So, the so-called “Old Coalition” is just so five minutes ago, eh?
Not so fast, guys. We are forming our own party. We are the PUMAs. Meaning Party Unity My Ass. (h/t SM for the title)
Oh, and Chris Van Hollen should stop expecting Hillary Clinton to do all of Obama’s heavy lifting for him. It is not her job to unify the party for him. It’s time he did his own work for a change.
She can urge, cajole and campaign for him. We will follow our consciences. And as voters no longer affiliated with the Democratic Party, we feel no obligation to support it’s nominee. So, don’t even bother with the Unity shtick, DNC members. Frankly, we don’t give a damn.
Filed under: General | Tagged: Party Unity My Ass, PUMA |
The Confluence 
Chris Van Hollen is a Pelosi drone.
How can turn out be this low? With 14% in, it’s looking like turn out of about 240K? That’s cant be right.
pls get me out of the sewage drain again, thks, rd
Melanie: I’ve read varying reports on turnout. The last one was about 500K. Not too shabby for a Sunday in June.
The PUMA Party? Where do I sign up?
Just when I was feeling so delightfully post-partisan.
Does PUMA have to be a Party? Couldn’t it be an un-Party instead?
Of course if it’s just a cocktail party, you can count me in.
Riverdaughter you never cease to amaze me. I like Puma shoes and i love the PUMA party.
14% of precincts not total vote is what that usually is.
As for Hillary, she owes them nothing. They stole this election from her.
I love PUMAs!
Felines are feisty…I can dig the PUMA party!
They haven’t stolen the election from Hillary yet.
Good thing about being an independent is you can talk about both parties as a neutral observer.
Hillary’s speech will start soon:
http://www.cnn.com/video/live/live.html?stream=stream1
Aren’t Dems from OH, RI, PA, KY, WV, PR automatic PUMA members?
We are talking here about Dems who went out of their way to thoroughly HUMILIATE Obama after he was given to them as Their Nominee.
This is an issue the media refuse to talk about: Democrats about the country have been soundly rejecting Obama over and over and over again, especially since he became The Chosen Nominee. I don’t think something like this has ever happened.
How thats what i like. i am tired of all them fat cats telling me who i should vote for, i am for
. i am joining the PUMA,
So don’t even bother with the Unity shit, DNC members. Frankly, I don’t give a damn
Count me in. I’ll take a fighter over a unifier any day.
Here’s the Fox News article Taylor Marsh linked to about McClintock’s view of turnout.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/06/01/clinton-set-to-emerge-victorious-but-even-puerto-ricans-unconvinced-of-her-candidacy/
Can you believe Obama wants Hill to push his non-universal health plan? He’s more arrogant than Bush.
Well it is Obamaisms…”Bush’s fourth term”? He is a constitutional professor after all!
Maybe the MO “Whitey” video does exist. The MSM is picking up the story.
I just heard that the BO campaign is saying that Hillary’s campaign “ended strong” because they stopped “engaging” her and focused on McCain. Wow, now that is spin!
Roger Stone interviewed by Geraldo says a TV network has the whitey video. Fox News clip can be found at No Quarter.
Stone broke the Spitzer scandal story.
When will any of the insider Dems expect Obama to do something for himself?
Or is everything someone else’s fault?
I mean, I know they (PR) chose it…but who has a primary on Sunday??? Just a little weird, but maybe Sundays are different there. Doing some quick math, it doesn’t look like that big of a turnout…maybe 340k total?
“Well it is Obamaisms…”Bush’s fourth term”? He is a constitutional professor after all”
I’m still waiting to learn about our other 7 states.
Fox News clip
stopped engaging her?
{snort}
thats rich…the Two Minute Hate, the WWTSBQ demands, the racebaiting, the assassinwatch, monsterwoman frothymouthing have been hourly, round the clock for 3 months.
Zero changed. Zip. Zero.
We got a campaign solicitation in the mail from BO. I wrote “Hillary” in lipstick on the coupon and mailed it back in their postage-paid envelope. I plan to do the same thing to any DNC or Dems who sided against Hillary in the primaries. Make them spend the postage.
Karl Rove just said on Fox that McCain should play up his strength – keeping the country safe. Yup, as opposed to a cocky SOB with “unresolved personal issues” that make Dick Nixon look like Beaver Cleaver.
You guys have to watch what is going on in PR where Hillary is about to speak.
What a party!
San Juan only at 13% reporting.
On CNN Donna Brazille just said that Hillary does way more events than Obama, and it was agreed by all that she works harder than him, and then Brazille said, you know as women we have to work harder than men…and the other one, “a woman’s work is never done!” I can’t believe this banter!
lovin PUMA lovin it..
ronkseattle
kewl we can sing the mad hatter tea party song:
a very merry un-party to me
to me
a very merry un-party to we
to we
Gee, well then by all means let’s not nominate the hard working woman. Why do that??? Hehehehe.
I love it! And the symbol is a pink feline. Yay PUMAs!
MABlue, I demand you include MA on your list of humiliating losses. We defeated him by 15%, even though all the big party hoo-ha’s tried to force him on us. PA was only a 10 point loss. We know quality.
MA Blue: The PR music is great. Talk about enthusiasm. I loved the Señora Presidenta chant.
We got a campaign solicitation in the mail from BO.
How depressing. I just sent back the DNC solicitation and the Gore DSCC one w/ ‘remove from list’ — postage on them. Looks like there’s more for next week.
Brazille said, you know as women we have to work harder than men…and the other one, “a woman’s work is never done!” I can’t believe this banter!
This is the BS ‘sexism’ discussion. Too late.
I guess we’re about to find out how much Spanish Hillary knows… 🙂
“I’m Seeing Red…Tornado Red
’m not even going to waste my time discussing the Democrats’ RBC performance. I’ll just say that this party is no longer my party. The whole exercise was despicable. As has been the entire primary season.
So, the one bright spot of the last week has been the fact that I went out and bought a new car. It’s bright red. I’ve never had a bright red car before and never would have considered it (heavy foot = tickets) except for the fact that the deal was too good to pass up. A few people have said that red matches my personality, which they claim is lively and outgoing. I’m thinking I’m one of those “older, undervalued women voters” who has become so fed up that she just had to break loose!
First, here is a picture of my new car!
MORE…take a break and let me tell you about my passion for VWs since I no longer have any passion for the Democratic Party!!
BB:
I left us out of the list. I included only the Dems who kept rejecting him after the Media decided he was the nominee.
At least on Super Tuesday the O-freakoids weren’t so arrogant.
Folks, BTD has a good analysis of PR turnout. Apparently neither party within PR had interest in driving up vote count. However, he says considering it’s not a bad turnout.
Check out his analysis at http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/6/1/164819/8287
Sure, as soon as he moves to English the CNN reporter cuts in to talk about the low turnout.
Does anyone besides CNN carry it or will I have to watch the computer?
RD: Wouldn’t this image make for a terrific banner?!!!
http://bp3.blogger.com/_t-EfdceTs60/SEMIF3pb-AI/AAAAAAAADso/osJoT2FOoCI/s1600/HillaryPuertoRicoWin2.jpg 🙂
CNN reporter said 20% turnout. 2.4 million registered voters at 20% turnout is 480K. But its at 56% precincts reporting already. I’m confused. San Juan is still out though.
72% of precincts reporting, 257,000 voters so far.
The patronizing tone on CNN is really grating. I’ll turn the sound down until the speech starts.
Now I have to listen to Ricky Martin music all week b/c of this, right? …oh well, the things I do for Hillary…
Hill’s on!!!
Wow, the audience booed when Hillary talked about Obama and electing a Democratic President. Shouting Hillary! Hillary!
Heh, the audience is great…booing Obama (not that I encourage that, but there it is), and when she said, “We need to have a Democratic president” the audience seemed to communicate “only if it’s you!” and starting chanting, “Hillary! Hillary!”
Not alot of unity in this room 🙂
PUMA? I like it. Can we color the cat green? You know — just by way of suggesting one possible alternative. Pink is an admixture of red and white, which kind of sends the wrong signal.
By the way — Larry Johnson wasn’t able to embed on his site the Fox News segment on the “Whitey” video.
I have it up on my own site.
Just sayin’.
We’ve broken 100K vote get. 76% reporting.
She is lovely, in every sense.
I’m so glad she ended up saying “fighting” 4 or 5 times! THAT sends a clear message (never mind that the CNN folks are so sure she will not take it to the convention.)
Obama is 46 now. In 8 years, he’ll be 54, ripe age to run for President again.
Well, I avoided doing homework to watch her speak…she just isn’t giving up, is she? She is a pure role model for us.
Off to do work!
“Party Unity My Ass.”
Love it!
Oh Hatesepsut1988, she is SO GOING TO DENVER.
She made that clear near end of speech, notably in her special thank you to Hispanic Community. Oddly enough (snark) that is the English part of speech that CNN cut off (Hillary supporter talking about Hispanics as new swing AND in her corner.)
But icing on the cake was her call to to COUNT EVERY VOTE.
CNN is a pathetic tool at this point. (Well for a long time. But now they no longer make a pretense.)
And our theme song — “Eye of the tiger” perhaps?
It’s the eye of the tiger
it’s the thrill of the fight
risin up to the challenge of our rivals
and the last known survivor
stalks his prey in the night
and he’s watching us all with the eye …
of the tiger
🙂
Someone of apropriate stature ought to sit B.O. down and say, “here’s your choice, a high probability of being the V.P., who will then be in a superb position to become Prez, or alternatively, a high probability of just being another ‘has-been’ regarded as having tried too much too soon!” (He himself, when becoming senator and asked if he’d consider running for Prez said no, because he was not one of those people who believed in pursuing a job for which he did not possess the skills or knowledge (not the exact words but very clearly the sentiment). He went on to say in that same response that he’d have to start campaigning (practically) the first day of being a senator, and thus would have amassed pitiful little experience. I wish they would play that tape–he was so right then! (I guess Wright and co. changed his mind, and to his amazement, the crowds went along!)
And here’s a video of Eye of the Tiger that represents the white trash and hillbillies that we are:
On MSNBC they are saying that BO cannot start talking to and repairing his relationship with women until Hillary gets out. Really, that just makes me laugh. It’s so absurd.
117K vote get, 85% reporting
Go Hillary! I caught the speech live on the Web (pulled cable after the 2000 boot licking for Bush).
The rumored “Whitey” tape is supposedly in some network’s hands (FOX?). If there is any truth to this, today might not be a good one for Obama.
And, no, I don’t think at any age that he’d be a candidate I could support. I have seen no evidence of character in the man. The company he keeps will have to get better if Rezko is put out of commission, but nothing about this narcissist is going to improve without some kind of intense introspection that I doubt he is capable of undergoing. Those who can get through his composite biographies might be able to correct me here.
IMO If Obama had any integrity, he would have stepped into this campaign and pulled the stops on numerous vile actions done in his campaign’s name. He attracts too much low life on the internet. Like attracts like. I’ve had it with him.
In 8 years as VP, Obama will have the experience and stature to run for President. The Republicans have the video of him saying he’s inexperienced to run for President and they’ll run attack ads on it. They’ll scare people about foreign threats and ask if you want such a novice to be CiC and run the country.
we just watched hillary’s fantastic speech.
i think she made it pretty clear that she plans to win this and whatever obama’s friends at the _telegraph_ might think that she’s not going to do the nice little lady thing and “bow out gravefully” so he can be crowned against the wishes of democratic VOTERS.
hillary is truly inspiring – the only political leader in my lifetime who has taken on all sorts of adversity and unfair play and yet continues to fight on and utterly outclass the chattering army of pundits and sleazy operatives working against her and the members of the democratic party.
this is the very FIRST time i have seen such courage and determination from a political leader – instead of taking the easy path of capitulation – and it’s a wonderful thing to be part of.
go hillary!
Thank you RiverDaughter for posting the PUMA concept! I just kept saying that over & over and I realized that like the PUMA, we are going to pounce and devour the M-Fers who to dare tell us that we need “unity” now.
P arty
U nity
M y
A ss
I’m gettting my PUMA sneakers, PUMA work out suit, PUMA hat, PUMA underwear, PUMA! PUMA! PUMA!
Let them say we are catty – we are PUMAs dammit!
