If I am for candidate A and you talk bad about candidate A, (even if well sourced) of course you are talking trash.

Why I call this "silly season: Now with more spleen."

And as far as I can tell, everybody is doing it, but you can sort of tell shifts for different groups.

Non partisan eye on this

Pass the popcorn. Tough yesterday I did call a few for their dishonesty. Yup, they got me to go, that is one line too far. this place will get insufferable am afraid.

that a public figure can't help and which has absolutely no bearing on his or her qualifications, experience, and track record of doing the job at hand.

It's bogging people down in a lot of jackass trivia to avoid having to look at the issues.

they vote. In fact, many people vote strictly based on whether they like the candidate or not. That's why you need a likeable candidate who doesn't get miffed at personal insults and faux pas. Obama was elected in great part because he just let the little nasty insults, etc. roll off his shoulder. He was never perturbed by pettiness in others. At least he did not show it.

Personality and speaking style as well as appearance determine the outcomes of elections.

Think of the Nixon/Kennedy debates and how they affected the outcome of that election.

Anything said about Bernie is fine.

Speech that is intended to rattle the other person by insults and ad hominem attacks; the use of blatant lies and half truths with the intention of causing the target to lose focus. It is really successful when the other person wastes energy and time trying to disprove it.

What it is not is speech based on facts that are about the issues at hand. The problem with this is that we have grown up being entertained by smart asses on TV and elsewhere and seem to lose interest when faced with the truth. If this doesn't apply to you then count yourself among the bright minority. What did they call Al Gore, a wonk?

One person's trash talk is another person's criticism.

and often something that is misleading.

So "Hillary Clinton loves Wall Street bankers" feels to be in the trash talk realm, but posts showing her less progressive economic record in less slanted terms would not be.

"Bernie Sanders only cares about white people" would be trash talk, but posts talking about his need to appeal more to people of color, or his lack of explicit discussion of social justice issues, would not be.

delves into characterizations of the supporters of other candidates. I'm fine with hearing why you like one and hate the other, I do not want to hear anything about what you think of me, or another voter. At all.