there are likely a fair batch of Bernie-supporters running false flag ops against Joe right now, which will diminish over a couple weeks

That’s Bernie country and if it’s not Bernie country it’s Russian troll country. So I’m more concerned with the so called “olds” who actually pay attention and show up to vote

BTW, great handle, HarlanPepper.

and it did not fill me with confidence
"it'll all be fine" -- yeah, thanks, i remember thinking that myself about 4 years ago.

And four years ago it was quite different...no matter how concerned you may be Joe Biden is the nominee and you should accept that and support him .

smears revolving around the perv label and going all the way to Criminal allegations (unofficially).

But we have to remember the Obama bashing in 2008, some taken up by MSM, liberal MSM. It was fierce and unrelenting.

Honestly? I believe we have a widely appealing candidate Who won’t be thrown off and who is so well qualified and so right for now that these sick claims will not stop him.

i'm really hoping you're correct about Joe's appeal for the long term

People are fending for their lives right now. No one (except the deplorables) gives a shite what that idiot in our White House is saying. They are listening to their governors and mayors.

You are looking in the wrong place. Look at the visceral hatred that most have for Trump. It is a return to normalcy that people want and that is EXACTLY what Biden is.

They are enthusiastic to get back to where we were. It wasn't perfect, but it SURE as hell wasn't like this (and since November 8, 2016).

maybe i'm just catching a lot of late-primaries flak from Sanders supporters

Right now, my Facebook is full of Sanders supporters having meltdown after meltdown.

I'm a late boomer who did my masters late in life with a lot of millennials who LOVE Bernie or Liz. (Liz was my 1st choice, too). My feeds today are full of "Great, which alleged rapist do I get to vote for this time?"
YMMV

i know it's probably temporary, but it makes me nervous nonetheless

in a way the worst thing for me isn't the bashing, much of which is obviously ridiculous, it's the lack of push-back from Biden supporters. i think there's a PR nightmare developing, and may i be completely mistaken.

still stuck in 2016. I won't mention the sites. I don't want to give them attention, but I'm sure most here are familiar with them.

I'm seeing a lot of the same Pro-Bernie sentiment, how establishment Democrats and Republicans are the same, emphasizing the need for a real revolution, etc. It's not the same level of anti-Hillary vitriol from back in 2016, but once the campaign heats up and Russian troll and bot farms get up and running, I suspect the anti-Biden stuff will increase.

i hope in the future that live-stream is featured on DU's landing page

Excitement. Joy.

Among the "progressive" crowd, the kids who couldn't be bothered to actually vote, the ones who believe the sun rises and sets on Bernie, who might be old enough to have voted for Obama... but probably didn't...

...the aging hippies who sat out the '68 election, who believed one Nixon term wouldn't be so bad it if taught Democrats a lesson...

... a lot of pouting. Some are enraged. Mass disbelief. Conspiracy theories.

Face it. Just like the number of yard signs, bumper stickers, crowd sizes, and small donations, internet "excitement" doesn't win elections. Joe Biden just proved that.

And may pitch a fit, but historically that age group hasn’t been AS important.

Maybe that would help ...

He is hated.

Not sure what online areas you frequent, but MANY people know the stakes. AOC and her progressive allies in the house, many liberal actors who were outspoken for Bernie are now issuing full throated calls to support Biden.

in both this race and the last; he was resoundingly defeated by actual voters both times. Internet noise is meaningless.

asserting that Biden "has dementia." This falsity of this is self-evident. I see pushback too, listing Dotard's many examples of mental deterioration.

The loudest voices online (on both the left and right) are angry, aggrieved, hateful, divisive and use smears that have the same energy of the Obama birther smears. Some percentage of this is surely Russian trolling. I ignore it except to the extent that addressing it will stifle any subterfuge against the U.S. elections. Otherwise, I am not remotely worried. The coalition the Dems built in the 2018 midterms and those who have shown up in droves to vote for Biden during this primary tell me that Biden is just the person people are looking for in 2020. The silent majority is ready to reject extremism. It's probably not fair to expect deep passion and excitement in people who are craving calm.

which is very disturbing.

One is an Iraqi American who says he can't forgive Biden's support of the Iraq War under Bush.

The other is a Latino-Native American man and marijuana activist (who has used cannabis to treat burns he suffered in a wiildfire). He says he can't support Biden as a minority and because of his opposition to cannabis legalization.

Both think that since California will vote blue no matter what they can afford to throw their votes away, but I am concerned that such talk on social media can be read nationwide and potentially influence votes in states close enough to matter.

I've seen decline--to-state voters also saying they are disgusted at Biden for not supporting healthcare for all especially now with the pandemic - people who lost healthcare due to losing jobs but also older folks not ready for Medicare who can't afford their premiums anymore.

So yes Biden has a big PR problem. He really needs to pick a progressive minority woman as VP and abandon his opposition to a Medicare for All policy - at least say he'd support if we could find a way to pay for it.

I wonder how much we are saving by not deploying troops right now? Imagine if we just cut some less essential military expenditures long term and paid for healthcare instead.

Biden does not like to over promise. He doesn't want to say he will do something when he knows it is not going to happen. Strengthening ACA, adding a public option is doable and will help most people faster. It actually is the most progressive plan since it is the plan that can get done. I really don't think it's about medicare for all. Look how they treated Warren.

> Biden does not like to over promise

a fair bit of what Trump does is over-promise, exaggerate, hyperbolize, and self-promote. there will be a stark contrast, and a severe enthusiasm gap.

I think we're more than ready to move on from that type of rhetoric. Biden will not only win but win BIG. I don't feel a problem at all.