Once again, Obama is gracious in defeat *headdesk*
I can’t wait to see his concession speech when he loses the nom to Hill, or in the event of the sds carying on the proud tradition of a Democratic suicide wish, loses to McCain in Nov. Tear that Nixon rant out of the history books, we’ve got a more petulant world class whiner on deck.
I adore Hillary, but there’s nothing she can say or do that’s going to unify me anymore. And there’s certainly nothing Mr. O can say. After yesterday, I am done with the Party. I am still in a state of disbelief at what they’ve done, especially in the year that should have been ours in a walk.
Michelle Obama was one of the chief race baiters throughout the campaign. I know exactly what I’m talking about.
I don’t know if anyone here aver saw her in front of AA audiences. I did a couple of times.
Yes, the Hispanic question is a big one for Nobama. A recent poll in my state was bragging how well Obama / Edwards would do, but it showed over 80% of Hispanics going for McCain.
It looks like Puerto Rico heard Obama’s unity plea loud and clear. Hillary won every precinct in Puerto Rico. Now its time for Montana and SD to get on the PUMA train.
I missed her speech. So she said she is fighting on?
Just seeing the speech, she brightened my day.
I loved it that Hillary thanks the Hispanic community here and in PR.
Numbers don’t lie, she has 60-70% of our vote.
Obambi can and NEVER will get that from us. EVER.
PUMAs all the way.
Hey, BTW, the PUMA is indigenous to South America. Notice a pattern here?
I am buying Puma shoes.
I heard Bob Beckel, the fat Obama apologist, say that Obama can’t win FL, WV, or KY…but they have a really good chance at Virginia. And Ohio is in play, he said. So much for the 50 state strategy. Ohio? I live here. That won’t be happening.
just to compare the inspired, empowering, intelligent, and mature speech by Hillary with that slinky, whiney mess yesterday telling us it’s a very sad day because he has to quit his church so that the anti-white hate-speech can go on without having to worry (or so he thinks) about looking over their shoulder at who is watching while he’s busy running for president of our country! I’ll be Pelosi required it of him in exchange for the 50% solution!
What a horrible, deathly mistake they are making!!!
So do you think this tape exists?
I was watching the clip from Fox news with the slimey swinger Roger Stone. This would be a huge internet hoax if it didn’t exist. Stone said a high level Clinton operative told him the tape exists. At the very least it’s fun to think about.
On MSNBC they are saying that BO cannot start talking to and repairing his relationship with women until Hillary gets out. Really, that just makes me laugh. It’s so absurd.
You know, if someone just took her into a back room and only he came out, she’d be out, and then women would like Obvama. You think?
Ben, that is what boggles me.
He has ZERO chances of winning. It’s like when there’s a hurricane warning, every station announces it, every meteorologist predicts a Cat 5 storm, yet people don’t believe it. The ones that heed the message do prepare and warn everyone else, but to deaf ears because the “powers that be” said that “it’s not going to be that bad.”
Then when the storm blows through, destroys everything in sight, then people start lamenting.
I’m taking heed of Hurricane McCain. There will be a landslide victory for him in November if Obama is the nominee. The Hominid polls do not lie. Hurricane Hillary is stronger – and Republicans know that. The DNC does too, but they don’t want to hear it.
But who cares, I’m a PUMA now!
…all you have to do is read parts of her college senior thesis to realize there is ample evidence out there of M’s anti-Whitey diatribes!
Stone said a high level Clinton operative told him the tape exists. At the very least it’s fun to think about.
Sounds like a setup for blaming Clinton for every bad thing if it turns out the tape doesn’t exist. Doesn’t it?
Hillary said “you have chosen your candidate.” She is also running ads in South Dakota and Montana letting the voters know that she has more popular votes than Obama. It seems to me that she is still fighting for the nomination. I hope so. I don’t think she should endorse Obama until the convention. She should stay in it. Let him sweat about raising money for the GE, while she already has a cushion to build on.
In other news, apparently Vanity Fair is going to release a story on Bill Clinton’s recent sexual activities–on Wednesday.
bostonboomer, The timing of the article and the tease today seems provocative.
With the tape, until we see it it doesn’t exist. As for blaming Hillary for it: as if that’s worse than anything else the media has said and done.
I read in a London paper that Obama was going to offer her a cabinet position so she can shepherd his health care proposal through Congress. OMG… AS IF.
NObama Bumper stickers here!!!
http://www.cafepress.com/buy/anti-obama/-/pv_design_prod/pg_1/p_storeid.104075860/pNo_104075860/id_17280688/opt_/fpt_/c_666/
One of the best bits on SNL was the version of the 3 am ad which has BO calling Hillary at 3 am for advice.
Well, as of yesterday, I’m no longer a Democrat–the PUMA Party is sounding good to me!
Hatseput1988: …all you have to do is read parts of her college senior thesis to realize there is ample evidence out there of M’s anti-Whitey diatribes!
I completely missed it, and I did read the entire thesis — or I should say, skimmed it in its entirety.
Its focus is on trying to discern the factors that make it more likely for Blacks transitioning into the mainstream to reach back and help the community. There is nothing anti-Whitey about that; just pro-Black and pro- strengthening the Black community. It’s a common theme in immigrant communities as well.
The biggest problem I had with it was the low response rate from Black Princeton graduates — 22% IIRC. It undermined the study, particularly since she didn’t comment/analyze the respondents vs non-respondents.
Van Hollen is my district rep. You think an email about my registration change in order? I should also tell him to tone down his demand on Clinton to clean up Obama’s mess.
pm317 – I’d fax — it’s local for us. I fax everything, both downtown and district offices.
I’m wearing my PUMA kicks right now and they feel even more comfortable than usual — great idea Riverdaughter!
I, too, saw the catterwauling on MSNBC (Mega-Sweeties Now Barry’s Channel). To paraphrase, without Hillary giving in to Barry while winning the last biggest primary two to one, Barry can’t begin to pay attention to the interests of women or hillbillies or McDonald’s coffee drinkers or older Americans as he has AAs, elites, Starbucklers or those riding XBox chairs in their parents’ basement.
What a crock! I hope his left leg always gets along with the right one otherwise his empty suit will be missing pants.
As for her thesis, it wasn’t as much racist as self-indulgent and poorly written. Frankly, it was just bad.
I was just looking thru lists of SDs.
KY:
Clinton 0
Obama 2
WV:
Clinton 1
Obama 4
Unbelievable.
rd– I’m wearing my fav puma sneaks right now. They’re old and sharp looking. You’re a genius! Where can I get a bumper sticker?
TalkLeft has a liveblog of Hillary’s speech.
Just ordered some Pumas from Zappos.
I am currently a PUMA Democrat. I will remain affiliated with the Democratic party until at least the convention in August.
If an illegimate candidate is nominated, I will no longer be affiliated with the donkey party.
93% precincts in, 131K vote get
Prolix, LOL!
I just saw the Russert/ Daschle interview. One entertaining moment. Daschle said that he is sure that in November, when “blue collar workers are presented with a John McCain and a Brack Obama”, that it is clear who their choice will be. I’m sure he is right about that…
people are getting a wee little bit tired of being stereotyped into groups. you don’t hear mccain talking that way. of course he doesnt have to say anything…just watch the train wreck
myiq2xu, we all are PUMA Democrats. Please spread it to the might bloggers of the mighty Corrente Building!
Until the lady in the PUMA pantsuit says it’s over!
98% in, 138,359 vote get
San Juan is 87% in.
I must say this as a PUMA Democrat:
Another message we need to send is that any SuperDelegates that vote against the wishes/popular vote of the state should not be voted back into office.
Had they voted/endorsed Hillary as their state did as many have said they would, Hillary would have the nomination.
Good evening, pretty-in-pink Pumas.
A PUMA can beat an elephant and/or a donkey in a race.
I love PUMA!
Oh Lord, that VF piece is just a lot of blagh blagh blagh. It’s literally, B. Clinton went to an event also attended by some jerk with a 19 year old gf and the guy who dumped pregnant Elizabeth Hurley–both of whom, according to the article, are philanthropists who are active with Democratic causes. Clinton was there with Chelsea and her bf, and there’s no indication he’s been doing anything wrong–but he could be! Can you prove he’s not?
There are many other gems such as–I hate Clinton, he gives out a leatherbound copy of speeches to supporters at Xmastime. He cheats at golf, and when he was President he never knew when he was going to play golf, which was inconsiderate to reporters. He sang a song to Monica. (I’m serious).
Robin,
I saw that interview. Didn’t Daschle look dapper in his brown gangster pinstripe suit right out of the costume department of “Bugsy Malone?”
I particularly liked Tater Russert asking if he wanted to be a part of Team Barry and he all but admitted he did. That was a true alturistic statesman like moment.
unfortunately for the Ds when times are tough like this working people want lower taxes.
Little Sister, that came out a lonmg time ago in the NY Post.
Is this to diffuse the Michelle “Whitey” tape speculation?
Why is it always the Clenis’ fault?
Join us at Democrats Against Obama massive Leave The Dem Party starts Tomorrow June 2nd we along with hundreds of other groups, bloggers and individuals will bolt the Democrats Party register Independent
http://democrats-against-obama.org/
WS-Roger Stone probably CAUSED the Spitzer scandal.
He is a Rethug low-life of the lowest order. He was
probably tapping him or something and turned him
in to the Feds. I think he even threatened his dad. Don’t
trust him ever about anything.
Add me to the PUMA party! Excellent idea!
I am going to buy PUMA stock tomorrow. Where do we sign up? I am currently w/o party affiliation.
If they had the goods on Bill isn’t it correct to assume they would have marched that out some months ago? The press will do anything to discredit either Clinton in favor of Obama.
Just read a report filed by Iphie over at Corrente. She described how intimidating the Obama supporters were at the DNC meeting yesterday that she had attended. It may be a measure of this intimidation that has permeated the DNC to behave as they have. A little scary.
I love the PUMA idea. Do we have to make application for membership?
It’s being played up as “Clinton accused of multiple improprieties on the campaign trail, angrily denies it,” SM, but there’s literally nothing in the article at all. It’s 8 pages of substance-free psychobabble and the author complaing about his own bizarre preoccupations.
I agree. And Stone started Conservatives United Not Timid: an anti-Hillary group.
Dont confuse him with Anne Stone of Republicans for Choice.
SM, it is always easier to blame someone else than to take responsibility. And if anyone knows how to take the easy way to everywhere, it is BO.
Tell CNN what you think of their editorial decision to post that ridiculous picture of Hillary on their front page. They’re so low.
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/dotcom/
Love the PUMA –
Cancel Vanity Fair, and if anyone was thinking of buying “Why Women Should Rule the World”, stop yourselves.
Dee Dee Myers, author of the book, works for Vanity Fair. Her husband has just published an article in VF claiming that Bill Clinton has been womanizing on the campaign trail. Bill Clinton has sent a six page memo to them in anger over their actions.
Dee Dee Myers would be a great big NOBODY if not for the Clintons.
the working class don’t read vanity fair, duh.
Well maybe the gays read it. nah, probably not.
BO just conceded PR and spoke about what an asset she would be to him in November
what???? I’m not watching this stuff.
On the business (raised by some above) of M’s dissertation being “pro-black” but not “anti-white”—I suspect this is the kind of distinction that people will begin to seriously examine should Obama be the next president. (Was Pfleger’s rant merely pro Black or also anti-white?) Of course her dissertation was an academic exercise—nothing like what she has said privately with like-minded people—that was precisely my point. Even there, where she was presumably doing a socio-scientific study for credit (at the very institution she felt marginalized her), she pledges her commitment to, and only to, AA advancement. Her victimization is thorough and total. She acknowledges having been the beneficiary of affirmative action (later on as well), but only takes this as grounds that she is owed so much more! (echoes of Pfleger). The really scary thing is how all of this plays right into the arguments of White Nationalist types (that white people have as much need/right to advance “white culture” as do other ethnic groups). How ironic that this kind of thinking could garner mainstream support as a consequence of our “post-racial” candidate!
I see that Appalchia now extends down into the Caribbean. Ignorant Hillbillies can’t even place ourselves on the map – we’re all over the place these days. Pretty soon, with the uncontrolled, geographical expansion of this once small, ignored region, we will cover most of North and Central America. I mean, I can think of no other reason for the landslide results in Puerto Rico – it is the Appalachian thing, right?
