It's the end of the Democratic presidential primary on Democratic Underground

[Skinner]

This discussion thread was locked by EarlG (a host of the Announcements group).

It's been a little over a year since we opened the Democratic Primaries forum here on DU, and now that we have a presumptive Democratic nominee (Congrats, Joe!) the time has come to shut it down. We're going to let you all post your postmortems in there for another day or so and then we are going to archive it.

If you previously expressed support for Joe Biden in the primaries, your signature line in the DU Primaries forum still shows you as a Biden supporter. If you supported someone else, your signature line now shows you as "Undecided." I encourage everyone go to the DU Candidate Preference page and set your preference to Joe Biden if you have not already done so.

At the moment we do not know if we are going to set up a new top-level forum for the upcoming 2020 elections. We will be following discussions closely to decide whether we need to do so in the future.

In previous presidential election years this has traditionally been the time when the DU Admins would beg forgiveness for the pervasive incivility on the website and gently reprimand our members to try to make an effort to be nice. But I'm not sure any of that is necessary this time because overall I think this primary has been (dare I say?)... not so bad.

So instead I want to express my gratitude to all of you who came to DU during the primaries and passionately supported your preferred candidates, while treating your fellow DUers with kindness and respect. Thank you.

As we head into general election season, I feel like the members of this website are more united than we've ever been. As you know we expect the members of Democratic Underground to support Joe Biden and all other Democratic nominees in the elections this fall. But this year I don't think we'll have much trouble coming together to win in November!

Go Dems!

Skinner
DU Admin

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Thanks for a job well done, sir.

[AirmensMom]

2. Thank you, Skinner!

I don't know how we'd get through this without DU!

[Celerity]

3. Thank you for all your hard work.

[Throckmorton]

4. So long,

and thanks for all the fish.

[comradebillyboy]

5. This year was definitely better than 2008 or 2016.

[TwilightZone]

13. Agreed.

[Mike 03]

6. Thank you for the Primary forum.

It was fun and stressful... but who could resist it?

[LAS14]

7. I totally agree! I was heartened by the number of positive things...

said about candidates by people who had signed on for other candidates.

"But I'm not sure any of that is necessary this time because overall I think this primary has been (dare I say?)... not so bad."

[Drum]

8. Hallelujah! n/t

[The Magistrate]

9. Thank You, Sir

It is certainly time. Some of us will miss the scrap, I expect, and I would not deny I am among them.

Still, it is for the best, and I hope the customary post-primary purge may be avoided.

Be well, and stay safe!

[2naSalit]

10. Yay!!!

Finally. Thank you!

[Cha]

11. Mahalo, Skinner. Let's Do This!

& StaySafe!

[ZenDem]

12. Thanks, guys!

This is still the first place I come to in the morning. Even while I was 'away', I was here.

GO, JOE!!!

[SiliconValley_Dem]

14. I agree! It has been nice during these primaries

It would be fun to have a separate 2020 General Election forum.

[W_HAMILTON]

15. I can't say that I'm sorry to see it go!

Now, time to focus on what ultimately matters: kicking Trump the hell out of our White House and wiping out Republicans up and down the ballot in November!

[Hekate]

16. Thanks for all your hard work, Skinner. It's much appreciated.

[ismnotwasm]

17. K&R to infinity

[marble falls]

18. The framework makes it easy for DU to keep itself civil. Thanks, Skinner, EarlG, Elod!

[Me.]

19. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

[lpbk2713]

20. Glad to see the end of the divisiveness.

I never posted much for or against any particular candidate. Some
of the agendas grew tiresome. I hope we can all unite once again.

[flibbitygiblets]

23. 👆 +1

[mountain grammy]

21. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[question everything]

22. No need to change usernames this time

In previous years, I remember 2004, DUers were allowed to change their usernames if theirs was something like: GoLieberman, or something.. So many were allowed to change their usernames without losing their post counts.

I don't think I have seen anything like that since but, it is not as if I pay that close attention.

Thank you for keeping the DU ship afloat.

[Demsrule86]

24. Thank you Skinner. This had been a pretty good primary IMHO...and that is because of TOS and the

hard work of you and the other mods did to encourage civility while promoting shall I say 'lively discussions"!

[Kerrycrat]

25. I would like a place to discuss the election separately

General Discussion is dominated by Covid posts, and personally I need somewhere to go to get away from that. Otherwise I’ll have to dodge those bullets to see election talk.

Just my 2 cents

[G_j]

54. that's a good point

the Covid crisis is certainly overwhelming. For that reason, it might be worth considering a separate forum for the election.

[FailureToCommunicate]

26. Remember when we thought the primaries would never end??

Thanks, Skinner, and your team for all the clear pathways here to discuss, learn and interact!

[Dem2theMax]

27. Thank you Skinner!

All in all, it hasn't been bad this year. And going forward, I can't imagine anything but full-on support for Joe.
November can't get here fast enough!

[DarthDem]

28. Well done!

And thanks.

I do think a general election forum might be useful.

[TygrBright]

29. Thanks, you guys... stay healthy, please! n/t

[spicysista]

30. Thank you, DU admin!

Geaux Dems!!!!

