Dear ALL Democrats -- Hard Fighting Tactics Work
A few days ago I saw the folks up in arms over Chris Matthews referring to Bernie Sanders as a Socialist over and over again. He was incredulous that voters were supporting him and incredibly disingenuous about what Bernie stands for as a Democratic Socialist. This is but a taste of the tactics that I know many Hillary supporters are convinced will cause Bernie to be crushed in the general.
But several things happened.
1. Bernie supporters, who I've seen a lot of Democrats cringe over because we're not always polite were...not polite. We fought back. We raged at Chris for his lack of fairness and lack sense, and then we pulled out the big guns and showcased the cronyism that is a product of our current "Establishment" culture. Matthews' wife's ties to Hillary Clinton's funders was raised for all to see and a petition to MSNBC was created that gathered several thousand signatures for him to be disqualified from covering the race. And...it may have actually worked.
2. Last night I watched Chris Matthews and he was incredibly complimentary to the race that Bernie is running and his entire campaign. He no longer acted as though Bernie is some crazy buffoon. He treated Bernie with the respect of a Presidential Candidate.
I know some people cannot stand anything that reeks of disagreement, let alone actual strong conflict. In many ways, the tactics employed by Sanders' supporters in this incident resemble the behavior of Republicans operatives who constantly harass the media for perceived malfeasance that as we all know, isn't always fair.
But if we want the media to treat our candidates with respect, to treat our issues with respect, and fundamentally to treat US with respect, we cannot let false charges and hyperbole go unchallenged. That's a sign of weakness, and when one is weak, one doesn't get respect.
Imagine what could have happened if Kerry's supporters had been as organized over the Swiftboating. The media slimed him. It was incredibly disgusting. And they succeeded. That was twelve years ago and the power of social media has grown tremendously. We really do have the power to hold our elites accountable.
I am not advocating for going after every reporter or article because it contains information we don't like. But fairness and accuracy in reporting is a supposed goal. And we should be vigilant in holding the media accountable to deliver the actual news.
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