When did we all become so petty and dumb?

I remember when I first came to DU and read so many long posts where DUers were talking about issues, about voting machines and the technical ways they could be used to defraud elections, about the history of progressives and the lies of the right wing establishment, about the tangible ways right wing policies would and are ruining the world.

And when we were our gloriously snarky selves, at least we pointed those guns towards deserving targets like Bush, Limbaugh, Cheney, Rove, and friends.

Now all we do here (at least on GDP) are repeat and create sensationalist cable news talking points against our own candidates.

Some "online community"!

If we were a real community, we'd all be running around, lighting each others homes on fire and shooting at windows with the lights on.

I'm making a personal commitment to not get suckered into this anymore. I will defend all of our candidates, both here and out in the field. I will do my part to make DU the place where liberals, progressives and those who are sick of what the Republicans have done to the country and the world can come to find hope, support, and excitement for our future. ALL of our candidates offer more of that than "10,000 years of war" McCain or "Nightmare of the 21st Century" Romney, and I'm not going to forget that.

There's plenty of room to discuss policy differences or other election concerns without being a jerk. Respectfully, if you want to be a jerk, why not get a blog and put your nasty thoughts out there instead of here? Because DU really is a community. And when the primaries are over, I know which party I want to win the General Election. I'm not going to be the one who hears the points I make today being thrown back in my face by Republicans if my candidate doesn't win the nomination.

I know my voice is only one of the many here, and DU is what we all choose to make of it. But I want my voice to make it that place of fun, excitement, wisdom and support that it's been for me these past few years. I hope you do, too. Thanks for listening.

...then it's handshakes.

Maybe tomorrow, we can all explode if someone notices that one of the candidates has a hangnail.

Gee. Usually one is forced to attend a WWF match to experience
this level of stimulating intellectual discourse.

:eyes:

It's a sign of bad grooming, and we all know that a candidate who cannot
trim their nails is a candidate who is soft on terror.

...are suffering from primary fatigue.

People are frustrated by this long nomination process. The ups and downs---are like a drawn-out
roller coaster ride through the dark.

Kind of like Mt. Everest in Disney World--but without the scary Yeti thing.

Many posts are people venting, or looking to blow off steam through comic relief.

I think many people--on all sides--are losing perspective.

I'm just suffering from Obamaexcusearitis.

Merck has a pill for that.

Call your doctor if you experience blindness, night sweats, random screaming and insatiable Twinkie cravings.

A yeti, a yeti, my kingdom for a yeti.

That's the year it all began.

The open hate and loathing towards supporters of another primary candidate is a new thing this year. It wasn't like this in 2004.

Maybe not quite this bad -- but the stakes are a lot higher.

The fact that they had to make us our own special gutter this year says a lot.

in that Kerry won early, Dean imploded, and Edwards ran a spirited but firmly cemented in second place campaign. There was really never much in contention. Unlike now, where the split has been very wide and each of the top two candidates has won a share of the primaries so far.

Before the primary season began, there was really nothing much to argue about. Everyone here believed Bush is a flaming moron, ne of the greatest detriments to this country that we have seen since Nixon. But now we have something to argue about; how best to undue his tainted legacy.

Once the primaries wind up, it will all return to normal here. Peopleon all sides here realizse there's too much at stake to continue another Nader-like splintering.

Many of the posts I've been reading are from long time members who are branding our various candidates as liars, corporate whores, Republican enablers, etc. etc.

I don't see these people changing their minds if/when their candidate fails to become the nominee. I hope your right, but my guess is that it's going to be like this for a long long time.

Everyone will be united again.

Just joking in defense of your post. You are absolutely correct, and I do hope you message gets through to some people (who know who they are).

Thank you for a good and reasonable post.

Redstone