[Initech]

31. LET'S DO IT!!!!!

[PunkinPi]

32. Thank you, Skinner, EarlG and Elad!

Let's go Joe!

[Hortensis]

33. "...members of this website are more united than we've ever been.

I've thought so but really nice to hear it from you guys.

Go, Dems!

[Sloumeau]

34. Skinner, thank you, and thank you to everyone here at DU! :) nt

[appalachiablue]

35. Many thanks to you Skinner and all for the very best politics

and news site on the web. DU is a treasured resource for those who want to know what's happening and how to make the world a better place. Here's to a great season and election ahead! ~ A.Blue

[Phentex]

36. Whoo hoo! Cornflake chicken for everybody!

Thanks DU Admin!

[livetohike]

37. Thank you for a super job and as always for creating

Democratic Underground .

[riversedge]

38. I do not think a separate Presidental forum is necessary. The LBN forum is fine. thank you.

[Gothmog]

39. Thank you for this forum

I would like to see a general election forum open at some point. This is going to be a nasty fight and trump is not going to go away without a fight.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

40. You are very welcome Skinner... many thanks, as always, for all you do to keep the trains runnin!!

[ehrnst]

56. Yep! Only one train now - the BIDEN train!

Time for everyone to get on board!!!!!!!!!

[calimary]

41. Thank you, Skinner!

Yeah, I think this one went more smoothly and less contentiously than in 2016. And that means thank-you's go out to EVERYONE HERE!

This time was much better BY FAR. Dare I say it was because Bernie supporters this time were as civil and cordial as can be. They proved we can have differences of opinion without verbal napalm or running many of us (including me) off this board. And it was THEIR behavior, this time, that did NOT trigger any reactive response that would start the verbal knives and bullets and fists flying. That was not the case last time. I give the Bernie folks here the main credit for that, this time. What a welcome change!

Hey, DU Bernie supporters - you have my thanks and my appreciation. You represented your man in a positive way, which reflected well on him.

[DFW]

42. Though I never qualified to post on that forum, I did follow it with great interest.

The civility mentioned in this OP was sometimes rather difficult to detect.

At other times it was both evident and heartening.

This seems to be a ritual DU goes through every time there is an open primary. I will be glad to see some of the "survivors" stick around. I know from experience that most, if not all, of those who came to promote discord, or to promote someone they were paid to, will now retire to wherever they came from, perhaps to show up in three and a half years, perhaps never to show up here again. What we must now promote is the defeat not only of Trump and Pence, but of those who would perpetuate the system that enabled them to take power in the first place.

A Democratic White House is a car with three wheels. It can drag along slowly and painfully, and it will be a dry refuge from the rain, if a very constrained one. That fourth wheel--the one that will let the car run along at the pace we now so desperately need--is a Democratic Senate.

Make no mistake--the Republicans know they lose the presidential election, and will cheat in every way shape and form they know of to reverse that defeat. Democrats are ready and waiting this time--something our overconfidence led us to discount last time.

But the Senate is a very diffuse target. People targeting Moscow Mitch's seat aren't in on what it will take to get Mark Kelly into the Senate in Arizona, nor flip Joni Ernst in Iowa, nor--dare I wish it? Leningrad Lindsey in South Carolina.

Let our battle scars from the presidential primary harden into armor for the general election. We are going to need it. If anyone thinks it is no obstacle to insert distractions because they think favorite aspects of their agenda take precedence, let's put the lie to THAT one here and now. Yes, it IS an obstacle. Save it for the Whiners Forum, or at least until after Biden's inauguration. Democrats have many a bigger fish to fry at the moment.

[calimary]

84. Good post, my friend.

[DFW]

86. Thanks, Mary!

I think we can leave out the "POS used car salesman" posts (and the "Biden is a rapist" posts--gimme a break!) at the very least until we have sent Moscow Mitch packing!

[Roy Rolling]

43. Good job

That is how a democracy works in real life.

[yonder]

44. A sincere thanks for not only that forum but also

paying attention to the gauges, valves and levers that keep this site hurtling down the tracks.

[Don1]

45. Go Unity!

[sprinkleeninow]

46. For all you do...💜

[nolabear]

47. You guys do know how you've shaped our lives, right?

Proud to be a DUer. ❤️

[Cha]

77. lol.. my home within my home.

[Kali]

48. I voted for him in our Primary, and of course will vote for him in November

but I don't really like faces for avatars, can you make a different endorsement signature? I prefer the nice blue D like your regular avatar, honestly.

(just being a spoiled brat, I barely go into that forum anyway )

[WheelWalker]

49. Right on! Here we go! Time to Beat the Drum!

"

"

[relayerbob]

50. Thank you!! A top level election forum section, similar to the primary one, would be nice

[SheltieLover]

51. Thank you!

I appreciate all you folks do to maintain this special place for us to get together!

And DU has the very best emojis! TY!

