Caucus Fraud: Coming soon to your convention

After all, what is a party convention but one giant caucus?  And what has Obama’s campaign been up to the last couple of months but figuring out new ways of intimidating, bullying, deceiving and poaching Hillary’s delegates?  This stuff is second nature to the Obama campaign by now.  After all, It worked so well during the primary season.

You can get a glimpse of the documentary through this extended trailer.

John Siegal of WeWillNotBeSilenced has been working on a documentary to expose how the game was rigged and who pays for the damage to the process.  Says John:

The information in the film is especially jarring for those who were not in caucus states, but it is information that our party must face. There is a reason why half of all Hillary voters are not currently willing to vote for Obama, and this is a big part of it.As I told my friend Rep. Lois Capps, whose son in law is Obama’s National Communications Director, it would be unfair and unethical to delegates, both pledged and super, to withhold this otherwise untold story prior to their floor votes in Denver. This is, oddly, also an opportunity for unity; if the Obama campaign stated that they played rough in a caucus system that should be abolished, it would heal a lot of wounds.

We will have copies of the DVD with us if you need one in Denver.

http://wewillnotbesilenced2008…

John Siegel
Executive Producer, We Will Not Be Silenced
http://wewillnotbesilenced2008…

You can get a glimpse of the documentary through this extended trailer.

This is not just playing dirty. This isn’t just ratf%&ing. The result of rushing the caucuses and overwhelming the precinct captains contributed to the invalidation of the votes for Hillary in the Big D and Swing States on Feb. 5, 2008. In other words, what they did in the caucuses cancelled out my vote in NJ. My state paid millions of dollars for a primary that was a sham and a waste of time. And all because the Obama campaign just couldn’t help themselves from exploiting the weaknesses in the caucus system that were absent in primary elections. Hey, guys, just because it *can* be done doesn’t mean it *should* be done.

I don’t know how they thought they could get away with it. I guess they thought we voters would just turn a blind eye because we would be so grateful to have a Democrat in the White House. But this Democrat is no better than a Rovian Republican.

But wait! There’s more. The convention is also gameable. There are all kinds of ambiguities in the Rules and Procedures for the Roll Call vote and Vice Presidential Nomination. A delegate has 10 minutes to challenge his state tally. But how will the tally be announced? Will it be by PA? Electronically? How does one file a challenge? Details, details. Unless we pin every single one of those suckers down, Barack Obama will figure out a way to exploit the loopholes and cheat 18 million voters out of their votes. Of course, he will have the DNCs help.

But don’t worry, Conflucians, we will have the final say in November. They can’t rig voting machines quite as well as Republicans.

The “Big Tent” of PUMA

Our brave PUMA Commanders of the Rebel Alliance, Riverdaughter, Gary & Mawm, Darragh Murphy, Will Bower, Diane Mantouvalos, Piper in Pucci & many other wonderful PUMA/Just Say No Dealers are packing their bags and heading towards Denver to PUMAtize the Democratic Convention!  Please send them positive thoughts as they trek to Denver!  

Fuzzybear, if you have a FuzzyPrayer to share, please write one for our brave PUMAs while you save Gainsville from Fay’s watery wrath?  I know, I know, a SuperBear’s work is never done!

Today the mood’s been philosophical on the Confluence, and I wanted to write in response to some comments I’ve read in the NoObamasphere about PUMAs and our organized chaos (which is really proof we are a true grassroots movement.) In fact, we are the true remnants of Big Tent Democrats who formed the Big Tent of PUMAs.  I will not link them since its not the point of this post.  It’s out there, you’ve read them and we’ve commented here and there about it. 

What I do want to say is this:

We are “Democrats in Exile” (as Mother Riverdaughter states above at the green tab post).  We coalesced long before the RBC meeting on May 31st, 2008.  Like a nebulae cloud giving birth to a brilliant star, or like the Big Bang itself, PUMA formed.  From collapsing matter and energy that condensed to nothing and BANG!  There it is.  We didn’t know it when it happened, but after a couple of days, PUMA grew to massive proportions.

