Reply #8: Joe Blow is a jerk [View All]

[welshTerrier2]

wanna watch all the "advocates" pile onto a thread ... insults are by far the best way ... but, what happens when you insult the candidate's position on an issue but you don't mention the candidate at all? the "audience" of those who reply to your post is entirely different ...

what message does this send? it says that the "advocates" are more passionate about the candidate than the issues the candidate advocates ... not much of an endorsement there ...

and then there's the shameful talking parrot syndrome ... good old Joe Blow thinks we should be doing "x" on issue "y" ... his advocates, usually only in threads that mention Joe while discussing issue "y", also endorse position "x" ... they are passionately supportive of Joe's position ... well, passionately supportive until Joe changes his mind and switches over to position "z" on issue "y" ... and the next day, the advocates are now passionate about position "z" ... i call it talking parrot syndrome ...

and i have reflected on the idea that perhaps my view of this is too harsh ... perhaps some people come to a candidate based on faith in the individual; i'm not structured that way ... i have MY views on the issue and if a candidate i support disagrees with me, the last thing i would do is assume they must be right because they "know more" or they're so much more experienced ... i feel obligated to call them as i see them ... i can't get behind what i see as blind following ... maybe that's wrong in some way but i just can't get there from here and frankly i can't respect that sort of loyalty without criticism ...

finally, fwiw, i do NOT have a "hidden favorite" for '08 ... i am sitting on the edge between being a Democrat or looking elsewhere for a party ... i will always support progressive Democrats as a first choice; at the presidential level, however, i do NOT believe the Democratic Party or those likely to lead it have aligned themselves with my set of beliefs ... this is not to say i wouldn't vote for the '08 Dem candidate ... it's to say i'm not hearing my issues raised and i don't feel the current crop represents me ... i won't elaborate on the details in this thread ... how i'll address that with my '08 vote remains to be seen ...