The reporter makes general statements like “It’s unclear if Sanders will get the same voter support in 2020 as he did in 2016” and “He’s a lion of the left, but not the only one roaring” and “some aides who worked on his last campaign have signed on with other candidates.”
Those. Are. Not. “Smears.” They are simply statements – statements that fall short of the unrelenting hagiography that (a tiny minority of) Sanders supporters seem to demand.
Look: This is the third or fourth piece I’ve seen posted which claimed “THEY’RE SMEARING US!! THEYRE SLAMMING US!! I FEEL SMEARED!! BRING ME MY SMELLING SALTS!! ” when the link provided didn’t actually show a smear or a slam.
I know some people are really sensitive – but I think this kind of pearl-clutching does more harm than good. It’s like when the super-extreme feminists go overboard with calling out “microaggressions” that no one but them can see. It drives away the majority of regular people by tarring the whole movement as made up of thin-skinned crazies who feel insulted all the time. And it is very much like what Trump does: attacks the “Lying Media” to whip up his extreme fan base.
