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In reply to the discussion: I think du should welcome people who voted for trump and subsequently woke the fuck up [View all]pat_k
(9,313 posts)86. I suspect the percentage...
...of people who voted third-party, wrote in Sanders, or withheld their vote entirely in some kind of protest, or whatever, who have since become staunch Democrats is very small, but not non-existent. People can, and do, evolve politically.
Skinner's blanket statement that "This site only welcomes people who voted for HRC in the GE" does not reflect the Terms of Service I agreed to abide by as a member. I agreed to this:
Do not post support for Republicans or independent/third-party "spoiler" candidates. Do not state that you are not going to vote, or that you will write-in a candidate that is not on the ballot, or that you intend to vote for any candidate other than the official Democratic nominee in any general election where a Democrat is on the ballot. Do not post anything that smears Democrats generally, or that is intended to dissuade people from supporting the Democratic Party or its candidates. Don't argue there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats.
Why we have this rule: Democratic Underground is an online community for politically liberal people who understand the importance of working together to elect more Democrats and fewer Republicans to all levels of American government, and as such we expect our members to support and vote for Democrats at election time. Rare exceptions are granted at the sole discretion of the DU Administrators. (Current exceptions: None.)
Why we have this rule: Democratic Underground is an online community for politically liberal people who understand the importance of working together to elect more Democrats and fewer Republicans to all levels of American government, and as such we expect our members to support and vote for Democrats at election time. Rare exceptions are granted at the sole discretion of the DU Administrators. (Current exceptions: None.)
As I read the above, if you do not advocate, and cannot foresee a situation in which you would consider voting for anyone other than a person running as a Democrat in a general election AT THE TIME you join or post, you are welcome. If your position changes, and you choose to support a candidate running under a different party banner in a general election, you should terminate your membership.
Here's the clarification I need:
Does "This site only welcomes people who voted for HRC in the GE," mean that a person who voted for Stein, or didn't vote, who, at the time they join or post, is committed to doing everything in their power to make sure Democrats prevail in future General Elections, and who has no intention to advocate voting against Democrats, is nevertheless violating terms of service by virtue of their past action?
If it means that, the terms of service need to be revised to reflect that.
And if this restriction is made explicit in the Terms of Service, it must necessarily be a blanket restriction, because the belief that underlies it is that people are incapable of evolving politically, and anyone who ever identified as a member of another party, or who voted against (or failed to vote for) the Democratic candidate is forever suspect and stained, and therefore barred from participating on this Democrats Only site. To apply the restriction to some, but not all elections, would be capricious and arbitrary. By what objective criteria would you draw the line? who decides which elections of the past many decades it was ok to vote "Not Democrat" and which it was not? Do we bar all Nader voters? Do we bar all Perot voters? Do we bar all Anderson voters? McKinney voters? Is the restriction based on results? Is the problem that Hillary lost? Would you bar all "not Hillary" voters if she had won? If the objective criteria boils down to results, it would be a rule meant to punish in a way that strikes me "nasty" and therefore inconsistent with DU principles.
I need clarification because I may well be a member in violation. In 1980, I voted for John Anderson. In 2008, in the GE in NJ (where Obama led by double digits), I voted for Cynthia McKinney. I did not advocate voting for McKinney here, but she was running on vital issues and I wanted to be counted among the people supporting them. I am not, and never have been "a Green." In NJ Obama's victory was safe. I didn't vote for McKinney because I had turned Green. It was cast purely to demonstrate support for principles and changes that, as a Democrat, I believe the Democratic Party should be stronger on. If that vote makes me a traitor to the party who needs to be ostracized, I would like to know it.
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I think du should welcome people who voted for trump and subsequently woke the fuck up [View all]
elehhhhna
Aug 2017
OP
You go first. Step 1, vote for the Democrat. See how that works? WE don't join YOU.
WinkyDink
Aug 2017
#8
The hostility occurs when there is outright attacks against Dems and the Dem party
Fla Dem
Aug 2017
#68
People who supported Sanders and O'Malley in the primary and HRC in the general are 100% welcome
Maven
Aug 2017
#51
It's not a matter of who they supported in the primary. It's who they voted for in the GE.
Fla Dem
Aug 2017
#64
If Sen. Sanders supporters voted for Hillary...fine...but if they didn't then no.
Demsrule86
Aug 2017
#87
Voting for Trump pretty much shows a person's true colors. THIS IS WHAT THEY VOTED FOR:
MrsCoffee
Aug 2017
#116
Thanks. I'm up on current events so I'm well aware of Trump stupidity and antics.
ATL Ebony
Aug 2017
#118
Then you should understand the reluctance to welcome people who voted for that.
MrsCoffee
Aug 2017
#119
I understand that winning involves voters and turning them away or ignoring them
ATL Ebony
Aug 2017
#120
Do you understand that if we don't secure our voting process it doesn't even matter?
MrsCoffee
Aug 2017
#144
What about the BoB'ers who knew damn well what not voting for Hilalry meant?
JoeStuckInOH
Aug 2017
#4
They're welcome to join the party and make contributions. And to read DU. Not to
bettyellen
Aug 2017
#23
There were horrible attacks toward hard working and committed Dems here much of last year- until
bettyellen
Aug 2017
#44
I am mean spirited and mad as hell at people who claim to be progressives
Eliot Rosewater
Aug 2017
#78
The act of not welcoming people who sabotaged the Democratic efforts is not mean-spiritedness.
Squinch
Aug 2017
#113
Those BOBers have proven that they are not people we can depend on in the future. I don't
Squinch
Aug 2017
#111
+1 Yeah & What about the ones now rejecting thier Trump vote but who STILL hate Hillary ??
lunasun
Aug 2017
#93
Not sure people's feelings on hillary matter much anymore (except as a litmus test).
JoeStuckInOH
Aug 2017
#114
Just figure if they fell for all that and still don't see it as propaganda they will be hooked again
lunasun
Aug 2017
#115
Do you, now? And just where are these "huge opportunities" for the converted morons?
WinkyDink
Aug 2017
#7
How do you teach someone to not vote for a demonstrated bigot, misogynist, racist mocker
LuvLoogie
Aug 2017
#52
I didn't read Skinner's statement as an absolute, merely a sentiment implying support of the Democra
LanternWaste
Aug 2017
#16
Yeah noticed a few super-literal replies in that thread, along the lines of
emulatorloo
Aug 2017
#48
You mean like all those rust belt guys who were so concerned with economics? You crack me up!
Squinch
Aug 2017
#28
The people who heard him calling Mexicans rapists and murderers solely because they were
Squinch
Aug 2017
#36
I see. So they voted Trump but had an awakening and now support equal rights for women, POC, LGBTQ
Maven
Aug 2017
#49
people got to start somewhere. People don't just wake up one day entirely enlightened on every issue
JCanete
Aug 2017
#94
Please - It's always how do we reach out to idiots who don't know who to vote for
XRubicon
Aug 2017
#59
If they are genuinely interested in electing Democrats, why would they discuss 2016?
yardwork
Aug 2017
#85
Sure, but I don't think such a person should run around bragging that they voted for Trump...
D23MIURG23
Aug 2017
#97
if they really woke up they would apologize for it and accept why people are upset
JI7
Aug 2017
#126
I don't like the foul language but agree 100% that we need ALL Dems; Past, Present and FUTURE!
JoeOtterbein
Aug 2017
#127