I’ve noticed that some journalists have taken to referring to Bernie Sanders supporters as “fans”— evoking an unserious comedian or singer rather than a candidate for the presidency — and not, correctly, as voters or supporters.
Josh Marshall did it today on Twitter:
And Matthew Yglesias has done it quite a few times:
At one point, Matthew Yglesias even goes so far as to refer to Bernie Sanders voters as “fans,” but Trump voters as “supporters,” in the same tweet.
So, at least in the mind of this VoxExplainer, Bernie Sanders supporters are even less serious than those choosing to vote for future Idiot-in-Chief Donald J. Trump.
It’s a small thing, I know, but words matter — especially when they’re coming from (generally) respected journalists.
Bernie Sanders supporters aren’t voting for Bernie because he tells good jokes or he has sexy hair or he’s stylish — no, they’re voting for him, because they think he would be a good President of the United States of America.
It’s dismissive, childish and petty for “journalists”— especially ones with an obvious axe to grind against Bernie Sanders — to refer to serious voters as “fans.”
I’m not a “fan”— I’m a voter supporting Bernie Sanders.