I enjoy the discussion. If it is possible to find the "truth," then that is great. But especially when it comes to politics, we often don't discover the truth until we look back, and then it is the truth about history that we discover, not a truth that we could have ascertained through a dialectic investigation.

I'm a Bernie supporter. I have carefully thought through my reasons for supporting him. I'm not a historian, but I love history. I find that I am more emotionally invested in my support of Bernie than I normally am in a candidate. I think it is because, at 72, I look back on the political choices I have had in my life and realize that Bernie is a once in a lifetime, once in a century wonderful person and candidate. I agree with him very strongly on moral issues.

In my life, I have been active in dealing with issues of the poor, of poverty. My father worked to try to alleviate the suffering of the poor also. I believe it is religious duty to do that.

So of course, Bernie's emphasis on economic inequality is one that I understand and strongly support.

If Hillary is the candidate, and I have said this many times, I will vote for all the other Democrats on my ballot but not for Hillary.

and shared respect when points are scored.

I go to GD: P to gauge the tone of things but I rarely comment because there are a lot of raw nerves.

get good responses.

It's quite amazing how people can post and post about why they like a candidate and never explain why they do. To me as one who likes debate and discussion, it is incomprehensible.

My dad absolutely trained me and my siblings on how to debate in a formal debate. It was fun. He gave us topics to discuss at the dinner table -- things like foreign policy. We were just kids and we loved it.

DU as you point out is not structured for that sort of formal debate. But people could do a better job of expressing themselves.

She is a Great Lakes girl -as am I. If it's about voting record - she voted the same as Sanders 93% of the time - and sometimes their differing votes were about gun control. She broke away from her GOP family to be a Democrat. She lost to Obama in an elegant and gracious way and worked her ass off for him. She campaigned for Rick Snyder's opponent in 2014. She worked with Marion Wright Edelman. Most of her former and current colleagues endorse her. She kept her marriage together in front of the world. She is passionate about women's wages and Planned Parenthood. She was a driving force at the World's International Women's conference in China in the 90's.

She...is me.

large homeless project -- trying to raise money.

A lot of Hillary supporters are more interested in the social issues than in the economic ones.

I think that is what divides us.

I really want campaign finance reform although I realize it will be very difficult to take all of the corruption out of our political system. I think it is so important that we go there, and I don't think Hillary understands that.

Also, I'm on Social Security. That is our income (my husband and me) since we are older. I do not trust Hillary on Social Security because she is not eager to raise the cap on the payroll taxes. It is important that we do that.

I agree with Bernie about jobs especially for young people who belong to minorities. A surprising number of people who are homeless simply cannot get jobs. I remember a homeless guy who walked for hours to another county just to go to an interview for a job.

And many of the children of my friends, kids who graduated with college debts, have jobs that do not pay enough to start families and repay the school debts.

So economic issues are of great importance to me.

I note that Hillary voters are mostly interested in social issues.

There is a split in the Democratic Party for that reason.

In recent elections, the Democrats who are liberal on social issues have won. It's time we who care about the economic issues win. I'm afraid I will no longer be so active in politics if the Democratic Party does not start working to change the economy.

I have never been married, I have never owned property. The future terrifies me in many ways. While I am not one to equate Hill and Bill, the only time in my life my wages rose significantly was when Bill was the president. I have actually been a self-declared Socialist (not in party but in other ways) for many years. On paper, Bernie would be my guy. But he's didactic...he has a lack of nuance...th other day someone asked him about conflicting statements he had made about Hillary's emails and he yelled, "the middle class is shrinking!"

I am not ashamed that I cry over her victories and think that I, an unmarried woman, will finally have hope that I can see someone of my own sex as the first Madam President. And yes, I think it should be her.

Thank you for your reception.

You don't wrest control of the largest economy in the world from the hands of an entrenched oligarchy with a gentle suggestion.

May I ask you to review the linked document as an example of the stranglehold that is already in place?
http://www.citizen.org/documents/PresidentialWTOreport.pdf

I think you nailed it with that -- why women support Hillary. If Hillary gets the presidency it will be partly due to the sexism and inequality for women at the root of American society. The desire to see a "strong woman" rewarded.

So I understand that much about Hillary supporters. We all need to understand just how much she is a symbolic choice for hard-working women who are continually run roughshod over in this culture.

But the rest of her negative baggage is Yuge. She is there because she has been pre-selected as the Corporate candidate. I'm sure you know what I'm referring to without my making a list. With Bernie we have a candidate who is in a much better, less compromised position to actually do something progressive.

Come back and tell us how great things are for you if she attains the presidency. Seriously. I want to know. I do care very much about how it is for women in America. That's why I choose Bernie.

why they are Hillary fans. I tried very hard to stay positive.

--because of the fact that they admire her strength. I said that your statement "she is me" does motivate a lot of women to go for Hillary. The sexism in our culture is behind a lot of votes for Hillary. I DO talk to women who are voting for her, by the way. I don't live in a bubble. I think it is misguided to think that Hillary is in a good position to do much to change women's lives for the better.

Now what did I say wrong?

But you will vote for the other Dems???

Campaign finance reform is a huge issue to me as is Social Security.

I do not trust Hillary on those issues. I also do not like fracking, and Hillary is for it.

Here in California we have a serious water shortage. We cannot afford to have water with chemicals in it pumped into our meager water supply. Fracking should not be allowed anywhere in California. I like our governor very much, but I strongly disagree with him on fracking (which he favors).

I disagree with virtually every stance that Hillary takes that is different from Bernie's.

I think that she is a great danger to our country because she is too quick to turn to violent means to solve international problems.

I think she will OK the trade agreements including the TPP. I have had some dealings (very low level) with the NAFTA court and I strongly disagree with the concept of trade courts that can enforce judgments against nations in favor of corporate petitioners.

I could go on and on. I will not vote for Hillary, but I will vote for all the other Democrats on my ballot.

I think a Hillary presidency would be a terrible step backwards for our country. I have listed a few of the reasons. There are many, many more.

We are such an uneducated, illiterate society. We don't know how to use facts to prove a point, and persuade a person to our view point. All we know how to do is insult, bully, and intimidate people into cowing to our viewpoint. And that tactic rarely actually works. All it really does is entrench the person even more in their own viewpoint.

from many points of view and rotate the ideas and see all sides of it. And find ourselves a little closer to the truth in the end. That means posting a variety of articles on the same topic but that vary. That means going both into the past and the future. Flush it all out. Get the widest possible scope. And come to a new understanding of the world and all of our place in it. Or as close as is humanly possible.

Didn't happen.

What went wrong?

I'll aim my mouse over the "Post my reply!" button and click it in a second.

Yes, I find it here and try and support it as best I can.

It is fun watching people twist themselves into pretzels to make contorted logic fit reality. Like HA Goodman for example.

Watching Hillarybots become increasingly apoplectic as their hero crashes and burns in November. It will be the only bright spot in this tragedy we are calling an election.
And if I'm wrong? We're still stuck with a conservative who won't even keep abortion rights off the table.

Democratic.

who pose as Democrats.

I did not join DU for that, I joined for solidarity with other anti-war anti-Bush lefties. Sometime post 2008, DU started turning right wing. My focus changed at that point.

But I'm getting tired, if I want to fight right wingers I can step out of my door and open my mouth.