The Cult Crap

[Undercurrent]

The whole Cult of Personality meme was started by the Repugs. Remember the stupid Paris Hilton, the End of The World/Messiah, and the scary other in front of huge crowds (read The Great Mesmerizer) ads?

For "liberals" to buy into it, and use it as a talking point/attack/smear would be the height of hilarity if it weren't so ugly, damaging to our party, and our goals.

[CBR]

1. Ignore it. The same people who make these charges -- cult, kool aid,

cheerleader -- claim you are not a real progressive if you criticize DK or Dean. It is just a lame way to isolate a poster without replying with substance.

[NJmaverick]

2. When I hear that charge, I ask them if they are reffering to the Howard Dean cult

that usually shuts them down quick enough.

You point is not lost though, nor is that the only right wing meme that has been adopted at DU

[Cha]

3. I'm use to the "Cult" thing from the primaries..

At first I was bewildered by it but now I know it's just a lazy way of shooting down the opposition.

Ironic since when they support someone they have the same loyalty..I think we know who I'm talking about.

[Number23]

4. "Cult" makes more sense than "paid DLC stooge"

I have seen the same 6 or 7 people go around this site and call 1/3 of DU "paid DLC stooges." Does the DLC have that damn much money to be paying this many people to post on a damned Internet message board that 3/4 of America has never even heard of?? Do these people really think DU is so important that the DLC or some other shadowy organization would be paying people to post stuff here? And why does it seem as though the only people who are accused of being paid to post something here are the ones with something even remotely positive to say about this administration?

Do people who throw this out TRULY not realize how stupid and crazy they sound?

[Undercurrent]

5. LOL

So true! Yet another conspiracy theory hung around the neck of the DLC.

One of the new talking points is that Rahm strong armed poor Dr. Dean to get him to shift his position on passing the Senate bill to say it should go to conference. Now we have people accusing others of being Rahmbots.

So many plots and boogie men it's starting to sound like a long lost XFiles script!

[Arkana]

10. People treat the DLC as some sort of evil shadow organization that

has secret members everywhere.

They didn't even have the money to have their convention this year.


People are looking for someone to blame, because that's what they do--never realizing that maybe if they channeled some of that anger towards something productive they'd be a lot happier.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

23. You didn't get your check this month?!

Call payroll...Probably just the holiday rush.

[SeattleGirl]

6. Sometimes I'm tempted to respond, "Yeah, and your mother

wears combat boots!" Except I doubt their mothers deserve that insult.

:)

[treestar]

7. Just came upon one saying some of us never criticize the President!

Like we have some duty to go looking to find something to criticize! And then as if they ever have anything positive to say.

[NJmaverick]

8. do we have to criticize him? The republicans, tea baggers and the alleged dems here at DU

have that more than covered

[treestar]

9. That's what I was thinking too

Why bother? DU has that covered itself. We don't even need to go to freeperland for it.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

24. You really CAN'T disagree in GDP...

because all it does is invite wild accusations and name-calling (all directed at Obama). Are there aspects of the economic plan I think should have been (and should be) handled differntly? Sure. Iraq and Afghanistan? Got a couple of ideas there. Health Care Reform? Give me some White-Out.

But you can't have a civil discussion in there, so there's no point in disagreeing.

[RoyGBiv]

11. I have a somewhat different view ...

I believe there was or is a cult, of a sort. However, I believe the members of that cult were those who projected upon Obama beliefs and ideas that were not his and who are now reacting to having the shroud of their portrait unmasked. When I read the line, "I am disappointed ..." or words to that effect, in reference to something Obama has done or not done, I know I am about to read about the hopes and dreams of someone who believed a single man would burst into the office of the Presidency and suddenly make everything right again with one executive order.

This is not a criticism of Obama by any measure. I've never had any illusions about who he is or what he seeks to achieve, and I think, on the whole, those things are good things. But I never for a moment saw him as the leader of a movement to tear down Wall Street, establish single payer in a year, or walk into Congress and the courts of the judiciary with a virtual canon by his side and force everyone into doing his bidding. Indeed, I was counting on him *not* being like because I do not want a dictator.

[NJmaverick]

12. What really baffles me is that President Obama is doing what he said he would do

and what I expected him to do. I really don't understand the people that act shocked or suprised. He has made some minor errors, that mostly can be chaulked up to learning the new job, but the rest he is pretty much on track.