Todd Purdom, author of the VF article, was on Coffee Klatch with George this morning. He was remarkably unimpressive.
While Dee Dee Meyers was earlier vocally supportive of Hillary remember her sister is chief of operations for the Nobama campaign.
Just a reminder that several months ago Robert Novak alluded to some “damaging” information that was related to him by someone in the Clinton campaign. He refused to go any further but he was quizzed about it over several news cycles. Is this what he is referring too? The have been whispers about this and it supposedly is in the hands of the GOP. If they really have it, why was it not issued before the Fr. Pfleger tape since his connection is somewhat tenuous to Obama? Coming from Michele it would be far more inflammatory. Some of this makes little sense.
I have no use for the Obamas but I would not like him to be able to strike a “martyr” pose for something that cannot be held up to scrutiny. Remember what happened to the Clintons as a result of these scurrilous charges. It is a wait and see proposition.
these people are all political whores. DC is completely inbred. the political family tree in that town doesnt fork.
I heard as well that there was something really big out there worse than Wright. I thought it was the “bitter guns and god” comment. I heard this third hand from a republican county chairman who heard it in DC…..you know how it goes.
Pat didn’t the Pleger thing just happen last week? They haven’t been sitting on that one, it just happened, I believe.
frankly, if the Rs have it they will save it. those people are cut throat. Why on earth would they share it now? Save it to right before the convention or during the convention. flatten obama’s bounce. they have no need to use it now.
I don’t know if the tape exists, but it’s not in their interests to release it until Obama’s out. They want him to be the nominee. They DON’T want him out and a much more viable nominee.
Sorry, I meant until Clinton’s out.
Pat – I’ve been wondering about those comments from Novak too. My bet is that Hillary has a lot of tapes of Obama and friends. She has great oppo research resources.
Hillary is a tai chi master playing push hands with Obama. And Grasshopper only thinks he’s winning. Sometimes having a weapon and not using it is the best choice.
Whoops –
Regarding Pfleger, I think that was just happenstance as he made the remarks last Sunday, and it was streamed live in the net.. some blogger must’ve seen it and then it went up at No Quarter.
I’ve no idea about the tape. Doesn’t seem like Larry Johnson would be willing to put his reputation on the line and be a hype man for something that is total BS, but then, I know he’s pretty invested in this race and what he’s written so far has only been secondhand information.
At this point I do not care if it is real or not, the things they have done and then played the victim card. If the GOP has it, they will not release it until she is out of the race, because they know she can beat John McCain.
As for women power, I went to se SATC and the critics asked if women could carry and movie and make it popular, that question was answered today, women carried it into being one of the five top sellers with an R Rating. Guess we women can do things they never thought we could.
Ben, as a genetically inferior incest product from Appalachia, the DC clan fails our litmus test — they didn’t meet their spouses at a family reunion.
Pfleger made that sermon last week. That is the point I was trying to make. If there is one on Michele, why wait. I am not a political operative but it just seems curious that they have not released it as of today. Pfleger and Wright were bad enough but hers would shake the foundation altogether.
The tapes of Wright have been out there a while. I can definitely see them holding it until she is out of the race.
Stone, a Republican strategist, was the one who predicted in some show (or a newspaper I dont remember) that Spitzer would be out of office very soon months before his scandal erupted. He’s probably in the know among Republican circles and know what plots they hatch in their inner sanctums.
Larry Johnson of No Quarter will have an update on the “whitey” tape 9:00 Monday.
Pfleger claims he is getting death threats.
Prolix, am from Appalachia too, we must be related.
They’re waiting because they don’t want to push Obama out of the race and have Clinton take over. That would kill their election chances. If they wait until he’s the nominee and then release it, he’s toast and we’re stuck with him. If they release it now, we could dump him and win with her.
Not if she suspends her campaign
Kim: I suppose that tactic makes sense. Clear the decks of Hillary and then slam him with the tapes thus guaranteeing a McCain win. I just never put it into that perspective before now. It will be interesting to see since Fox is now hinting at this and it does not appear they have it. Might be ABC but they are alluding to some network being in possession of said tape.
There’s a new Pfelger tape dissing Joel Osteen as a “cotton candy” preacher and that Hillary’s and McCain’s preachers don’t stack up to Wright. Ummm ok. I’m sure the Republicans will use Pfelger and Wright to fire up their evangelical base against Obama should he be the nominee.
Well, if it’s NBC, that tape will never see the light of day. 🙂
Thanks. You made me chuckle. We need tee-shirts.
The theory on the tape that I have seen is a little convoluted, but goes something like this. The powers that be in the Repub party would rather, in a supposed democratic year, go with Hillary than Barry. They know her, most of them deep down respect her skills and intelligence, and she has a history of working across the aisle. They don’t know Barry and are afraid of what his inexperience and those of his cronies might bring.
Do you guys remember, I think it was around the time of the Indiana and NC primary that there was a weekend in which Rachel Maddow and some of the other MSNBC crew were saying that Hillary was going to drop some kind of dirty bombshell on Obama. I remember thinking that it was just another smear. But maybe they have known about this for a long time. They were all whispering about Monica Lewinsky weeks before the story broke too. But I don’t think Hillary is the one who has the tape. However, the Clinton campaign may know who does have it. Who knows Carville could have found out from his wife. I’m not saying there is a tape, all I’m saying is that if there is they all know it already and it doesn’t stop them shilling for Obama.
Well like I said above, I hope they keep hinting, I don’t care if it is dirty pool. After the DNC took votes, his race baiting, I don’t care if it is swiftboating. If they are going to do it, then do it now.
Howdy cousin Kim.
Look guys, I would LOVE to take credit for the PUMA idea but that honor does not belong to me. It is SM’s. Please give him/her a round of applause.
And yes, I think it is a stroke of genius. The only problem is that we need to come up with our own Puma logo. I don’t think the company is going to appreciate us using theirs. Let me see what Brook can do with her wacom tablet…
But that assumes that the Republicans think there’s any possibility at all the BO can win…which sounds really implausible.
With Hillary at the top of the ticket the Dems had a good chance to pick up Repub women and Independents. With him at the top of the ticket I believe he loses those Repub women and half the Independents who will go to McCain with all the “if” factors attached to The One.
So the DNC, which had a better than even chance of subsidizing the vote with real crossover appeal are turning to the candidate who is facing major opposition in his own party: gays, women, Latinos, blue collars, the elderly. Makes sense.
If Hillary is as surreptitious as some suggest (and many of us hope) and if she should be the one in control of the damaging M tape (as opposed to the Repubs who would wait), then one can find several reasons it has not yet surfaced. Here’s one: having assured that she can make a fairly strong argument for winning the popular vote, Hillary secretly shares information about the tape with Obama (say right after the last primary), offering to keep it an eternal secret providing he does the right thing by her—i.e., get some practice as VP and try again in 8 years????
The time to drop the tape is when he is nominated or being nominated at the convention. This is the worse time for the Rs to let this tape go. And i’m sure there is more than one copy. this whole thing sounds like an urban legend to me.
It’s like the story of the kidneys being stolen from people in hotel bathrooms.
Doesn’t this sound just like a plot line from the cancelled TV show Commander in Chief???? this is a hoax.
While I want the tape myth to be true, in the Youtube world anything is possible. The powers of the Repub party aren’t exactly turning in their Viagra prescriptions about McCain, Barry’s tax proposals scare them, and the 90’s are cherished memories in the boardrooms.
But the tape, if it does exist, is no longer secret. Even if by suggesting Hillary is nefarious enough to use it as a weapon against Obama others will more than likely seek it out. I just hate conspiracy theories, I want facts. The Clintons were targets of these theories and allegations which ended up being
disclaimed but the residue still remains. Many people still believe they were active in Vince Foster’s suicide and were running drugs out the the Little Rock mansion. Although baseless Hillary is still living with those reminders even into this campaign.
Not defending the Obamas, but I would hate to see them living with false accusations of which they will never remove the stain.
Oh, Pat, please…this is so different than anything the clintons were accused of doing…and in this case if the tape isnt there this story is dead. As for a stain on the Obamas…who cares.
Hatsheput1988: I suspect this is the kind of distinction that people will begin to seriously examine should Obama be the next president. (Was Pfleger’s rant merely pro Black or also anti-white?)
Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. I don’t see any parallels between Michelle’s thesis and Pfleger’s rantings.
Her thesis focuses very specifically on the actions and behaviors of Black Princeton grads with no comparison to White behaviors at all. It is not an indictment of White attitudes and how they might affect the Black community. It’s just an investigation of what factors are responsible for Black postgrads in remaining close to vs distancing themselves from their roots. IIRC, one variable was whether he/she had grown up in a purely Black community vs mixed.
Pfleger, on the other hand, made claims that Hillary felt entitled to the nomination just by virtue of being White. As I’ve mentioned before, she may have reasons for feeling entitled (or may not), but it’s a bit much for this Pfleger character to declare that it’s derived from a sense of racial superiority.
Particularly poisonous from my POV is that he invoked the ‘Miss Anne’ plantation politics stereotype. Same as Rev Wright before him.
With respect to wealth transfer/reparations, I’d be willing to listen to anyone who has thought it through carefully — not a clown looking to merely gin up resentment for Obama’s political gain.
PUMA Party.
Perfect. Works for me.
No meetings. No fundraising. No committees.
My kinda Party.
Pouring a glass of port and raising my glass to you all!
And frankly, as far as we know, all she’s being ‘accused of’ is being upset about race relations in this country. She’s not being accused of trying to assassinate one of the Clintons or anything like that, hell she’s not even being accused of personally insulting anyone. Nobody really cares enough to constitute ‘false accusations of which they will never remove the stain.’
reparations is probalby not a good discussion for this blog.
I’m blushing here! Thank YOU Riverdaughter, thank YOU for giving all of PUMAs a chance to vent. You and Katiebird and Gary, Mawm, everyone here, have made me feel welcome and I thank you for creating this blog. I wish you the greatest success because you are fighting for the truth.
In all honesty, it was inspired by your Unity post and your “kiss my ass” ending on the Looking Good post. And Harriett Christian. And Mawm. And our collective rage over the DNCs hijacking the Uncommited votes. And so many put-downs and MSM propaganda. And our votes STOLEN from us over some jerk the DNC feels can “unify” the party.
P arty
U nity
M y
A ss
They say Clinton supporters are being catty bitches? Our purrs of discontent is now a roar.
And yes Obama Sweeties, the claws are out. Kiss my ass – I spit on you and I’m PUMA-ing you!
After Obama got soundly rejected by a Democratic electorate that is almost entirely hispanic, I am asking myself which constituencies he would rely on to win in the GE.
– AA? No offense but we vote for the Dem 9 to 1 anyways, granted with him the turnout will be higher. Gore and Kerry won AA 9 to 1.
– Rich and highly educated Liberals? There are not that many of them in the first place, maybe he can increase their turnout.
Now look the major constituencies that are not buying his act:
– Blue Collar Dems
– Reagan Dems
– Hispanics
– Women
Add some major region not buying his act:
– Appalachia
– The South where he cannot win a single State
– All Red States
Does the DNC and it’s allies know that stuff like taking votes away from one person and giving them to another works only with Hillary Clinton?
One more thing: There are no caucuses in the GE.
Amen! to the PUMA party.
MA: dont forget the gays.
Didn’t you hear that Colorado, Virginia, Nevada, and New Mexico are up for grabs with him.
PUMA logo idea:
You know the kicking donkey logo, take bottom half of the legs and take the top part of the PUMA logo.
???
I’m pretty well disgusted by Pfleger as all I’ve heard from his public statements is how horrible this has been for him. The poor guy. I’ll have to remind myself that if I ever end up being a close advisor to a presidential candidate, and make the national news for making outrageous, racist and sexist attacks against his/her opponent, I’ll respond by complaining about how hard it’s been for me.
There is no such thing as party unity now or in the future regarding the present version of the Democratic Party.
The present DNC is comprised of losers, seeking to coronate another loser.
Bill Clinton is the only 2 term winner Democratic President to occupy the White House in 63 years, since the death of FDR.
In 1992 and 1996, Bill Clinton won 11 of the designated twelve “swing” states. That is why he defied the odds and won both times
In 2000 and 2004, Gore and Kerry each won only one. .Therein lies the fallacy that Obama can win .