Some of us PUMAs are regular, everyday people that hold 9-5 jobs, some of us are “creative-classers,” some of us hold post-graduate degrees, some of us only graduated high school, some of us are retired, some of us are very wealthy, some of us are on fixed incomes.  Some of us are women, some of us are men, some of us are heterosexual, some of us are gay/lesbian, some of us are bisexual.  Some of us are black, white, green, brown, red, yellow, orange with purple polka-dotted, plaid people.  Etc., etc., etc. 

The Big Tent of Democrats – those that were not on the guest list for the remodeled VIP Lounge of Obama’s DNC, reunited under a common thought that Democracy was not allowed its due process during the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primaries.  Had it been, we’d be a Democratic Party that’s united and strong to defeat the Republicans in the November general election.  Instead, PUMA is united, which is the only reason for our fast ascent.  We are united by the promise of Democracy and that every person that votes should have their voice heard and counted. 

Now, there are a slight few in our movement that say some of us are too brash & loud, or too soft, or too militant.  Regardless of what your opinion is – PUMA IS HERE and we all are a part of it.  Like the human body, PUMA is comprised of many parts and we function very much in the same way.    Some PUMAs are parts of the brain that orchestrate action, some PUMAs are the hands and feet that make action possible, some of us are hidden internal organs that pump out energy and nutrients to keep everything alive and in motion.  Every part is vital, regardless if you are a scholar, PUMA prowler, protester, blogger, commenter, or lurker.  We all depend on one another.  Like the atom, PUMA is a bunch of electrons, neutrons, protons and dark matter/energy, bumping and colliding into one another to form something that’s bigger than what we ever thought possible.

Some PUMAs want to create a body that will last beyond the November election, while some PUMAs don’t see themselves participating beyond the Democratic Convention.  Regardless of what your conscience tells you to do – we MUST remain constant in our goal to bring Democracy back into the Democratic Party.  

Personally speaking, I see PUMA as a steadfast state of consciousness that wants Democracy back in the Democratic party.  It’s a virtual Think Tank where every Democrat that wants Democracy back in the Democratic Party can particpate and become active.  It’s an “un-Party” like Riverdaughter said in her PUMA manifesto. 

But whatever you decide to make of your personal PUMA consciousness, remember that we are re-building the Big Tent of Democrats that Obama, Dean, Pelosi and Brazile tore down.   Some of us are loud & brash in our ways (like me!), others are more intellectual and scholarly, but remember one thing:  we are parts of the same body.  We all want to bring Democracy back to the Democratic Party.  

Wish your PUMA brothers & sisters in Denver a safe & happy trip in the comments section. 

UPDATE: Spartacus Youtube, ehhh not quite the mood I wanted, so lets go with THIS:

UPDATE 2:  At the request of the fab Carol Diamonds, here’s a tribute for our 21st century cyber-patriots:

¡Que viva los PUMAs!

(Long live PUMAs!)

Attack of the Killer Chihuahuas

Oh Lordy!  The rabid killer chihuahuas of Obamanation are in an ankle-biting frenzy over how many houses John McCain and his wife own.

They seem to think they have found “THE ISSUE” that will carry Teh Precious to victory.  Once again they prove their lack of political instinct.

First of all, they have completely forgotten the old saying “Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”  Guys?  You really don’t want to discuss the candidates’ real estate holdings.

Why?  Two words: “Tony Rezko”

Secondly, negative attacks don’t work unless they resonate with the target audience.  The target audience will be one or more of these: your base, their base, and/or undecideds.  Your goal should be to motivate your base, depress their base, and/or persuade undecideds to vote for your candidate

If this attack gets your base fired up, y’all need to switch to decaf.  This issue is another “big nothing burger.”  The McCains are rich, so what?  The Obamas are millionaires too.  Not only that, but this is the United States of America, where being rich is the ambition of 99% of the population.

This attack isn’t going to depress and demoralize the GOP base, nor is it likely to persuade any undecided voters, especially since it opens the door to the issue of Uh-bama’s relationship with slumlord Tony Rezko.

Do you guys ever learn anything?  Has an attack on a candidate’s financial status ever worked?  You guys went into an ankle-biting fauxrage over Hillary and Bill’s tax returns showing they made beau coup simolians since he left office, and the blue-collar and rural voters of West Virginia were soooo impressed they gave Hillary a 41 point victory.  Without the money issue, she might have won by 60 or 70 points!

