Reply #77: I had the opposite experience on another Democratic board... [View All]

at that time I frequented Smirking Chimp, and I had a similar experience being a Clark supporter and grassroots leader. One of the very first posts on Clark was "Wesley Clark: War Criminal." Now, can you imagine the nature of our conversations following a post like that?

The Dean supporters on that board were so castigating with their comments I felt I had no choice but to stop posting there. I started lurking on DU for quite a while then eventually joined, but this was well after the primaries.

To say that any one group or another was "better" or "more rational" than the other is, in my opinion, disingenuous. That's why I pointed out the "cultish" (although I think that term is a bit harsh) nature of Dean supporters.

If you want my honest, albeit provocative opinion, I think the Dean campaign was successful because it was "all about me." (ref: "Mediated" by Thomas de Zengotita). The Clark campaign had a similar feel to it, but it was ephemeral and had less emotional punch than the Dean campaign.