Hillary Clinton is the only Democrat likely to repeat WJC’s success. Only she has any chance of winning the states he won.
Obama has a snowball’s chance in hell.
All you have to do is whenever you hear a talking head on TV or read about howm hte party has to “unity” or have “party unity,” say out loud:
P arty
U nity
M y
A ss!!
And you are in.
MC, if you see the FireDogLake video of the Long Island gym teacher that was bruised, she had the best quote that defines just that:
She said (and I paraphrase): “I’ve been a Democrat for 40 years and the party bosses have given me only 2 winners in 40 years!”
And then they tear down the president that has been the only 2 term Democrat since FDR??? ANd tear down the most accomplished candidate who is proven to beat McCain?
It’s Clinton envy.
I think reparations is probably an irrelevant discussion for this blog.
Says the black girl who is not counting on reparations to get her through college.
SM – I love it. Now I want to see the cheering squad in fabulous uniforms. And I want the best choreographer in the business.
Gimme a P! Gimme a U! Gimme an M! Gimme an A!
Wow, I can see the Obama campaign throwing all their $$ into Va and getting exactly…nothing. Don’t get me wrong, Warner will win the Senate seat, but that doesn’t mean anything. I’m from NC, I know all about Dems winning everything but the presidential vote.
I’m sure Va. will appreciate the attention, but in the “real world” his (BHO) only GE strategy is hoping McCain just trips up (not that it’s not possible, but it’s not much of a strategy). I know now is not the time to talk Obama/McCain, b/c I’m still fighting for Hillary, but I think it is germane to say that, as weak of a candidate McCain appears to be, his weakness is his strength.
What do I mean by that? A “real” Republican would be too tied to President Bush and would just lose with only the president’s 30% approval coalition backing him. I know we all want to make McCain into McSame, but beyond Iraq, it’s tough to do. But, Iraq IS there, so that’s what makes McCain the weakest. If not for his (wrong, terribly wrong) stance on this important issue, McCain could play a 50-state strategy as a new kind of Republican, welcoming everyone to the party (yes, I’m echo-ing fictional Sen. Arnie Vinick a la “The West Wing,” but it’s true).
ben carlson: reparations is probalby not a good discussion for this blog.
It’s not a dirty word and has come up in presidential debates. The prevailing view in the debates has been one of reparations in the form of rectifying inferior investment in underserved communities.
Too much, too little, too late to ever try again
… croons the gay, black bloke from the Lone Star State.
((((((((((((((((P.U.M.A.))))))))))))))))))))
edwardian – You rock! I’ve been thinking about that song for weeks.
GO PUMA!
Fun facts to know and tell about the PUMA:
The grace and power of the puma have been widely admired in the cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. As with many predators, a puma may attack if cornered. A capable stalk-and-ambush predator, the puma pursues a wide variety of prey. When the puma does attack, it usually employs its characteristic neck bite, attempting to position its teeth between the vertebrae and into the spinal cord. Neck, head, and spinal injuries are common and sometimes fatal.
Suggested wardrobe for the DNC — kevlar turtlenecks.
Team colors?
does anyone have the REAL popular vote tally at this point?
hot pink and aqua. As Michael Kohrs would say, “Wal Mart colors.”
*blushes* Oh Arabella, you say the sweetest things. This rounds on me. 🙂
The next season of Project Runway starts in July.
Tim Gunn, where are you?
Does riverdaughter have a karioke? If she sets one up, edwardian and I are singing “Too much, too little, too lay-ay-ay-ate”
Too much, too little, too late…and a little vomit in my mouth:
Listen, first of all Senator Clinton is an outstanding public servant, she has worked tirelessly on this campaign, she has been a great senator for the state of New York and she is going to be a great asset when we go into November to make sure that we defeat the Republicans. That I can promise you,” he said.
LLLLLIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNN]
the Messiah speaks.
We have three of the six categories on RCP and two of the three categories on CNN’s tally.
REVOTE MICHIGAN!!!
They did an ethnic/intellectual cleansing of the party. I’ve said that all along. They got rid of all those they didn’t think were worthy.
Arabella: Does riverdaughter have a karioke? If she sets one up, edwardian and I are singing “Too much, too little, too lay-ay-ay-ate”
I’m game! 🙂
Arabella, hmmm choreography… ok, how about an ode to Bob Fosse, Sweety Charity’s “There’s gotta be something better than this” with the hand thingy they do, except we do with the finger for a Non-Obama vote?
The popular vote tallies are a mess. But so are the delegate tallies. And since they go by delegates that’s where we are. The only way we are ahead is if Obama gets Zero from MI. Of course, I don’t know how you can count votes from caucuses. What a fucking mess.
We needed 50K more votes in PR. Ugh. And he can probalby make up ground on Tuesday. McCain is the next president.
SM – I love Helen Gallagher.
I’m gonna get up, I’m gonna get out
I’m gonna get up, get out and do it!
Reparations may be an irrelevant topic for this blog, but the Republicans would be glad to use the tape and bring up reparations in their attack ads and whisper campaigns if Obama is the nominee. Obama may hem and haw about distractions and old politics but the Republicans will couple reparations with their usual tax and spend attacks and you’ve got a toxic brew for the GE.
hey wait – earlier today (from another post) Meteor Blades said to us “I’ll have two words for you when you come around looking for my support for any candidate or any cause in 2012 or any other time in the future: Bite me.”
I guess he didn’t know this: When the puma does attack, it usually employs its characteristic neck bite.
Themesong – David Bowie – Cat People (“putting out the fire with gasoline”) – from the 1982 Paul Schrader film with Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard.
Obama is on record anti-reparations.
No, we have won and will retain the pop vote. Only people foolish enough to try and guess the intent of the voters end up giving Obama the MI uncommitteds. A very dangerous precedent in a democracy.
what’s frightening about all of this is that Bush and Obama are sooo similar in the way they run elections. I’m actually afraid he is nasty and cut throat enough to win the general election. he has the Chicago machine behind him just like Bush had the Texas machine. he will say and do anything while creating the opposite image. He is amoral. Really, folks we have to unite to stop him.
ronkseattle: Obama is on record anti-reparations.
All the candidates have had the same view (including Kucinich, who tried to mislead during debates that he was in favor of direct reparations). The prevailing view in the Democratic debates has been one of reparations in the form of rectifying inferior investment in underserved communities. I mentioned this in an earlier comment that slipped into moderation.
My point is that Pfleger is not raising any of these issues in the interest of serious debate — just to inflame passions.
Ben, I’m constantly struck by similarities between W and Obama. thin resumes, little knowledge of issues but a feeling that knowledge is unimportant because of their superior judgement, mysterious backing from power players and kid glove treatment by the media. and arrogance, so much arrogance. we’ve been here before. it didn’t work out so well last time. what are people thinking?
did anyone see the CNN special investigation on BO’s “dirty politics”? I think it aired tonight. Uppity Woman at NoQuarter posted on it earlier.
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/
I think a lot of us here are political junkie types who dont realize that many many (most?) voters have NO IDEA about a lot of what’s in Obama’s past. Rezko, Ayers, ties to Abramoff, Alice Palmer. We all know who those people are and what they say about Obama as a poltician and a person.
Unless he drops out soon, this is going to be a long, hot summer for Barack Obama.
Pround Puma
Another similar characteristic with W and never desirable in supposed leaders, is that Barry doesn’t know who he is. He doesn’t have a strong sense of self. According to his own words in his book, the last 20 years have been his search for self.
Typically in this personality type there is over compensation. In W, he never second guesses in the face of conflicting data. In Barry it’s all over the place — from believing living in Indonesia as a child makes him a foreign policy expert to inflating the meme about being a constitutional law expert — he wasn’t anything more than a visiting lecturer like every law school in the country has.
The scary aspect of this personality type is the emotional fragility that accompanies it. There are really high highs and really low lows. Grudges are also typical although superficially it looks as if everything is calm on the surface. Fabrication is also predominant.
I don’t think the Republicans care if Obama supports reparations or not. They’ll just say that he’s lying or covering up his real views for the public.
ronkseattle: “Obama is on record anti-reparations.”
I’m sure you’re right, but do you think that will stop the 527’s?
This whole thing was rigged from the beginning for him to win. Seriously. Coincidence that his acceptance speech would fall on the same day as the I have a Dream speech? I think not. Do you not think there was a plan all along to screw MI and FL? They are running a Bush campaign. That’s why I fear what they will try and do to McCain. Hillary has stood up against him and his thugs better than anyone could imagine. But when you see what he did to his rivals along the way…it all makes sense. The one problem he will have, though, is that Bush came off as the guy “you want to have a beer with.” (I didn’t but that was the image). Obama doesn’t have that. But look what they did to Hillary. Do you have any doubt they could steal a general election. This is what the kossacks want. They want a democratic Bush.
i owe you a coke WS
me too, murphy. The Republicans are so predictable: turn your strength into a liability, split up a population and make one segment resentful of the other, and always keep dirt front and center to hide the issues.
Ben, I agree the Kossacks want Obama, but why? why would they want a Bush?
Is it because they’re embarrassed about backing a loser and are hoping haka can save their tattered reputations as power brokers?
I think it’s also that they represent the (in their own immature view) “elite” bloc of the democratic party and they are actually and truly embarrassed by the preponderance in the democratic party of:
lesbians
old ladies
single mothers
gas station attendants
waitresses
janitors
veterans
Catholics
bus drivers
ugly people
sick people
fat people
I totally agree with your assessment but i’m not ugly! They admire Bush and his minions. They want to emulate his power. They want to use power the same way he did to accomplish “their” goals. Neo liberal goals. They can’t help but admire the man, and Cheney for what they’ve done. They want to do the same thing. A son hates his abusive father but ends up turning into him.
Theyve wanted to cleanse us for a long time. We are the ones who question? Who aren’t worked up by FISA and Plamegate. As for the AAs they will continue to be the butlers and upstairs maids of the party.
I don’t think MI and FL were on the ouija board from the beginning. FL was the product of Crist wanting to be VP and just screw with the dems for the hell of it. Bonior was still doing John Edwards’ hair at the time of MI and he desperately wanted to do the 10 cent private dance in every union hall in MI.
I do agree that Axelrod saw the opportunity to take two Hillary wins off the table until after the caucus states and capitalized on it.
Love the Cat People theme song!
Since Edwardian did call for a Karaoke, here’s an oldie but appropriate goodie:
Dedicated to the Obamabots & Sweeties who come to the Confluence to “win us back” – sung to the tune of “I’ll will survive”:
At first I was afraid
I was petrified
Kept thinking I could never vote
Outside my party lines
But then I spent so many nights
Thinking how you did me wrong
And I grew strong
When I came here to this blog
And so you’re back
From outer space
I just walked in to find you here
With that sad comment on this place
I should have filtered you to spam
I should have banned your azz to leave
If I had known for just one second
You’d be back to bother me
Go on now go walk out the door
Just turn around now
’cause you’re not welcome anymore
Weren’t you the one who tried to hurt me w/Roe v. Wade
Did you think I’d crumble
When I said I’d vote McCain
Oh no, not I
I will survive
Oh as long as i know how to vote
I know I will stay alive
I’ve got all my life to live
I’ve got all my vote to give
And I’ll survive
I will survive (hey-hey)
this video was posted on No Quarter, and it’s a must watch!
is CNN turning on Obama already?
they did a special report about his “dirty politics” back in Chicago
Sometimes I agree with the conservatives that the Democratic party has done more damage to the black community than the Republicans ever could have.
Of course, the preponderance of people like us (I forgot gay men, sorry) is why I love(d?) the democratic party until yesterday. I was at the RBC meeting and saw to what absurdity our party “leaders” have descended. With a few important exceptions (I love you Harold Ickes!) they were the biggest bunch of pompous, clueless, self-involved, under-informed cowards who ever got together to listen to the sound of their own voices.
Let them drive their mostly empty bus over the cliff. In November we’ll still be here to put the party back together. Let the pumas be the newly strong, energized, and organized base of the Dem party, once the “elites” have destroyed themselves.
Absolutely SM,
Bill Clinton possesses and embodies all of the qualities of a true winner that no others are, or have been, able to match.
Neither in politics or the media, has any big ego want-to-be been able to come close to garnering the adulation and respect that the sophisticated, highly intelligent, remarkably capable, country boy has.