[Kind of Blue]

13. This may be a naughty thing to say

but I think lots of people thought they owned him, like a slave or their house boy. The expectations, which I clearly remember his team trying over and over again to lower, up to right before the election, was ignored. The ego must be satisfied because surely a slave will do what he's told without thinking.

The same thing IMO would have happened to Clinton, as well.

on edit: include the thought that after the mess of 8 years that will take about 100 to clean up, any Dem president coming in as a relief to us would face the same ordeal.

[RoyGBiv]

14. It may well be naughty ...

But, just to let you know, I've had the same thought. I'm a bit heartened to see I'm not the only one who has had it. I think it exposes a sort of racial prejudice among some on the left and is a kind of an example of the paternalism inherent in the way many otherwise well-meaning white people approach matters of race. This was something Frederick Douglass talked about a lot.

Oddly enough I wrote a sort of essay about it and sent it to a friend just last night, saying it was the kind of thing I needed to say to someone but dared not say on a discussion forum.

[Number23]

15. Would you be willing to post your essay in the African American Group here on DU?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=258

I know I'd personally love to read what you wrote.

[Kind of Blue]

16. Yeah, me to!

The sheer amount of vitriol has been amazing and disheartening to witness. I really think understanding the magnitude of it - from dispensing with history of all movements and what progressive really means - is baffling. And I'm going through one reasoning to another in trying to understand it, so I don't think this aspect should be overlooked.

Just this month, the government settled with Native Americans for the resources from their own lands that were taken. Then last week, a bill - not a good one, I hear - is going thru Congress for Hawaiians to be classified as native people so they can claim rights to their lands.

Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfoot tribe and who filed the complaint said, "No doubt" the final amount was "significantly" less than what those affected actually deserved. But "Today is a monumental day for all of the people in Indian Country that have waited so long for justice. Did we get all the money that was due us? Probably not... but there too many individual Indian beneficiaries that are dying every single day without their money."

I bring these examples up because Obama is doing so many progressive things that have frustrated Native Peoples for so very long and they've steadily work to bring about change.

I'm just trying to figure out why it's so easy and delightful to viciously verbally beat this man up for tackling the magnitude of old problems, especially problems brought about an administration that was so thorough in fucking things up.

[Number23]

18. lol I think this is the first time I"ve ever seen you use the "f" word!

:rofl: :spank: I understand. The volume of hysteria and stupidity around here could probably make Jesus cuss.

I saw a thread on the Native American reparations in GD and commented and rec'd. Of course, because this story is about a) brown people and b) the Obama admin doing its best to correct some serious evil that has been done in this country, the OP went absolutely FREAKING nowhere as you can see here - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7192844.

[Kind of Blue]

19. LOLOL... You got me!

:blush: Now, I don't think I'll be able to stop. It's like how fucked up does the country need to be to understand what fucked up means???

Thanks for the link! I don't think I noticed any talk of this on TV, just radio and on the internet.

[RoyGBiv]

17. I didn't think of that ...

Until the recent explosion of insanity (well, it's being going on for a good six months at the very least, so I may be a bit slow on the uptake), I have not explored the sub-forums as much as I should have. I know the quality of discussions tends to be higher in many, but I haven't acted on that.

In any case, I need to clean it up a bit. It has some commentary in it based on personal experiences involving my friend and me that would make no sense without providing a lot of back-story, and without those pieces, a different sort of bridge will need to take its place.

I'll try to get to that this evening or early tomorrow.

[RoyGBiv]

20. I posted it ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=258x9027

It's very long, the longest thing I've ever posted on DU. Believe it or not, it's actually cut down significantly from the original. As I say in the post, my friend and I write really long letters to each other.

I fear it will offend some people. Some probably need to be offended. Others I suspect may be offended unnecessarily due to a failure in communication on my part.

I hope it is taken in the spirit intended.

[Number23]

21. Thanks, Roy. I'm on my way to read it now!

[Silver Gaia]

22. Roy, I just read your essay. Wow...

I think you are absolutely correct. This is something I've been trying to understand for quite some time now, and you just laid it all out beautifully. Your essay pulls off the cobwebs hiding the ugliness beneath. I've been poking around the edges, trying to see it, but you've just illuminated it and now I can see cit clearly for what it is. Thank you so much!

[RFKHumphreyObama]

25. Roy, that essay is brilliant

Very insightful, thought-provoking and I agree with perhaps every word in it. I think you've really hit the mark on this one.

[Avalux]

26. Great post.

Couldn't have said it better myself. :hi: