue, Tom R, rinsd, pirhana

DeepModem Mom, lamprey, there are others I would nominate but my braincells are currently relaxing from a hard day at work.

[wndycty]

84. I have to tip my hat to Tom Rinaldo

And its not only his peacemaking role, its when he posts a criticism of Obama its not as easy to dismiss because I believe he is looking at things objectively.

[David Zephyr]

93. I agree.

I wish I had his diplomatic ways, but I don't. At least I can recognize them and envy them.

[snappyturtle]

85. Great idea! Unfortunately, my Angel supports my candidate but

I think most here would certainly agree with H20man is a very fair contributor who tries to get us to look at the bigger picture.

[calimary]

101. H2O Man is a GREAT dot-connector. And Class Warrior. Oh, man,

happy to say there are MANY who help us in the conscience department. MANY wise ones. The Magistrate is another good one. And Tace and Tandalayo_Scheisskoff (hope I spelled that correctly). Samantha and DeepModem Mom are also excellent. I KNOW there are more. Memory sometimes does not serve. :silly: I apologize for not being able to credit them sufficiently. Many superb long-term thinkers/strategists and analysts here. I'm still learning TONS!

:toast:

[goodgd_yall]

113. Yes, Tandalayo Scheisskopf

[BootinUp]

86. creeksneakers2 nt

[Redstone]

87. There are many stalwart and true DUers I'd list if my memory wasn't so bad;

they know who they are, though. I paid them tribute here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4625785&mesg_id=4625785

I'm glad you posted this, though, because I'm sure those with a longer memory-span than my own gnatlike one will give them their due.

And not one of the people nominated in response to your post will ever buy his or her own beer if they're with me. Nor will you.

Redstone

[Tom Rinaldo]

88. Hmmm What part of the country do you live in? lol n/t

[Redstone]

95. New England. Come on by when you're in the area.

Redstone

[Auntie Bush]

89. I vote Tom , Jim & rodeo

and a lot of other Hillary supporters whose names I can't remember offhand.
Whoa is me...getting old.

[Tom Rinaldo]

90. Sparkly. I don't know who she ultimately voted for

but it doesn't matter. She is always a class act.

[BootinUp]

97. seconded. nt

[Political Heretic]

96. This a good thread. Thanks for making it. Rec'ed.

[Rowdyboy]

98. Terrya, Redstone, Tom and David and many others who stand up to bullies....

Where did the idea evole that to support your candidate you must personally destroy all others? I LIKE Democrats.

[Tom Rinaldo]

102. IndyOp is an Obama supporter who richly deserves credit on this thread

I just read a wonderful tribute to Hillary thread that IndyOp posted here. It showed real class to do that.

[eileen_d]

103. kick for a positive thread

:kick:

[maddezmom]

104. and another

:kick:

[Armstead]

106. and another

[Hill_YesWeWill]

109. OccamBandage, BabylonSister, Jackson dem, great thread! nt

[Crunchy Frog]

110. I'll praise Tom Rinaldo.

He can always be counted on to make highly intelligent, well reasoned posts that don't attack the other candidate or his supporters. :hi:

I'm looking forward to finally having him behind Obama, hopefully soon.

[BootinUp]

122. That was a low down dirty

trick Crunchy.

:rofl:

[Bonobo]

114. Calling out one of my faves... Bread & Circus.

[Tom Rinaldo]

119. Ummm, you might want to tell B&C about this thread...

...because B&C put me on ignore and probably can't see it, lol. I'll add Beyond Geography to my nominations though.

[goodgd_yall]

116. Great idea, TR n/t

[Hippo_Tron]

118. Operationmindcrime

I was actually a bit disappointed in one of his threads tonight but usually he's pretty fair. I think even the best of us sometimes get dragged into the mud, it's only human.

[goodgd_yall]

123. Kick n/t

[LiberalAndProud]

124. ...

:kick:

(Fire extinguisher anyone?)

[avrdream]

125. My picks:

From the "other" side (and there are quite a few, so no offense if I forget you): Katz, Nance, DZ, Magic Rat.

From Hillary's supporter's side: Tom Rinaldo, rodeodance, ruggerson, OMC, RKM, and Save Elmer...just to name a few.

From seeminly neutral territory: The Magistrate.

As a Hillary supporter, it has been tough around here lately but the named supporters have helped keep things in perspective. There ARE others but I am drawing blanks so I apologize.

[Seabiscuit]

126. I'd nominate Old Crusoe and Nance Greggs.

[Seabiscuit]

127. What I find truly weird is that there are a lot of nominations in this thread for

assholes on my "ignore" list.

[Tom Rinaldo]

128. Personal perspectives differ, but also...

Many of us, hell almost all of us, have lost it on DU at times. Either we get really angry or we get overly enthused by something and we say some stuff that doesn't exactly qualify for attention on this thread. Some of us even have that happen a lot. Maybe it was one or more moments like that that caused you to put some folks on ignore.

But really, for the most part, everyone nominated on this thread has also shown repeated moments when they have displayed real resolve to rise above the divisiveness, to acknowledge the sincere intentions of and solid points made by people on the other side of our primary divides, and/or to speak out against something vile said against a candidate they do not support or supporters of that candidate.

This thread is to acknowledge people who have those "fair play" qualities in them, even if sometimes they show some "other qualities" also :)

[NashVegas]

130. Moments

Don't quite do it for me. How about a little more?

There are plenty of nominees who have been consistently, intellectually dishonest at the very least. Someone who kneecaps other DUers for a month and suddenly has an epiphany doesn't hit Angel territory for moi.

[Tom Rinaldo]

131. I understand, but

it would be self defeating to the reason for this thread if we used it to argue about who is or is not "deserving enough" to be mentioned on it. Then it would just become like all the other brawling threads on DU.

That is why I asked we follow the "like mother said" rule for this thread:

"If you don't have something nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all".

Everyone can make a case for why they think someone is worth mentioning. No one has to agree. At least it stays a positive thread this way and some good people get acknowledged.

[Marrah_G]

129. KICK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!