It has driven all such pretenders nuts for 16 years, their egos have never allowed them to accept that he is a true winner, the best at anything he does, and basically one of a kind.
Instead they have, as you said, envied him, hated him for his abttributes, and tried to bring him down to their limited level.
This time around, they used his wife as a surrogate to try to defeat him and relegate him to the past.
However, HRC has proven to be the nearest thing to WJC in her on right, showing that she also exceeds any of them, on any level. She has also driven the egotistical cowards nuts.
I believe that while they may feel that they have defeated the Clintons, they truly have not. They have defeated and exposed themselves, showing once again, that even in unbefore seen numbers none of them individually or collectively come even close to standing on the same level as the Clintons.
The combined masses of the ego-driven DNC and the ego-driven media will reap the whirlwind of their subterfuge. The Clintons will remain their superiors in every aspect, and maintain a loyalty among Americans that will continue to baffle and dismay their adversaries.
I know those types. I’ve been such a staunch Democrat because of my love of the Clintons and my hatred of the Bushes. I guess now I am free.
Well said, MC!!!! ((((((((applause))))))))
I’m sure you’re a handsome devil Ben!
I think you’re right. They admire the brazenness of Bush/Cheney. They want to do the same thing, but this time for “good” reasons and outcomes (lord save us!).
They’re frat boys, pure and simple. They want an old-boy network for themselves because they’ve never been a part of one but they know they deserve one because, well . . . they’re just plain smarter, and righter, and gooder, and better than all the angry lesbians, poor people, old ladies, gay men, and union guys who are too stupid, corrupt, lazy, and angry to understand the crucial issues our citizens face– you know, like mass transit, organic farming, cats, recycling, telecom immunity, and bicycling.
I think we should stop calling them the “creative class” and start referring to them as the Frat Boiz.
MC: What even bothers me more is that they actually believe that we are going to follow them over the cliff.
Not us PUMAs. We know what the bottom of the cliff is like, and we are not going there.
The party bosses gave us 2 winners in 40 years. And they have not only failed us again, but they also failed Democracy just because they wish they can be Bill and Hillary Clinton and sadly can’t.
the narrative of the war hero (5 years in a POW camp) versus this nothing from Chicago will be grand.
It kind of reminds me of the gay community. There are those who just have to look better, and be better, and act better, and treat others like crap because they were beat up on the playground as kids. Then there are the rest of us who don’t need that constant adulation and have gotten over any slights we may have received along the way.
They are running a Bush campaign. That’s why I fear what they will try and do to McCain. Hillary has stood up against him and his thugs better than anyone could imagine. But when you see what he did to his rivals along the way…it all makes sense. The one problem he will have, though, is that Bush came off as the guy “you want to have a beer with.” (I didn’t but that was the image). Obama doesn’t have that. But look what they did to Hillary. Do you have any doubt they could steal a general election. This is what the kossacks want. They want a democratic Bush.
I pretty much agree with this. And if we get one.. well.. look at where the Republicans stand after 8 years of W. I think they’re going to continue brazenly needling McCain (mostly via surrogates so Obama’s hands stay clean) about being old and possibly unhinged.. hoping McCain will blow his top eventually. Which, let’s face it, he might. McCain had better be surrounded by handlers always reminding him not to take the bait. Hmm. It’ll probably be, he’s old, he’s crazy, you can’t trust him, and let’s see if anyone can unseal his divorce papers..
Of course, problems are.. the media loves McCain, no one will be able to whip up sexism-driven fury, and.. there are no caucuses in the general election. And Obama and his people might believe their own hype too much and grow increasingly tone-deaf. And the media might stop covering his ass over the constant gaffes.
I was intrigued by the back-and-forth a few weeks ago when Bush made his “appeasement” comments.. team Obama seemed to think they had the upper hand by leaping in and pushing that issue.. Chris Matthews went on the air and declared they’d hit a triple by taking on McCain, and Bush, and looking tough on national security.. and my gut told me they were completely wrong.. who knows.
ghostlegpress, 8:10 pm Said:
I see that Appalchia now extends down into the Caribbean. Ignorant Hillbillies can’t even place ourselves on the map – we’re all over the place these days. Pretty soon, with the uncontrolled, geographical expansion of this once small, ignored region, we will cover most of North and Central America. I mean, I can think of no other reason for the landslide results in Puerto Rico – it is the Appalachian thing, right?
already spread west to me in CA
The front page of HuffPo reads, “It’s Obama’s Party Now” which has a double meaning. I really do not with to be associated with a party that includes the likes of Ariana, Markos, KO, or any of those other slithering snakes that reinforces such a negative view of the Clintons.
P.U.M.A. colors: Gold for a winner – Red for a fighter.
“It kind of reminds me of the gay community. There are those who just have to look better, and be better, and act better, and treat others like crap because they were beat up on the playground as kids. Then there are the rest of us who don’t need that constant adulation and have gotten over any slights we may have received along the way.”
Perhaps I’m the only one, but I’m not following you on this one. Care to explain?
they will go after Cindy, his first divorce, and he is old and unhinged. But he is a war hero…and he is not as hated as the Clintons. If it were Romney they would have an easier race. Wow, i’m actually worried about McCain at this point.
McCain’s appeal may be farther broadened in his choice of VP.
Ben,
I guess I could now best be labeled as a “Clintonian/FDR” Demipendent.
Like you I feel freed from the burden of trying to swim against the current of a far-left winged party.
For the first time I realize that ,as structured, what I thought was my Democratic party has actually not been my party except for the Clinton elements.
It is a party of ideology, not governance, as this impotent, inept DNC and current congress has proven.
I had never realized how much of a centrist I am, until this year, upon the discovery that we had, or have acquired, a vile far-left wing equivalent of the far-right.
I do not want governance by extremists. I want a government that goes out of its way to try to govern for all of America, as idealistic as that might seem.
I feel Bill Clinton came as close to just that as possible. I know that Hillary Clinton would do the same thing. And… I have not given up on the idea of her having that chance someway, somehow.
Just a small asterisk on the 2 winners in the last 40 years — neither were establishment candidates and both had to buck, yes that is buck with a “b”, the party apparatchik.
Ed
That was a tortured analogy and it’s late and i’m tired. But it goes back to the idea of the Kossacks wanting to be the thing they hate the most. What i’ve noticed (just my experience) is that gay men growing up wanted to be the popular guys on the playground and not the ones getting teased. So they grew up and became fabulous and then tried to make those who weren’t buff and hot (present company excluded) feel inferior. ( i know it sucks but best i can do in my bed on a laptop)
murphy: I am trying on one of your constituency hats up above and I seem to fall into a few of those categories. You failed to mention the Depends people. No wait, that one is probably listed with the old ladies. Could we change that to maybe read: genteel?
ben: I got your meaning. In order to belong to a group you have to adopt the tone of the group even if it goes against your sense of self.
I get Ben.
After Bush 2000, it wasn’t “cool” for the Libertarian/Republicans/Green Party members to be associated with a party that is so loathed, so they came over to our little happy playground where everybody gets a chance on the swings & see-saw with Mama & Papa Clinton, Uncle Al Gore and the countless other liberal Democratic leaders.
They started to play with us – until Obama came. Obama wanted to be the boss of the playground and the Ariannas & Kossacks & MSNBCs were Obama’s henchmen. They took our toys & kicked us off the swing sets because to them, it’s in their nature to act like Republicans but name themselves the cool “Democrats.”
Kind of, Pat. It’s just that we often become what we hate the most. The idea of I think he protests too much. The gay kids in school wanted to be the quarter back who bullied the other kids. They hated him but admired him. So what do they do. they grow up. go to the gym. get some steroids. and you are the king of the disco and circuit party. you are popular and you can look down on others. same way with the kossacks. they want to be like bush/cheney. so they have emulated them but from the neo left. they read us here and they laugh at us. but you see we are the ones who know ourselves and were never really that impressed by the big man on campus.
Bingo SM. Are we all soulmates here or what?
Ben – think I follow, somewhat. Though perhaps it’s late for me as well and I need a fresh pair of eyes to really appreciate your analogy. (thinks back to highschool) : “I didn’t wanna be the ‘popular guys’. Wouldn’t have mind “unifying” with a few of ’em, occasionally. But other than that, no. Just being happy – a life’s ambition. Heh. 😉 🙂
and at No Quarter…they are still pushing the ‘whitey’ tape. Ho hum.
You got it there Ed. Right on.
Me run now? No experience, but things changed after that boring year in the Senate in which a master can seem to be watching paint dry. I’m ready for my close-up! Hand me a mirror!
Ben,
The man who stares at the mirror has two things — his most prized possession and a measure of his intellectual depth.
Again you are so correct, SM
I too find it so unbelievable that the DNC is so out of touch, and the condesending media so vapid, that they think we are going to “come around”.
Such thinking inures me more. It confirms that they have not paid attention to us, have not heard us, or simply think we are as impotent as they are.
They have done so at their peril. My belief is that if we remain true to ourselves, our values, and country over party, we will give them the shock of their lives.
Thereby confirming that we do matter, that we are real and serious, and will never be taken for granted again.
My greatest hope is that by our stance we will cause an implosion in the DNC, resulting in women never again being ignored, guilt-tripped, insulted, race-baited, “sweetie-pied”, etc.
I hope to prove to all the misogynists that women are actually the back-bone of this country, not to be taken lightly, and never again to be taken for granted or disdained.
I want the DNC and the media, to be slapped with the fact that the women they have trampled on, along with we men who love them, respect them, understand their ire, and will stand beside them, absolutely have the power to determine who is the next President and shall do so!
Ben: Do you mean like Harris and Klebold? Wanted to become the dominators after being bullied? that sort of thing?
Prolix: Love it!
Chris Van Hollen is my Congressman. I’ve volunteered tons for him, especially when he first ran for Congress. I’m afraid to read the link because I adore him. What does it say?
Changed my sig at TalkLeft to
P.U.M.A.
Pat,
Speaking of the categories above, if I were female and could wrangle a bus, I’d have hit pretty much all the categories.
Robin — I think those two (Eric and Dylan) really encapsulate Ben’s analogy.
Prolix: How disappointing. And here I have just fallen in love with you. I don’t care how cute a waitress you were, I just cannot get over a case of ugly. Sorry.
Ben, if we are on the Confluence, then we are soulmates.
MC: What kills me is that the neo-Democrats (former Republicans/Libertarians and Green Party people) they have no clue what it means to be a TRUE Democrat (Equality, Civil Rights, Justice, Peace, Prosperity, Everybody can work and get a good paying job at what they want to do, Every public school should be a “good” school, Everyone has the right to Universal healthcare, and so on).
They think that by waving around their “Dem” voter card and being against Bush makes them a Democrat. It doesn’t.
Ronkseattle, spread the word! Blog it – the PUMAs are gonna snap some necks.
Bush is so hated they figured they could just put up any candidate (other than Hillary) and we would just swoon with pleasure at the chance to vote for him. They are counting on this in November. Let’s put it this way: I am in a deep freeze right now and do not expect to be thawed out much before Christmas.
Pat, when I was a’waitressin’ part of my uniform was a thick triple ply paper bag although it did cut down on the sale of Tums.
Pat, or like Pat Buchanan said today, paraphrased, I’m not giving in until hell freezes over and then we’ll fight on the ice.
SM, I was about to type the same thing, but I thought my fingers might fall off when I typed Pat Buchanan.
Prolix: You are a minx.
LOL @ Pat and SM (while nodding in full agreement).
SM: The PUMA thing is appearing on other sites. People who have either visited here or posted are bringing it to the attention of others. See how just the smallest germ of an idea can grow? This could catch on big time. I have never seen so many unhappy Dems out there. Very unhappy.
Was it only a few months ago we all said we would support the Dem nominee no matter what? Look at us today. We loathe the presumptive nominee and are looking at alternatives.
Pat, I’m going to be quiet for a little while and that way I’ll be the missing minx.
Pat, are you for real???? Get outta town! Ooooh, PUMAs are snapping necks! It’s definitely like an Operation Turndown, but crassier, sassier and cattier, being that we are all bitter low-rent Clinton Supporters, so they say.
Prolix: Great minds work alike, but I don’t know where I left mine.
Minx: fourth cousin to the puma. And the puns just keep on coming.
