Why some of the far left has lost all credibility

[BlueCheese]

I was feeling upset today about the sexual assault accusations from some of Bernie Sanders' allies against Joe Biden, and the effect it might have on party unity for the fall. I was also wondering why I don't really find the accusations very plausible, even though the last few years have taught us that victims often don't tell their stories for years, and that many people you might not suspect have been shown to be harassers or worse.

But it came to me when I was checking Twitter (yes, a bad habit) to see if there was anything new, and I came across the latest bizarre conspiracy theory being pushed by a few loud voices on the far left-- namely, that Biden's recent TV appearances have all been recorded in front of green screens, apparently to hide the fact that he's ill, or deceased, or otherwise incapacitated. If this needed any debunking, it was thoroughly done so tonight when his home studio setup was shown on the Jimmy Kimmel show.

It was then that I realized that this part of the far left has been pushing one discredited conspiracy theory after another for the last five years. To hear them tell it, you'd have to think that

(1) Hillary Clinton had Parkinson's in 2016. (Nobody mentions that anymore. Presumably she made a remarkable recovery.),
(2) Seth Rich was murdered by the DNC to cover up that he, not the Russians, were responsible for the DNC email hack,
(3) Joe Biden has dementia and can barely stand up. (This one lost steam after the Biden-Sanders 1-on-1 debate.),
(4) A media that had all but buried Joe Biden after New Hampshire and Nevada was secretly in the tank for him the whole time,
(5) The "establishment" sabotaged Bernie Sanders by forcing candidates with no chance of winning to drop out after South Carolina, and
(6) well, you get the idea.

So when a claim of sexual assault is made by one anti-Biden person, in an interview by another anti-Biden person, and the signal is then boosted pretty much only by other anti-Biden people (along with a few gleeful Republicans), one might wearily think that this is simply the next one in a chain of hard-to-believe conspiracy theories.

The sad thing, of course, is that sexual harassment and sexual assault are serious issues, that should be taken seriously in the great majority of cases. It's possible that despite the holes in the story that the accuser is telling the truth. But the people pushing this have too many obvious ulterior motives, and way too much history, to believe them right off the bat. They've simply cried wolf far too many times.

[BlueCheese]

1. I imagine it's likely only a matter of time before Biden is asked about this.

But I also really hope Sanders is asked about this-- asked if he believes the story, and if not, why his surrogates and supporters are pushing it.

[Skittles]

25. are you replying to yourself?

[BlueCheese]

3. You bring up a good point.

I was in fact too general in my post. Most people with very liberal views are very reasonable people who only want to help others. I was referring to the loud minority who often dominate the discourse online. Sometimes these folks are referred to as Bernie Bros, but I was trying to be less directly antagonistic. I see that my choice of words was poorly advised, and have tried to edit my post accordingly.

[Hekate]

4. Give it up. "The Left" has peddled every one of the conspiracy theories (lies)...

...mentioned in the OP. When called on it they accuse the rest of us of "bashing" and "hating" and Senator Sanders himself claims to have no knowledge of any of it at all, and neither does he full-throatedly condemn it.

Don't complain about the OP -- that's just another Democrat who has figured out that no matter what concessions VP Biden and the Party make to Sanders, "the Left" ain't gonna vote with us.

Instead they'll smear Biden (who has on the nomination -- count the votes, Sir) and ensure a Trump win in November. I mean senility? Rape? Good gods.

[Cha]

7. Her post is dead on.. whether you acknowledge it or Not.

[OnDoutside]

6. Well said. And that's why giving in to demands Sanders might make,

is not only futile, it would hurt his efforts to bring along independents and moderate Republicans. Joe is best pivoting to the general election. I suspect that the remaining primaries will only increase his margin of victory.

[Cha]

8. Yes it is.. and of course it's

vehemently denied. Vehemently.. I tell you!

[OnDoutside]

10. Yes, the outrage is vehement, and appears coordinated ?

[Cha]

11. More like

MO, imo.

[Cha]

9. Thank you, Hekate.. Spot ON!

[PufPuf23]

12. The odd thing is one will come across more folks stating these CTs to bash

the Leftists than will find Leftists actually pushing these CTs, many of which are right wing wacko theories.

The bashing and scapegoating of an ill defined left has a negative impact on getting Democratic votes and is tiresome.

[showblue22]

26. We can see who is who ya know.

I mean, there are many Bernie supporters who still believe Russia hacking was a hoax.

[NCProgressive]

29. Sanders killed the left with his divisive campaign and made the left a pariah

So, Sanders did not push the party to the left. Left's unreasonable demands, whining and extortion pushed the party to the center where there are votes to replace what the left is threatening to withhold.

When people can borrow money from a bank, they don't have to go to a loan shark and put up with oppression.

