Don't stab the person in the back that you may need tomorrow....

[kentuck]

If your candidate was sitting in NH tonight and was not in Iowa, you may think he won by not being in the race. Don't kid yourself. Show a little humility. The person you are badmouthing tonight may have supporters that will have to go to another candidate sooner or later. So you don't want their support? I am disappointed in a lot of so-called Democrats tonight. You have no right to talk about any of our Democratic candidates as if they were Republicans. You have no foresight. You have no vision. And in the end, you will have no candidate. Be careful of who you make your enemy.

[jmaier]

1. I completely agree

I'm a strong Wes Clark supporter and we haven't achieved anything tonight. Our fight is still ahead and we should basically be polite and stay focused on our business.

[Nashyra]

2. I could not agree more

just look at the Kerry supporters in NH. CNN has a split screen.

[KittyWampus]

32. Pearls Of Wisdom From A Wise DU'er.

thanks, Kentuk

:kick:

[DrBB]

3. Another Clark supporter who agrees, here

I've posted any number of pro-Dean messages, and I do NOT think supporting Clark means disparaging Dean or anyone else.

Although I will add, that your thread title is very well-taken advice to ALL candidate supporters, including Dean's.

[Rowdyboy]

4. I offer nothing but sincere congrats to Senators Kerry and Edwards,

condolences to Rep Gephart and best wishes to Governor Dean.

[Guaranteed]

5. Hey- I'm a Dean supporter. I've given up!

There's no talking any sense into these people, so why the hell try? I'm just gonna drink and be an asshole to the Kerry and Edwards supporters until I pass out. :) WHOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[mmonk]

6. I agree on the bad mouthing

and I can't say anything negative or judge Iowa when my candidate didn't run there. It will even take awhile to digest it all.

[roughsatori]

7. This site is a disgrace this evening, and I'm not a Dean supporter

I notice that most of the hateful responses come from supporters of a candidate who was not even in Iowa. The posts tonight about Dean's insanity sound very Hannity like and reinforce my belief that many of a particular candidates supporters on DU are not even Democrats but Freepers who are using a moderate candidate as a cover for their intended attacks on the Democratic party.

[IndianaGreen]

11. I strongly dislike some of the Clark "supporters"

and I put that within quotes because you cannot trust a person's avatar, much less who they say they are, unless you have known their posting history for a long time.

I don't think that Wes Clark is like some of his "supporters" in here. As a matter of fact I think that Clark is a far more attractive candidate than what some of his detractors say he is.

I hope Clark does well in NH, in fact, I hope he does very well against Kerry.

[WillyT]

12. Yep... Clark Is Alright, But... Many Of His Supporters Here...

:hurts:

[funky_bug]

15. Indiana

As a former Hoosier, I thank you for your post. I know there is bad blood all around, and I know some of my fellow Clark supporters are not showing the integrity that we expect from a stranger on the street. On behalf of all of them (whether they want agree or not) I apologize.

This Clark supporter remains in support of all our candidates. Not only am I ABB, but I am pro-party! These guys are busting their arses trying to get Bush the Lesser out of the White House. I fault NONE of them for that (and I have backslapped a few Clark, Kerry and Kucinich supporters tonight for being gigantic arses.)

[Ramsey]

18. Clark has been high on my list

But some of his fans here at DU are really really rude. They certainly do not reflect well upon their candidate. In fact, they are starting to make me want to look elsewhere for my number 2 choice.

Way to go Clark supporters. You are turning off potential allies with your incredibly nasty behaviour.

[funky_bug]

22. I agree

Some of my fellow supporters are quite rude. I know that there are "rude dogs" in all camps, but that doesn't excuse their behavior. I hope that you will accept my apology on behalf of them all (whether they want it or not).

[KoKo]

13. I agree, this is the worst I've ever seen it on DU. It's really OTT. And

makes me wonder, also.

[mmonk]

14. I should take exception to that

but I don't agree with the attacks on Dean either.

[bicentennial_baby]

8. I agree

but you can't say it's a suprise...

[hlthe2b]

9. Once again, the voice of reason, Kentuck

I couldn't agree more.

[kentuck]

17. Thank you, RockyMtnGirl...

:)

[Catherine Vincent]

10. I don't have a candidate yet.

You're referring to the Dean board. We were only being honest. There were a lot of Dean supporters that felt the same way.

Don't worry, I still like Dean.

[Tatiana]

16. Ron Reagan actually made a good point on MSNBC with Tweety.

Tweety played the video of Dean's rallying, "we're not gonna give up" speech. He was trying to bait Ron into saying something negative about Dean, I think. But Ron, to his credit made a wonderful point, which I think some of us should consider.