I just felt like doing it so I paid a visit to Crooks and Liars where most of the comments regarding Hillary were just the same. I left a posting there in her favor. Bet if I go back in a few minutes, like cockroaches, they will have swarmed all over me.
SM: Saw it mentioned over at Anglachel. And someone had it over on No Quarter. Saw it in a third place but I don’t quite remember which one now. People visit this blog frequently.
Pumas are inveterate stalk and ambushers. One of the other things that I didn’t put in the “Fun Facts to Know and Tell” is the fact that the Pumas’ hunting grounds are very large and research suggests that it can be up to 1300 square kilometers. Don’t you love Wiki?
One other thing, we are quite adept at marking our territory.
Prolix: We may have to get a restraining order out on you.
LOL
All of You today and tonight have been – oh I wish I had the words – magnificent comes only close .. It has to be another language to describe how brilliant , perceptive and full of humour you all are ..
All the character traits of what is exactly need in the world .
sigh – what a loss for BOs party … Big Hearty Deep laugh ! !!!!!!!!!
Pat that is really cool. See, humans are tribal by nature, and since we got kicked out of our tribe, then we created our own. And now, we have a name for our un-partied-ness.
BTW, Happy Un-Birthday to all!
I’m going to crawl into my PUMA cave and see you guys in the morning. Good night to all & PUMA everyone you hear calling for “P.U.” a.k.a Party Unity. (acronym is so appropriate)
(((((Paws waving goodnight)))))
I think that Nancy Pelosi is the key to all of this. She thinks Obama is a true progressive (and not the #2 bagman for Rezko and integral to the Chicago machine). Hillary will certainly work with her beautifully but will not be at her feet as Obama has to be (since he knows nothing).
Everyone should get in touch with Pelosi. As Speaker of the House she is our official. If Obama is the nominee, we are all watching two trains collide in slow motion. If one person bears the responsibility for alienating a huge block of voters, it is Nancy P. who is an Obama supporter (although pretends to be undeclared).
From yesterday’s S.F. Chronicle (which as been working overtime for Obama)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/30/MNQE110L6T.DTL
Clinton, expected to win the Puerto Rico primary tomorrow, heard tough new words from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who warned Friday in San Francisco that the party must avoid a “scorched-earth strategy” in the final days of the campaign.
Pelosi spoke at the San Francisco Food Bank less than 24 hours before the Democratic rules committee was to meet in Washington to decide on the seating of delegates from Florida and Michigan, which held early primaries in defiance of party rules.
She expressed confidence that the party’s nominee will be decided shortly after the Puerto Rico primary, in which 55 delegates are at stake, and the final two primaries Tuesday in South Dakota and Montana, where 33 total delegates are up for grabs.
Depending on how the rules committee decides to penalize Florida and Michigan, Obama could end up as early as Tuesday with the number of delegates required to clinch the party’s presidential nomination.
Pelosi pointedly warned Clinton supporters, some of whom are threatening to take the delegate fight as far as the Democratic National Convention, that such a strategy could seriously damage the chances of electing a Democrat to the White House in November.
“There is too much at stake in our country for us to be thinking that we can afford the luxury of intraparty battles eight weeks before the election,” Pelosi said in her strongest words yet on the tussle over seating the Florida and Michigan delegates. “We’ve had many months to have a debate, to come to a conclusion. And one way or another … we have to come together.”
Pelosi told The Chronicle earlier this week that if the matter of seating the delegates is not decided by late June, she will “step in” if necessary to prevent a fight at the convention in late August.
“The American people have to know the Democratic Party can run its own delegate selection process … if they want to govern America,” Pelosi said Friday. “Instead of talking about process,” Democrats now need to “talk about how we have a progressive economic agenda. … That’s what the American people want to hear about,” she said. “That’s how we can take America in a new direction.”
Pelosi directly responded to Clinton supporters who have vowed to take the New York senator’s fight to the floor of the convention, which the speaker chairs.
“I admire the enthusiasm of those who want to take this to the limit,” Pelosi said. “But it will harm our party’s chances to win in November. Their enthusiasm is wonderful … but it’s a luxury I can’t afford.”
Pelosi stressed again that “a June timetable is one that we (party leaders) all share” to resolve the issue of seating delegates from Florida and Michigan.
“This is the democratic process … we take it one step at a time. This weekend the (party’s) rules committee will act,” she said. Then, “there will be some movement of the superdelegates after that … and we’ll make a judgment at that time on what is needed.”
Pelosi added she did not blame Clinton for the current controversy.
“Sen. Clinton and President Clinton, they are leaders in our country. They’re above all of this,” she added. “The enthusiasm of some of our supporters sometimes gets a little zealous.
“I respect it. It’s the democratic way,” she said. “It’s not about strategy. It’s about letting the events unfold and making a decision.”
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-0100
http://speaker.house.gov/contact/
This PUMA stuff is cracking me up, all. I do own several pairs of Puma shoes and a jacket (which as it happens is black with a tiny little pink logo). I hate logos so I hardly ever wear the jacket but I may have to change that just as a sly little in-joke.
river daughter…you scare me sometimes…
much love…
seldom….
I was thinking the team colors should be black and blue…for obvious reasons.
snip
Thanks for your responses. I could not of said it better myself. Some of the Trinity Church backlash I have seen disturbs me.
I am sorta slow & stupid (being one of those “low information voters” in Ohio) but you know, I kinda like Cynthia McKinney….as a POOR second best to Clinton…(no offence, Cynthia…I am sure u are a fine person…but Hillary really is a once in a lifetime!
Of course if Hillary is an option I will absolutely vote her. I can’t imagine anyone anyone better for this nation, at this time.
But it seems to me, they are doing their best to make sure Hillary is not an option. If she ran (even for a 3rd party) I would vote for her – no contest.
I like Hillary. She is what this country needs.
But Hillary has this annoying loyalty to the very party that has not treated her very well! lol.
I am absolutely, completely distressed that this party would make Hillary Clinton out to be some kind of villain.
Hillary! (as if she could hear me! LOL) I will do anything you ask…except vote for Obama.
But if that is not an option, I would say this: Cynthia McKinney seems like what I would call ‘good people..
And if we all put our votes in a single place, it would be better than totally scattered.
Just my opinion, and I am sorry if I have offended.
Wow! I think MAWM may have just gotten about 3 minutes of his 15 due! We all get to say we “know” him 😉
RD, here’s one for you –
Other bloggers have suggested that since the DNC will be awarding free Michigan delegates to a candidate whose name was not on the ballot..
Call the DNC yourself and explain that your name, too, was not on the ballot, and you would like a free delegate.
Caveat – they will doubtless take the delegate away from Hillary to give it to you, so let’s not too many make the call.
Puma colors: How about orange and blue rather than black and blue?
Just saying since it’s the only acceptable Puma logo Tee I can find at Amazon.com
Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if we swarmed Amazon and purchased out all of their PUMA tees?
Send that money to Hillary! 🙂
Hillary needs to do PUMA tees ;-).
I was googling Hillary and saw an AP article that said something like “Hillary is ponder how to end her candidacy with dignity”
…as if there’s some kind of disgrace in being the largest vote-getter ever in a primary.
I mean really, these people are just infuriating.
Guben, you are clearly up past your bed time.
PUMA – Phillies United Must Act . . . . . . Politics and Sports what could be better to discuss. I’ll take the sports anyday!
I think MAWM has picked the PUMA mascot.
A pig with lipstick.
After seeing all that’s happened this weekend, I’ve decided that, since Howard Dean and Donna Brazile think uncommitted = Obama, if Hillary doesn’t get the nomination, I’m writing in for “uncommitted.” I’m sure the Republicans won’t have any problem counting all those “uncommitted” write-in votes as votes for Obama, right?
When i fax the DNC a copy of my new voter registration listing me as an independent, I will be sure to scrawl PUMA! on there.
Maybe leave a paw print as well. 🙂
I like the PUMA idea. What I would discourage people from doing is leaving the Democratic Party. Once we leave, they don’t have to deal with us at all. Dean wants us to leave. It’ll be a lovely boys club then.
Personally, what I’ll be doing is not giving another penny of my money to the DNC. I’ll donate directly to the campaigns of candidates that are presented to me by sources like this. We need to support them directly and make it clear that we will not be giving the DNC money until they show us that they actually care about us. I want the likes of John Dean and Donna Brazile gone from party leadership before I ever think about giving them one red cent.
Ellen: Leaving the party for some of us is a form of protection. We can’t be manipulated into believing our votes are automatic for the nominee if we are not members.
Today’s NYT has a story on the Democrats struggling to finance the Denver convention. Gee, I wonder why donations are down? I guess the OFB isn’t such a good source of funds after all, huh Howard? Maybe Barack will have to pay for it himself. LOL!
I saw the clip in which Andrea Mitchell asked Howard Wolfson in the most condescending tone, “What’s the point of having protesters outside when the meeting is inside?”
That’s like asking anti-capital punishment protesters why they are protesting outside the penitentiary when the execution is occurring inside the penitentiary.
I just don’t know why Howard doesn’t call them out on this stuff.
I think we can also be certain that the “whitey tape” is a hoax and an urban legend fueled by Larry Johnson and Roger Stone just to screw with both sides.
Ellen, trust me…
it is not just women who feel left out. Theres plenty of men who have lost much confidence in the ‘new’ DEM party…
GET OFF MESSAGE
Today is the last day before the last day of the Democratic primaries. I have no doubt what so ever (yes, this is emotional larceny) that all Hillary supporters will at least make ten calls to voters in Montana and South Dakota.
What? You’ve never made a cold call for Hillary? YOU APOSTATES!
Yea right. Like the Obamethod would work here. Well…let me try this: If you’ve never campaigned for Hillary by telephone, you’re about to lose your last chance. There, take it or leave it.
Your voice is all that is needed. After months and months of this campaign, we have all found our voice of support for Hillary. Forget about the talking points. You know Hillary. You know why you support her. Now tell others.
I’ve listed three suggestions below that may help the call go more smoothly (or terribly, hard to say.) But most importantly you have to get some numbers to call, so start here at Hillary’s website: http://tools.hillaryclinton.com/calling
It’s time to show your true support (forget I just said that), and it’s your last two days to show it. So please: EXPRESS YOURSELF! (Forget I just heard Madonna in my head.)
1. Always assume that the person you’re talking to is voting. It’s insulting to hear a stranger say something like “If you’re voting.” Who wouldn’t be insulted?….Me, actually, but anyway….
2. Here’s a tough one: How do you respond to, “Well, I just don’t like her”?
Don’t ask, “Why?” Answer with empathy. Reveal some of your own doubts and how you were able to put them to sleep. Remember: doubts are always demons. And then give them an authentic, specific moment when Hillary won you over. (I was won over in “92, I thought I was voting for Hillary….my druggy days.)
3. Still can’t get through to them? Well give them the absolute truth: Children will ALWAYS come first for Hillary. The future of the children of America will be Hillary’s primary concern as president, as it should be–for all presidents. She will fight for the safety, for the health, for the biggest and smallest hopes of our most precious citizens. Hillary knows instinctively that nothing is more important than children prospering with faith and hope.
President Hillary will blaze a wide and peaceful path for many generations to come.
Best Luck To ALL
Jack
Lipstick on a pig made it into Dana Milbank’s article in the WP too. Mawm, we need to you attend the Convention in Denver. Your voice must really carry. Can we make that the PUMA chant?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/31/AR2008053102354_2.html?sid=ST2008053102453
I don’t think Larry Johnson of the New York Knicks has much to do with that tape, sweetie.
Jack. I’m not a “sweetie” but instead a dedicated PUMA. I was just tying up some loose ends from last nights discussion about this tape that has been publicized on No Quarter. We all hoped it would appear today but apparently it’s not going to.
MC, on June 1st, 2008 at 11:16 pm Said
Excellent post and I am in total agreement with your assessment, I too demand centrist governance and reject extremist and their antics I though the Clintons and Schumer had moved the Party but Kennedy’s hold was too strong and I want nothing to do with a liberal social justice 60s arrogant platform, they have a role certainly but not in the majority we saw that disaster with Bush.
