At present there are two diaries on the recommended list decrying the poor treatment of Clinton supporters by Dailykos and Obama supporters. I'm sorry, but I just don't see it. As Kaiser Sosai said in The Usual Suspects, "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing everyone he didn't exist." Similarly, the greatest trick the Clinton supporters ever pulled was convincing others, even some Obama supporters, that they are innocent victims that are just targets of irrational attacks. To this I pose a series of questions.
What did you expect the response would be when Mark Penn implied that Obama had dealt cocaine and you came here and defended his statement as a valid question?
What did you expect when Clinton suggested, after a landslide victory, that Obama was the "Jesse Jackson" candidate and you came here and defended this statement as merely a "factual observation"?
What did you expect after the October debate where Clinton performed well below her ordinary level and subsequently released the "politics of pile on" ad, implying that she was an innocent being attacked for her gender, and you came here and defended this?
What did you expect when the Clinton campaign made highly misleading and dishonest statements about Rezko and Exelon, and you came here repeating these statements again and again after they had been debunked?
What did you expect when Clinton put out a flyer in New Hampshire deeply misrepresenting Obama's position on abortion and you came here and defended these false charges, repeating them again and again (to this very day), even after they had already been debunked?
What did you expect when, after yesterday, a meme started proliferating through the blogosphere linking Obama to terrorism, playing on assumptions about his name, and dredging up someone who was involved with the Weatherman Underground forty years ago?
For that matter, what did some of you expect when some of you continuously insist on referring to Obama as "Barack Hussein Obama" trying to underline associations with Saddam Hussein.
What did you expect when you made comments about Obama's Muslim heritage (this is especially common on MyDD), despite the fact that these have been thoroughly debunked?
What did you expect when you discounted a host of victories across the country by claiming they were insignificant or somehow not real?
What did you expect when you suggested that the only real democrats are working class democrats and the rest are elite latte liberals?
What did you expect when your candidate paraded Obama's childhood essay stating he wanted to be president and you came here defending her, claiming this was an indication of his dishonesty?
What did you expect when today they accused Obama of plagiarism and you came here defending her charge?
What did you expect when you defended your candidates claim that the delegates from MI and FL should be seated despite the fact that the rules and consequences were already determined from the outset?
What did you expect when you defend your candidates suggestion that the election might be decided by superdelegates even if the Obama is ahead in pledged delegates?
What did you expect when many of you constantly imply and a number outright state that support for Obama is determined by sexism?
What did you expect when you day in and day out claim that Obama supporters are members of a cult, that they irrationally support their candidate, that Obama is an "empty suit", that they are "Obamabots", etc. (This goes for Obama supporters that refer to Clinton supporters as "Billary supporters" or "Hillbots" as well.
What did you expect when you did all these things and then came here claiming to be a victim?
What did you expect?
What I see is people quite rightly responding to thin and misleading claims, and taking great offense at being attacked in unfair ways. Rather than screaming with spittle on your lip at Obama supporters, perhaps the first thing to do is look in the mirror and ask how you're talking to them and whether you're arguing honestly. It seems to me that what Clinton supporters expect is to be able to insult anyone they like and make all sorts of dishonest charges without anyone responding to debunk those charges and show why it's unfounded. In other words, they want to have their way regardless of whether it's honest. Rather than obsessing over Obama and continuously claiming to be a victim, why not instead talk about the positive attributes and policies of your candidate, making a strong case for why she should be supported. With a few exceptions (Alegre, who unfortunately falls into the accusations a lot too), I almost never see this from Clinton supporters, but instead see a number of negative arguments directed at everyone else. It is completely dishonest to suggest that somehow the ire towards Clinton supporters just emerged out of nowhere. We get what we give and if we give crap we'll receive it in return.