He said that regardless of whether Dean lost Iowa or not, ALL of the Democratic candidates have benefitted from Dean's candidacy. Dean brought about the fight and fire in Kerry. Dean helped Clark to get on point with his message. Dean's being the frontrunner, not only in this race, but as a national figure criticizing Bush when criticizing Bush wasn't popular, helped Edwards to slide in beneath criticism with his own populist message (irrespective of his voting record as a Senator).

If Dean isn't the nominee, whoever is should thank him. He's prepared our candidates for the Bush machine. He's showed us how to find alternative methods of fundraising. He's showed us alternative routes of grassroots organizing. Dean's campaign literally has revolutionized the way campaigning will be done in the future.

We ALL, as Democrats, owe him a great deal of gratitude.

[ronnykmarshall]

25. Wish I'd seen that.

Ron Reagan is really outspoken. Must have pissed Tweety off when he didn't trash Dean.

[DrBB]

29. There was a whole thread on this point last night

...and a very well-taken one it is, too. Might be worth hunting that thread up and giving it a kick or two.

[WillyT]

30. Bravo Tatiana, And Bravo Ron !!! --- Dean, At The Least, Has Given...

the Democratic Party, and Democratic Candidates, a well deserved kick in the pants. They've caught some of his fire, his internet fundraising, and have been revolutionized by his candidacy.

No matter what happens this election season, he deserves our thanks.

:bounce::kick::bounce:

[Rowdyboy]

19. So could someone please give me an idea of what I can do to make up for

the slimebags that post rude digs using Clark avatars? I've challenged them from time to time but it doesn't force them to stop being assholes. I can bitch and moan all I want but they still do what they will. What can I do?

[DrBB]

27. Maybe we need a separate "NON-ASSHOLE" AVATAR

...for all candidate supporters.

I know exactly what you mean--I think this behavior is completely unnecessary, immature, stupid, whatever, and I've repudiated it on any number of threads. But that doesn't make a lot of headway with Deaners who feel burned by rabid Clarkists. And I've seen a number of perfectly rational Deaners who have repudiated Clark bashing... etc.

What if we had a "Non-asshole Clark supporter" avatar, a "Non-asshole Dean supporter" avatar, and the other candidates well? At first I thought I would suggest it as a joke. But actually, I kinda wonder....

One version: you could LOSE YOUR RIGHT TO IT if a certain number of people alerted on you for rude anti-candidate assholery. Probably a nightmare for the moderators, but pretty doable from a programming standpoint.

On the other hand, non-Asshole candidate avatars might not really need to be automated it for it to be effective. If you were brandishing the thing it would tend to keep you honest as to how you treat other candidates' supporters, lest they come after you for hypocrisy. And people who didn't want to feature it would be tacitly declaring their intention to be, well, assholes, if they feel like it. Might be an interesting experiment, anyway.

I dunno--maybe I'm just suffering from hypoglycemia. It's lunch time here on the East Coast....

[depakid]

20. I think my opinions on this are well known since I've been ragging

about all the negativity on the GD forum for going on 2 months now. And it's not so much that I'm a Dean supporter (I've defended Clark many times) as it is that I'd rather see positive discourse and discussion about the issues and actual positions of the candidates rather than one insulting and juvenile thread after another. It's gotten so bad at times that it makes me feel as if the party is about to splinter apart, just as Greens and Independents were finding their way back.

Tearing each other down with distortions and right wing talking points is just downright unpleasant and self destructive. It's certainly no way to build the enthusiasm necessary to beat Bush- nor is it any way to attract people to one's candidate.

I hate sounding school marmish- I have as thick a hide as anyone, but the kind of BS that's been going on here is the very last thing we need. After all, in the end, there will only be one person left standing and if the a sizable number of people become alienated in the process, no one wins.

[Ramsey]

31. Thank you!

Very well said. This forum has becoming a pissing pot rather than a venue for information and discourse. It has become quite useless sadly. It doesn't have to be that way, of course, but I don't have high hopes that some will be able to behave like civilized human beings.

[Tim_in_HK]

21. True dat, True dat n/t

[Maeve]

23. There you go, being reasonable again!

:hi:

I have my opinions on this race, but I'm keeping them to myself for now. The only thing I'm sure of is that we need everyone pulling in the end and everyone pulling the same way!

[ronnykmarshall]

24. Amen!!

WHooooooooo!! Testify!!! Glory!!!!

I'm feelin' spirit!!

Kick someone get me a pianna, I'm gonna play like Little Richard!!

On a serious note: :yourock::yourock::yourock:

[Walt Starr]

26. I don't feel like they stabbed me in the back, Kentuck

But I sure as hell have been watching myself being stabbed face on for several months now.

[DrBB]

28. And plenty on the other side of the Dean/Clark divide

...feel exactly the same way, of course.