It is however long past time for a new Party, a home for Centrist an agenda about good governance and the big change but we appear to be on our way is that we will need to become activist and not allow political discourse to fall only to the anti socially affected extremes and the cable talk shows that thrive on the tabloid discourse of these failed agendas. PUMA is fine with me, what would be super and this election is now ripe for, is a Centrist ticket and Centrist Party that combines former candidates from differing Parties that have been rejected by their fringes, say Clinton, Hagel then the problem becomes the Electoral College, AGAIN.
Okay, sorry ben, anyway, his name is l. clark. But it doesn’t matter. Today and tomorrow we should be concentrating our efforts on making phone calls to voters in Montana and South Dakota. After the last primaries, I think we can start smashing champagne bottles on the PUMA.
Salty…
I don’t think we should focus on being ‘centrist’. What I want is competence and solutions to our country’s problems. The lack of confidence in government and the nation’s leaders (on both sides) are approaching levels that, {if it were not for everyday hustle of making a living which is at-least for now still possible but decreasing every decade}, are truly dangerous for any democracy or representative republic. The fall of all great powers begins with the populus’ lack of confidence which eventually leads to subsequent collapse.
Just got a note Hillary Rapid Responders with a release from Alcee Hastings, she is boycotting the convention.
The release was as poignant as her plea at the RBC Saturday.
Both brought tears to my eyes.
Alcee Hastings’ Statement:
“It is with reluctance and disappointment that I accept the DNC’s decision today. I do so not because I agree with the decision but because it is time for us to move on and focus on winning in November.
“I applaud Karen Thurman and the Florida Democratic Party, Robert Wexler, Bill Nelson and others who represented our state and the candidates for doing the best they could with a bad situation.
“Florida Democrats have been serially abused and the DNC is the latest of offenders. How the DNC has the authority to ignore the votes of ‘Jack and Jane Lunch Bucket’ is beyond my understanding. The insiders who actively sought to disillusion and disenfranchise the more than 1.75 million Florida Democrats who voted on January 29 give new meaning to collective arrogance.
“The DNC’s decision today ignores the core principle of our great democracy: the right to vote. I know that the 1.75 million Democrats who voted on January 29 count and don’t give a damn what the DNC rules pronounce.
“Going to a party’s convention is a privilege. Courts have said that political parties have a right to make their rules. In this case, the DNC has chosen to take away that privilege from people who I believe have earned the right to participate in the National Convention in Denver with a full vote. As Americans, we should never insinuate or give vent to taking away the constitutional, time honored, died for, and cherished rights of voters from any state. Yet that is what today’s decision has done to the people of Florida and Michigan.
“I suppose the DNC has the right to block Democrats in Florida from attending the National Convention. They also have the right to be stupid, and stupid they are.
“At the beginning of our great country’s history my ancestors were counted as only 2/3 of a person. Until passage of the 15th Amendment in 1870, they weren’t allowed to vote. During that same time and until 1920, women could not vote. White men who did not own property could not vote at one point in our history as well.
“Now, on May 31, 2008, a group of elitist insiders of the DNC have effectively said that some of my ancestors’ progeny equal only 1/2 and that men and women in Florida who voted on January 29th are 1/2 also. For a Party which will crown its historic nominee on the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, the DNC’s decision today is tragically ironic.
“As a matter of protest, I do not intend to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
“Despite all of this, too much is at stake this November. I refuse to allow those who have done me and my constituents wrong to stop us from taking back our country. Together, we will do whatever it takes to increase our majority in the House and Senate and win the Presidency.
“While I cannot speak for others, I do not intend to take any further legal action against the DNC. If I believed that we could win, believe me, I would act and so would others. But based on case history, it is an uphill battle screaming for a change in federal law.
“I will, however, spend enormous energy on convincing my colleagues in Congress that we must create a rotating regional Presidential primary system. 30 political insiders – nearly all of whom ain’t ever been elected to a damn thing in their lives– must never again have the ability to reject the will of and unilaterally disenfranchise 1.75 million voters.
“This election is bigger than Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton. It is certainly bigger than the DNC. There are over 46 million Americans who are uninsured, gas and energy costs are spiraling out of control, America’s economy is faltering, and U.S. troops are dying nearly every day in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will take the energy and resources of all of us to fix these problems and the others facing our nation.
“As Florida voters have demonstrated time and time again, we will rise above those who have sought to silence our voices and vote big and win in November.”
This is a feisty lady.
Kim, Alcee is a “he”. Unless you were referring to Hill. I WISH she’d give them the ol’ heave ho. 🙂
Brilliant. Thank you for PUMA – I have now found a new home.
Ellen, they dont deal with you now, and recall Dem leaders have repeatedly said this is about Obama attracting Independents and Republicans you they assumed would follow.
I think we all need to step back and realize what’s wrong with this process and it was not the voters in 2000 or in this Primary it was the Party’s corrupted self fulfilling agenda that brought us George Bush and Obama. IMO Parties and low information voter’s who fall for the Party manufactured wedgies that have so divided our communities our country and corrupted good governance. We the People, the majority in the middle consider women privacy settled law, we do not want a constitutional amendments to ban same sex unions just a couple of examples where Party’s sap the countries energy and good will jerking we the folks around thats causing the unnecessary divide.
DRII, yes I agree my reference was more pathology then political extremes as in extremes of anti social disorders on display from the fringes of the Party’s who I do not view as sects with Governance or Issue based agendas.
PUMA!!! PUMA!!! PUMA!!!
I LIKE the PINK because it’s a “girly color” and the DNC and
Obama have made it clear that they think they can win
without women. So pink makes a statement.
Why not a BLACK PUMA on a PINK BACKGROUND???
I don’t think anyone could trademark all images of pumas,
only one that is their own design, since pumas are real
animals.
When can we buy gear with the logo? I want a ball cap
ASAP!
I still hope Hillary wins in Denver. But if she doesn’t, I
will vote for John McCain because Obama is more
dangerous than he is.
Remember that many Republicans do not think McCain is conservative enough. We would do better under a McCain presidency than an Obama one.
If you can’t force yourself to vote for McCain, don’t write in
Hillary without checking your state’s law. In some states,
a write in for another Democrat would be counted for the
Democratic nominee, so you’d actually be voting for
Obama!
There’s always the Green Party, Nader, not voting for
president — you don’t have to vote in every race on the
ballot.
I was a registered Democratic voter for 40 years — goodbye
to all that! I sent Howard Dean my goodbye letter
Saturday so I’m glad to see this. Want unity, Howie?
Give us the nominee who can win in November instead of
your pet.
(((((PUMA)))))
Superb idea. Count me in!
New PUMA member:
Formerly of Daily Kos (left for obvious reasons)
Still at TalkLeft
Great idea!
I LOVE this idea! Sign me up! I want a PUMA bumper sticker and some PUMA window decals! This could take off in a HUGE way!
Great idea!
I’m finished with the so-called “Democratic Party.” They have shown their true color throughout this campaign. It’s not a party I want anything to do with.
[…] What is the PUMA Party? Click Here To Find Out. […]
Count me in. Between a woman who fought like a man and a man who fought like a woman it was no contest to me. Between a man who fights like a woman and a man who fights like a man it is also no contest. Democratic party – I’m outta here.
Where do we get our bumper stickers?
Please count me in. I want to purchase a PUMA STICKER AND APPAREL, WHATEVE IS AVAILABLE.
I think many of us are looking in disbelief that what is happening is happening when the world is going toward global capitalism and flourishing for it, the USA is returning to the socialist caretaker state of the 1960s because of an articulate sleight-of-hand artist whose rhetoric hides that the change he means to bring is not really new but old fashioned Marxism that has failed over half of the globe and brought many nations to poverty and concentration camps? Is this really happening? Are we really witnessing the impossible? This must be an existentialist’s dream.
I want to make one point very clear- Clinton supporters do not have the same web presence as Obama supporters. Clinton supporters are older and not as connected as the young Obamabots.
You guys have to organize rallies and protest outside of CNN so that older Clinton voters KNOW THERE IS A MOVEMENT THEY CAN BE A PART OF. They don’t go on the computer so you have to inform them through the media.
You have to protest at Obama rallies, you have to protest anytime there is a television news camera around. You need to be creative to keep yourself in the media eye.
Get out there and make a nuisance into a national movement which will stand up for substance over style.
Sign me up. I love the concept. very clever, great graphics. I will never, ever vote for Obama even if Hillary begs me to or even if she is the VP. No way in hell. I have quit the democratic party FOREVER!
LONG LIVE PUMA!
I’m still not clear on how Clinton’s polices were similar to McCain’s? I am really serious. Is there something I’m missing about what these two stand for? I mean it would make more sense to me for all these people to start voting for Ron Paul. Please, an explanation someone… I might even get convinced.
Quite frankly, DNC, I don’t give a damn. Just like Rhett… I am so fed up with your ridiculuos machinations – Do you REALLY think we are that stupid? Did you think you could lead us around like little sheep? Something very, very, rotten is going on. Did Obama sell his whanty, whiney soul to Soros to get elected? I am a Democratic Liberal. I am not an angry, racist activist so far left that it scares the s*** out of everyone! Something has to be done. NOW. We can’t wait. I have never donated to a candidate before this. I just donated to PUMA. Please EVERYONE do the same. You can’t believe what a little from everyone adds up to.
“We would do better under a McCain presidency than an Obama one.”
Depends. Do you care about Roe v. Wade? If not, then sure, you’ll do better under McCain.
However, if you care about Roe v. Wade, and you vote for McCain and wind up losing Roe v. Wade, you will be responsible. You will have truly gotten the government you deserve.
That Guy:
Who’s idea was it for all you Obot trolls to refer to Roe v. Wade? I can just picture some nerdy 30-year old virgin grad student giving instructions to the geeky 20-something undergrads in the computer lab:
“Our polls show that the hairy-legged femi-nazis care about abortion, so tell them they have to support Barack or McCain will appoint Supreme Court Justices that will repeal Roe v. Wade.
It’s become a cliched response that all the Obamanation trolls use. Please pass the word to your trollmaster that:
1. We have heard it a million times
2. It didn’t work the first timet
3. It still doesn’t
4. A whole bunch of us are guys
5. All of us are aware of something called “birth control.”
6. None of us plan to have abortions.
7. There are already 5 sure anti-Roe justices on SCOTUS
8. The Democrats (the party we’re supposed to be unifying with) can block SCOTUS appointments
9. We’ll happily take the battle over women’s right to choose to the legislatures because 70%+ of voters agree with us
10. There are other “women’s issues” you can try to hold hostage for the sake of variety
11. You can’t convince women you care about them if you obviously don’t repect them.
BTW – I am hairy-legged, but that’s because 48-year old grandfathers like me don’t shave their legs.
Where do I sign up to join the PUMA party? I just read about it in the Boston Globe.
(LOL, I’m a cougar, but I also want to become a PUMA.)
Judy
Joe: Are you sure you’re not a scriptwriter for MADMEN?
Slick, indeed.
Joe: I would add as a postscript that you might be able to play to the weaknesses in character of Obamatons, but we don’t respond to manipulation. We’re not empty vessels waiting to be filled up by airy rhetoric.
The nerve of that poseur, looking to adjust his message. He can say anything he pleases, but he remains the same inauthentic being that he is now.
Please, take your psych textbooks and go home to your master.
“We’re not empty vessels waiting to be filled up by airy rhetoric.”
Oh you mean like- vote against our best interests and for a candidate that will jeopardize all the gains women, minorities and the the LGBT comunities have realized over the past 50 or so years?
And no, I will neither support a man who calls his wife a c*nt to her face. Not now, not ever. http://wonkette.com/376849/john-mccain-called-wife-awful-word-that-rhymes-with-hunt-and-punt
Hey, where do I sign up for PUMA party? We need to stay organized and in touch. Do not give an inch to these sleazebags. Obama is just another spoiled mommy’s boy who like George Bush (yet another mommy’s boy) refuses to take responsibility for ANYTHING that doesn’t benefit him. This makes sense for a 4 year old but not the Commander in Chief.If I had a dime for every time he said “my campaign said that not me” or “that was said by a surrogate not me” I’d have enough money to, well, retire Mrs. Clinton’s campaign debt. The last straw to this whole debacle was the freaking RBC meeting, and I am now officially an Independent after being a Democrat for 35 years. I mean really, WTF? Dude where’s my party?
