The initial results of Super Tuesday’s Democratic primaries have not been received well by supporters of Bernie Sanders, who were quick to cry "foul" as former Vice President Joe Biden revealed a surprising growth in support after showing poor results over the preceding two months.
Recalling the WikiLeaks revelations, as well as various conspiracy theories from back in 2016, Bernie Sanders’ supporters rushed to Twitter to complain that the Democratic Party establishment had allegedly once again gone to great lengths to prevent the progressive Vermont senator from winning the nomination, accompanying their publications with the #RiggedPrimary hashtag.
These are polls from the past 5 days. Not only was Bernie leading nationally, he was the top 2nd choice, even the top 2nd choice for Buttigieg supporters
— Bernie2020 For America (@ThomasICarrier) March 4, 2020
The idea that Biden just miraculously rocketed to the top nationwide is complete unadulterated bullshit #RiggedPrimary pic.twitter.com/uYyw4TTSsa
See how fast they do that? Corruption in a blink of an eye. 16k increase over Bernie now. Over just 13% more votes counted 50%-63% from under 1k to over 16k. This is NOT DEMOCRACY! #RiggedPrimary !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111 pic.twitter.com/1FPVUFQeO9
— Jim Lilly (@American4lien) March 4, 2020
Some of his supporters blamed Sanders' ideological competitor, Senator Elizabeth Warren, for aiding the DNC's alleged attempts to deprive the Vermont senator of the nomination, arguing that she should have suspended her campaign and endorsed Sanders a long time ago.
Elizabeth warren took away 100’000’s of progressive votes from Bernie for just staying in with no chance what so ever .. resulting in a big wins for Biden .. don’t tell me the system is not against Bernie #RiggedPrimary #SuperTuesdayResults
— Michael Nazli (@iThinkBuzz) March 4, 2020
However, Sanders' supporters, also known as Bernie Bros, faced criticism from their fellow Democratic voters, who accused them of pointless whining over the Super Tuesday "loss". Namely, they argued that the "rigged primary" was in fact just people voting for candidates that they actually like.
People who think it's a #RiggedPrimary are beyond reason. It's not rigged, it's called voting. That means convincing folk you're the best choice. When they choose the other person, u didn't do your job. Just like u want your vote "earned" so does everyone else. Stop whining.
— Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) March 4, 2020
The voters rigged the primary by voting for their preferred candidates. #RiggedPrimary
— Elad Nehorai (@PopChassid) March 4, 2020
Some netizens noted that Sanders was the only person responsible for his underperformance on Super Tuesday, although others argued that his combative supporters were actually to blame.
Bernie supporters don’t want to admit that Bernie had a bad night because the youth didn’t show up at the polls and democrats felt alienated by his divisive language. So out with the #RiggedPrimary excuses 🤡
— Wakanda Forever 🙅🏽♀️ (@PlainJane357) March 4, 2020
I can't honestly say that #RiggedPrimary is baseless, because yes, the DNC has made a concerted effort to keep Bernie from winning, However...#BernieBros also have themselves to blame by being assholes to anyone who wasn't one of them all year, even to Allies like Tulsi & Yang. pic.twitter.com/TT0GxAGCtl
— Kayrosis🧢🌺☂️≥ (@Kayrosis) March 4, 2020
Did the establishment rally behind Joe Biden to consolidate the moderate vote? Yes. Does that mean this is a #RiggedPrimary? No. It means we have more work to do to inform voters about how progressive policies will transform their lives and this country for the better.
— Ryan Knight 🌹 (@ProudResister) March 4, 2020
Several Twitterians went as far as to compare Bernie Bros with Trump supporters, citing their alleged aggressiveness. Others added that the "rigged primary" allegations only benefit Trump, with Democrats having desperately been seeking to expel him from the White House since his election several years ago.
Bernie Bros don't realize THEY cost Bernie votes.
— Dawn Howard ❄ (@realdawnhoward) March 4, 2020
They act just like Trump's base.
We've had enough of that rat shit in our peanut butter
This was not a #RiggedPrimary.
All this #RiggedPrimary shit does is help Trump. The right is trying to get Bernie voters so convinced he's getting "robbed" that they'll stay home in November if he's not the nom. Who does that help? Not any cause Bernie cares about. Not the left. Not the country. Just Trump.
— Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) March 4, 2020
Senator Sanders didn't call it a #RiggedPrimary -Trump did.
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) March 4, 2020
Because Trump is a stupid corrupt racist incompetent reality tv star who can't stop lying, he must aggravate the division in the democratic base as deeply as possible
This hashtag plays into that.
The discussions about a "rigged primary" and attacks from Bernie Bros haven’t gone without wild "Russian meddling" conspiracy theories, with some suggesting that the whole ruckus was orchestrated by the Kremlin.
Don't fall for the Russian propaganda hashtag #RiggedPrimary. It was created by Russian bots & Trump supporters to make Democrats question the DNC and election integrity.
— Ms. Krassenstein (@HKrassenstein) March 4, 2020
The GOP will do anything to win, and that includes working with Russia on stupid hashtags.
Only a Russian Bot or a sociopath would call it a #RiggedPrimary pic.twitter.com/2ZJDurZZ0o
— The Tweetwit 🆘 (@TheTweetwit) March 4, 2020
Oddly enough, some netizens were unhappy with both of the two frontrunner candidates in the Democratic primaries, noting that the two have major downsides as possible nominees.
An old hippie commie and a dementia patient walk into a bar...I mean a Convention. #RiggedPrimary pic.twitter.com/jeVcRZEpmp
— Paula (@paula_carvin) March 4, 2020