[Kitchari]

52. TY

[honest.abe]

53. +1

[Hermit-The-Prog]

55. Thanks!

[Gidney N Cloyd]

57. Thank you, gentlemen. Now is it time to award clemency to those users on hold for review?

[applegrove]

58. It went very well considering the stakes. We are all in this together. nt

[NBachers]

59. Thanks Skinner- Next priority- harden our defenses so we don't get kicked off by the Forces of Evil!

[BlueMTexpat]

60. Thank you, Skinner,

EarlG and Elad for having this site! It has literally kept me from going completely insane.

I KNEW in Nov 2016 that there was something wrong with the election when this site was hacked on Election Night.

It was clear to me then that there were illegalities that should have been investigated before ever allowing 45 to set foot in the WH.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. We have been living a nightmare since!

Let us end this nightmare in Nov 2020, if force majeure does not intervene in the meantime. (I keep hoping.)

Let us also retain the House, win a majority in the Senate and oust Mitch McConnell FOREVER!

[yuiyoshida]

61. "because overall I think this primary has been (dare I say?)... not so bad. "

Its easy with Trump being their candidate and if anyone votes for him, well they haven't been paying attention...to whats going on in the world.

[seta1950]

62. Thank you

For all that you do, you’re the best.

[Firestorm49]

63. Thanks. I'm proud be a member of the community.

[liberal N proud]

64. Now, let's kick some ass!

Vote Blue blue blue

[stonecutter357]

65. K&R

[Backseat Driver]

66. It's been real, Skinner. Thanx for all the discussions regarding all our Blue candidates!

[proud patriot]

67. Thank Goodness

Let's Win This !

[BigmanPigman]

68. Well done!

[greatauntoftriplets]

69. Thanks Skinner, EarlG and Elad!

Onto the election.

[flying-skeleton]

70. Well Said & Well Done. Thank You.

[backscatter712]

71. Bingo. I'm still a Bernie supporter - as Senator of Vermont. Biden 2020!

or as an honored member of Biden's Cabinet, of course!

Biden won fair and square.

[Polybius]

72. Thanks Skinner, and I personally would love a top-level 2020 elections forum

We can talk about all 2020 races, like the important Senate elections too.

[highplainsdem]

73. Thanks, Skinner!

[orleans]

74. thank you skinner. love you

and everyone who keeps du running.

please stay well

[greytdemocrat]

75. Thanks to DU Mgt.

I just wish our guy was stronger.

I'm really afraid Trump is going to
chew up Biden.

I like Biden but he is...lacking.

Hopefully it won't matter and the
hatred of Trump will carry us to
victory.

[Cha]

78. Well that's just your opinion and I wholeheartedly

disagree.

Biden Supporters know better than that.

[Lucid Dreamer]

76. Please archive and immortalize the forum.

Administrative Skinner,
I would like to have the contents of the Primarys forum available in some read-only for at least a year.
There are writings that could be worthy of study and evaluation.
It could be interesting to see what predictions came true or failed.
Can that be done?

I really appreciated having the forum available during the primaries. Thanx.

[Lucid Dreamer]

87. Well, the Democratic is now available as a "read only forum"

I sure that is just standard procedure or policy, not an answer to my request.

[RandiFan1290]

79. I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary.

Changing the avatar would be disingenuous.

[Sunlei]

80. thank you DU!

please this time don't let the republican funded spoiler campaigns like jills & the malejill gain a toehold here.

[Maxheader]

81. Hey skinner!

When ya gonna start another "mail" forum?

Like before where you guys have really neat/snarky

responses to obnoxious msgs.. from wingers...I

think that would be great during the run up to nov...

Thx,,red1

[Cozmo]

82. If I am stlll alive 11/4/20

Let's compare what we have and what we we were promised. come 11/4/2020. At this point in time. I fear that a free and fair election is no longer is a part of the discussion. trump is gonna force that anti-malarial drug down your throat. Don't spend your $1200 just yet. it's their idea of a sick joke. Geez, hope Miller, Mnuchin and Jar-Jar are having a good laugh. Maybe this virus will wipe out all the reasonable people and natural selection can start doing it's job.

[UncleNoel]

83. The Democratic Primary Fourm has been my life line to the elections.

I want to thank the admins and Skinner for making this a great place to come to. And I thank all the posters, no matter who you were in favor of, for mostly civil posts and sometimes cheerful back and forth. I have met many great people here and look forward to the General Election Forum. In the meantime, on to General Discussion.

[flotsam]

85. But there's this...

"If you supported someone else, your signature line now shows you as "Undecided." I encourage everyone go to the DU Candidate Preference page and set your preference to Joe Biden if you have not already done so."

I did, however now my page says I would vote for Joe Biden in a primary and this is NOT true. A more proper line would be "Joe Biden is who I will vote for in 2020". This may seem like a quibble but you are asking many posters to lie in the cause of democratic unity and that seems wrong to me.

[musicblind]

88. For the sake of organization, I hope you'll consider a General election form.

I like having a place to discuss the election without it bleeding over into my generalized topics.

Either way, you guys have done a great job this year, and congratulations on the civility!

[UTUSN]

89. My eyes are still smarting from the *ONE* time I posted in Primaries. Pls yes to a GE forum!