For anyone asking how to sign up for the PUMA un-party:
Any time you see a TV talking head or commenter ask for “party Unity” – scream
P arty
U nity
M y
A ss!!!!
And you are in!
Then join us here at the Confluence and at PUMA Pac (which has a friendly acronym but means the same thing) .
PS: Joe, go away. Nobody here is voting for Obama – or for McCain for the most part. So go back to DailyKos or Huffington, AmericaBlog, et al. We are not supporting an illegitimate candidate or for a party who CHEATED by giving him delegates & votes he did not earn.
Good luck with McCain in the fall and leave us the hell alone.
PS: Joe, we aren’t Democrats anymore. Most of us re-registered after May 31, 2008, the day that will be remembered in infamy.
So you waste your time. Please. No more.
Joe, so if you felt that way, why didn’t you vote for her then?
We aren’t having a pity party, NO SIR, we are fighting back the gross corruption that has infested the DNC. We saw it on live TV on May 31st, 2008 at the RBC meeting.
The election was fixed for the Precious to win and you think we are going to sit back and cry?
We are all activists from all walks of life, old/young, gay/straight, rural/urban, Caucaisian/African American/Latino/Native American/Asian and more, Male/Female, Sick/Healthy, Parents/Non-Parents, YOU NAME IT.
You and your ilk fucked the the BASE of the Democratic party. Not the sexy new Obama Party, but the BASE that have been Democrats all their lives, like me, my mom & dad, my siblings & family. We saw the takeover on national television on May 31st 2008, by STEALING and CHEATING for Obama to win.
So what are we doing? What we do best. We organize, we protest, we fight. And we are making noise because the last thing you thought a yellow dog democrat would say is Party Unity My Ass. But it happen, thanks to the CHEATING and the VOTE STEALING.
No more holding our nose – no more voting just because they have a “D” next to a name.
IT’S OVER. GO AWAY. YOU CAN’T WIN US BACK.
A question was just posed (on the Hillary board) at to the overall purpose of PUMA.
Wanting to share it with you and open it up for discussion, this is my take:
I would contend that PUMA — for at least June through November — exists primarly to prevent Barack Obama from winning the White House in 2008.
After November — given a McCain victory — I would contend that PUMA would strive to reform and rebuild the Democratic Party to be the party that America had *thought* it was voting into power in 2006.
Or — given an Obama victory — I would contend that PUMA would strive to become a 3rd Party that would draw in Centrists, Moderates, Independents, Conservative Democrats, and Liberal Republicans… with Election Reform at the top of its platform.
Creative idea that fits with what many of the long-term democrats I know are feeling….including me…
(I’ll resist the temptation to think “democat”)
Thank you Riverdaughter and Conflucians — the Puma PAC movement is exploding! Thousands and thousands of new members every day, and we’re only five days old!
Please add your letter to Howard Dean about why we are protesting the 2008 election. to the hundreds we’ve collected in the last few hours.
http://blog.pumapac.org/
Right on SM. Joe I’m glad you sense that we are angry you are right. The leadership of the DNC just thinks we’re disappointed and bitter. Bitter we’re not, bitter sets home and broods, disappointed will get over it and come back home like good boys and girls. Anger motivates and sets plans in motion like we’re doing over at PUMA PAC. We’re more than just angry but for the simplicity of this comment I’ll deal with just anger for now.
Will Bower good summation of PUMA with the exception of the part about the possible 3rd Party status PUMA. Look at Anglachel’s Blog Partisan http://anglachelg.blogspot.com/ for the reasons why we reasons why we shouldn’t become a 3rd political party.
In the future what PUMA can do is become a powerful voice for Centrists, Moderates, Independents, Conservative Democrats, and Liberal and Moderate Republicans. Currently the Right and Left wings of both parties largely control who is nominated and who runs each party. But the vast majority of voters in this country fall in the middle of these extremes. We are the ones who elect Presidents but neither Party nor the MSM acknowledge this fact. With the nomination of John McCain this year a more moderated candidate has appeared with the Republican Party, but I think that the party thought it couldn’t win this year and needed a sacrificial lamb for nomination. Probably no one is more surprised than the RNC that McCain has a good chance to win in November.
PUMA offers a chance for both Democrats and Republicans to have a voice in the selection of future candidates and demand change in the way each party is run. Right now PUMA is probably more Democrats and former Democrats, but I can envision that it may become more bipartisan in the future. Both parties need change and PUMA can help to bring about that change.
Does your comment make any sense? I would say, no.
I believe that if Florida and Michigan had been resolved fairly with revotes in a timely manner that Hillary would have absolutely won. Obama couldn’t risk revotes his hold on pledged delegates was too narrow.
I’ve been a Democrat for 35 years…..there is no way I would EVER vote for OBAMA. Tthe guy has NO experience. Oh…I forgot…I guess he has 1 (one) year in the senate! That and his (and his wife’s) affliation with extreme radical racists turn my stomach. Look at Hillary’s experience, it far surpasses his! His image has been fluffed up like hell by the media!
Nope…this Democrat is voting for McCain.
GO PUMA !
AD a policy that I believe Senator’s Clinton and McCain are very close on is the policy regarding negotiating with Hamas. Israel is a close ally of the United States and has been for years. Negotiating with an organization which calls for total destruction of a friend like Israel would if nothing else send a bad message to Israel. It would also send the message to all our Allies that the commitment to them is only valid until the next presidential election when anything can happen depending on the whim of the electorate.
I will grant to you that there are many issues that I disagree with Sen. McCain. But I know he has the experience to run the country and has worked and compromised with Democrats to get things done. He had the guts to oppose Bush over issues in which he disagreed with the President. For example both McCain and Clinton voted against the Bush / Cheney Energy Bill while I believe Sen. Obama voted for the Bill.
There are more reasons why I will vote for McCain this fall but this is all this post probably deserves. Many of the readers of this blog probably don’t respond to your post because they see you as a Troll. I suspect you are as angry with us for not supporting BO as we are angry with the DNC and the MSM.
“made Iraq a hot bed for terrorists, ” – and kept them out of NYC.
The democratic nominee is a very dangerous choice. He is just too inexperienced and so clearly spineless with his scores of “present” votes. His policy changes from day to day to day anyway.
I won’t vote for him even if HRC is on the ticket.
SM…and all PUMAs…Whatever happened to our American ‘write-in’?
DON’T give the vote to McCain
DON’T give the vote to Obama
DO a Clinton ‘write-in’ !!!
Hi, I’m an Obama supporter, I’m all hopey and changey; I’ve never felt so fulfilled; would you like a pod?
S G THomas, we are here. And yes, I will do a write it if my lovely state of FL permits it.
Ronald:
Thank you for sharing.
Your opinion really matters to us. Can you tell?
Meh. PUMA, the un-party for idiots. That should be your slogan.
I need your help RD…I joined PUMA no problem. When I went to comment, it said I had to log on…did that with word press. I got on with my name “MaryBeth” then the next day I signed on and was told my password was invalid. I have since done this on all 3 of my email addresses, and still can’t get on. Please, I know I’m not computer savy and I’m just getting into this communication. Why are some easier than other. I have no trouble getting to you, and to other sights. Can you help me or send me to someone who can help me. I want to send my letter to Howard Dean also, and I want to work on a Million Women March in Denver in August..
Look, I would’ve voted for Gravel or Dodd, or freaking Howdie Doody over another 4-years of a (R) White House… what is wrong with you people? Are you really that mad?
I am not disagreeing that there was tons of sexist BS in the media towards Hillary; but she didn’t lose because of that alone. Was it fair? No. But come on… give the man a chance before you decide to shoot your own party (if it really was) in the face already? Jeez! and sigh :0(
Have any of you self-examined your seemingly visceral dislike of Obama? Just grab your remote, lower the color setting, and raise the brightness and he may appear more to your liking? I’m being snarky on purpose for a reason. The undercurrent of racism (just like the sexism of anti-Hillaryists) is palatable. Sad I am.
[…] see more about Party Unity My Ass (PUMA) over at […]
Wow. I won’t disagree that Hillary is more qualified in many ways, but as a person who happens to like his civil liberties, I feel I have to point out that in the next 4 – 8 years, Stevens, Kennedy, Ginsburg and maybe more will be looking to step down from the court. If you want to see a court full of Robertses (young and arch conservative) occupying the highest court for 40 years, stripping everyone of any rights they ever had or hoped to have, by all means, refuse to help Obama beat McCain.
The primary was all messed up and no one denies that. But you have to look at the bigger picture here. Roe v. Wade, Gay Marriage, right to privacy…these issues all hinge on keeping the conservatives from taking over.
Please don’t let your bitterness motivate you to let the country burn.
Take your ball home cause you couldn’t pull out a win through cheating. I’m sure if the DNC overturned the REAL majority and not some made up segment of democratic voters. Find solace in that feeling of losing since your candidate was not the “chosen one” and I hope you all know that if Obama loses those who chose not to support the Democratic party cause they didn’t get their way will be blamed and therefor RUIN Clinton’s chances at the presidency ever.
Its a no win situation for you now, if Obama wins expect 2 terms. If he loses the REAL majority will hold Clinton accountable and she will never recover from that thanks to many of you. In the process you would have lost equal pay for women (which McSame does not support) the right to choose and you will continue to send your children into the incinerator that is Iraq. Be proud of that.. and know that you are setting a half assed example for future generations.
[…] gotta admit, it’s pretty funny: So, the so-called “Old Coalition” is just so five minutes ago, […]
Is Hillary an honorary PUMA member?
Just asking.
[…] correction to my version of the beginnibgs AND acknowledgments from the […]
Sadie:
I’ve been a Democrat for over 20 years
I am also a PUMA
I take it very seriously.
Congratulation folks, we just made the Financial Times!!!!
“Angry diehards snub Clinton call for unity”
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c55bda52-42c7-11dd-81d0-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
PUMA…. If Obama thinks so many wonderful things about Hillary Clinton and wants unity so damn badly, then why hasn’t he offered her the VP slot. It’s just more political pandering for her supporters and fund raisers, the same people he and his surrogates have unfairly insulted and bashed throughout this election. He’s no different than any other politician. He ran on a message of “CHANGE” with no experience to back it up. Then he copied all of Hillary’s policies and won the popularity contest. Now, he admires her so much, but not enough to make her VP, and I guarantee you he never will. The DNC threw all of their own rules out the window to GIVE him the election.I’ll say it again,PUMA!!!!!!!!!!
Was seduced by Obama’s speech before the Democratic convention. I e-asked him to run. Gave him money. Went to an Obama party and gave more money. Took a bus to an Obama rally. / Then I began doubting my choice. I saw blatant sexism raise it’s head and defected to Hillary. I escaped the Obamacult. I also realized that a primary motive for becoming active in the Obama campaign was the desire to do penance for my racist parents – White-Guilt. Second-hand guilt is a poor motive for choosing a president. / I also saw the media dump on Hillary – mostly suggesting that the Obama nomination was a done-deal long before the voting was over. I sent “loads” of e-complaints, to individual journalists, political analysts, and many to CNN. / I sent a scathing letter to Howard Dean for pushing the super-delegates to choose as the media kept insisting it was Obama. // Now I have to spend my time appealing to John McCian’s sense of logic and justice. / I’m not sure Hillary should take a job “not worth a warm bucket of spit” I think she has more important things she can do. I have given my opinion to her site // Jean
DNC sucks!
How could we judge the illegitimacy of other countries elections when we cannot keep ours honest here in America?
PUMA…stand strong.
dont want to sound ignorant…but is there a place where I can sign up to support PUMA? I have already given Hillary my Credit card…….
Tony @ 1:40p
How do we tell that backtrack pays his female staffers less then his male staffers?
If you are so worried about roe v wade get a vasectomy.
backtrack is so anti female and so anti american that it would be counter productive for women to vote for him.
COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS
PUMAS,BUBBAS,THOSE PEOPLE AND HILLLARY’S HARRIDANS RULE
Her’e why McCain has flip-flopped on nearly all the issues that got him the “maverick” reputation:
Why does McCain want to be President?
No reason other than ambition. He told us in his book:
Worth The Fighting For, p. 373, published September 2002:
“I didn’t decide to run for president to start a national crusade for the political reforms I believed in or to run a campaign as if it were some grand act of patriotism. In truth, I wanted to be president because it had become my ambition to be president.”