[CountMyVote4Reality]

13. If you go left far enough, you will come around to the far right.

While I agree the conspiracies listed in the the OP are ridiculous lies, I’m not entirely sure that they originate from the left. If we’re truly concerned about party unity, it doesn’t help to point fingers at each other. Whomever benefits from a divided party is the most likely source.

[oldsoftie]

22. Oh boy do i catch hell every time i point that out!

But its true; even if the "conspiracies" may be different, the attitudes and obstinance are very similar.

[Skittles]

15. PLEASE feel free to define "far left"

oh yeah

[whathehell]

18. Yes. We absolutely need to start definiing our terms

When I say "we", I don't mean just on DU. I hear terms like "far left" and "the 'center" (as in 'moving to the center') all the time on cable news, for instance, with no attempt to define them.

[oldsoftie]

23. It depends on who you ask.

To some on the right, if you are pro choice, you are a "liberal". Even if you agree with them on EVERY OTHER party position. And to some on the "left", if you are pro-life, your are right wing, even if you agree with every other Democratic Party platform point

[Skittles]

24. and trolls think ALL liberals are "far left"

yes indeed

[KitSileya]

16. Yeah, they're adopting the methods of the rightwing too.

Link to tweet

[ucrdem]

21. +1

Even the NYT is not above catapulting RW bs like SBVT as a "story" they are "covering."

[Hav]

17. To add to that,

the fact that the latest accusations aren't picked up and embraced by, for example, other figureheads of the metoo movement, is just another puzzle piece in their conspiracy theory that this story got buried. What happened was apparently that they looked at the story and didn't find it credible at all. Similarly, I'm sure other journalists/news stations have looked at it simply for the reason that Biden is in the spotlight now. So far, none found it credible.

This behavior of denial is part of the pattern as well, every counter argument to their theory becomes a part of the conspiracy. God knows how often we saw that in regards to Clinton.


" (3) Joe Biden has dementia and can barely stand up. (This one lost steam after the Biden-Sanders 1-on-1 debate.)"

It only lost a bit of steam. You can still find more than enough who cling to this dementia fantasy and that Biden cannot talk for more than a few minutes. I don't even read that much on Twitter, only through DU, and I still saw that claim again the day after Biden had this hour long online talk. They obviously cannot think that through because it doesn't make them wonder how someone with dementia kicked their messiah's ass in the most recent debate.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. The 5 pts you assign to the far left are all RIGHT WING talking points. Lots of bots & moles. . . nt

[nolawarlock]

31. Yes, and all of them have been adopted by Bernie Bros ...

… Heck, in 2016, the Bros trucked out every right wing anti-Hilary talking point but Ron Brown's plane.

[ucrdem]

20. The list is a long one and goes waaaay back.

Ricky Ray Rector, Sista Souljah, Tarmac haircut, Mogadishu, Whitewater, Monica, Paula, I don't think there was a RW meme they didn't run with. Very fishy and Bernie has been a leading megaphone since 1994.

[nolawarlock]

32. Yep. Just one.

Ron Brown's plane. I kept expecting it here on DU in 2016 but I saw all the ones you listed and more.

[Yavin4]

27. If you've been sexually assaulted by Biden, why tell only one journalistic source?

Why not tell your story to a broader audience? Why not go to the police? Why not file a civil suit?

[BGBD]

28. Absolutely

that group is not credible on anything. Just look at all of the conspiracy theories they have pushed recently.

A lot of good things came out of #metoo, but it also made it more likely than ever that someone would try to weaponize it. We saw this attempted with Robert Mueller and Pete Buttigieg recently we also saw women try tonoush fake stories to newspapers to try to discredit them.

It's pretty hard to believe a woman with no proof and a clear political motivation to hurt Biden.


She tried to peddle this to legit outlets who wouldn't touch it, so it was pushed by Bernie propagandists and echoed by Trump propogandists.

[Kerrycrat]

30. You mention holes in her story

I’m aware of her story, but not the holes in it.

Mind you I do wonder about her possible name change.

Which holes are you talking about?

[nolawarlock]

33. How about ...

First she says she left DC because of the way our nation treated the "a compassionate, caring, visionary leader" that is, apparently, Vladiimir Putin. Later, the reason became Biden. Now, where the story was always just a bit touchy feely, now there's actual penetration where it was never mentioned before. This person has no credibility and you can kinda tell based on who's pushing it versus who isn't. I have yet to see Sirota, Gray, or Turner touch this though Turner retweeted an unrelated post by a screen name implying it (which could have been changed later. Susan Sarandon (of course) is pushing it.

[nolawarlock]

34. I take that back.

Nina Turner's comments on Susan Sarandon and other posts can be found under her "Tweets and Replies."

I hate these people with a fire I normally reserve for Trump. So disgusting.