What’s that you say?  This issue is just like when Poppy Bush was amazed at a supermarket checkout scanner?  Well, yes it is, but not why you think.

The reason they are the same is because that story is an urban legend!  IOW – a big nothing burger.

 

(Cross-posted at Klownhaus)

American Dreamers

Union and Liberty - The American Dream

For 230 years, Americans have been united by a simple, common dream that tomorrow will be better than today. The promise of American life, handed on through a dozen generations, rests on this basic bargain: All of us should have the opportunity to live up to our God-given potential, and the responsibility to make the most of it.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, co-author,
“Saving The American Dream“

What is the American Dream? Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton talk about it and write about it. (Senator Obama’s The Audacity of Hope was subtitled “Reclaiming the American Dream.”) Both candidates appear to assume that we Americans are dreaming the same dream they are.  But I believe that this primary season has shown that the American Dreamers have very different visions of what it means to be a success in America, and that those visions inform their voting habits more than race, sex or religion.

The American Nightmare: Acquisition Overwhelms Responsibility

I Want It Now, Daddy!

I want the works / I want the whole works
Presents and prizes and sweets and surprises
Of all shapes and sizes
And now
Don’t care how / I want it now
Don’t care how / I want it now

Veruca Salt, “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory“

Part of the American Dream has always been to acquire. We wanted the nice house, the backyard, the kids, the big cars, the promotion. We wanted to show up our neighbors by being the first to have the latest, coolest gadget – from the first TV to the first Wii. But ever since Ronald Reagan started glamorizing greed and telling us that we could buy now and pay never, our dreams of acquisition have turned into nightmares.

We refuse to admit that we have a responsibility towards our neighbors, whether it’s the ones down the street or the ones across the ocean in Old Yurp (they’re either with us, or against us). The madness of the economic and social libertarians has strangled the effectiveness of government (remember Reagan’s “nine most terrifying words?“) so that natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina, are made into national tragedies. “Fuck you, I’ve got mine” has become the siren song of the conservative movement, and due to that movement’s almost total control of the corporate media, of much of America. Pardon me for saying so, but I don’t think this is what the Founding Fathers meant by “We, the people.”

The most dedicated Obama supporters are, in my opinion, mainly invested in the Acquisition portion of the American Dream. Obama is the coolest new product on the market, and they  Just. Want. Him. The Obama Rules state that it is our duty to shut up and elect him. Icons like Jesse Jackson stress his blackness as a reason to support him.  Howard Dean is proud not to be a member of “the white Party.” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appears to think he is a gift from God. Only very recently have high-profile Democrats become concerned that Obama’s shiny packaging might be concealing the candidate’s essential emptiness. Obamans don’t care how – they want him NOW!

But what kind of President would the Senator from Illinois be? That question is rarely asked by Obamans. After all, when you are in an acquisitive frenzy, you don’t often stop to think if buying that awesome Hummer is really the best idea in the long run, or if you really wouldn’t be better off with a dorky, but so much more practical, hybrid minivan.

Friday: It Takes a Village to Elect Obama

This is a new era of Hope! and Change!  And in this new age of enlightenment, we are all called upon to take responsibility for electing Barack Obama.  Indeed, this is the task that we have been waiting for.  It used to be that the candidate himself was the prime actor in his own ascension.  But now we have come to understand that it is the community that shares in his elevation to the highest office in the land.

It is the responsibility of the DNC to clear the field so he meets with as few obstacles as possible while he is on his historic journey.

It is the responsibility of the Rules and Bylaws committee to withhold and appropriate delegates from his opponents so that he achieves a sufficient number to be declared the “winner”.

It is the responsibility of his rival’s supporters to get behind him with all their hearts and souls, immediately relinquishing any resentment of how he “won” and any loyalty to their champion.

It is the responsibility of all Democrats to immediately drop what they are doing and defend him strenuously against any negative attacks, including “swiftboating” by Jerome Corsi. This is especially important for former Clinton supporters who need to shoulder their responsibilities and not foist them off on the Obamaphiles who have carried the weight thus far.

It is the responsibilities of the Clinton fundraisers to amply pad Obama’s warchest lest they be thought of as slacking off.

It is the responsibility of Clinton Democrats to be gracious and undemanding so that their presence is not an tiresome and irritating clanging gong that distracts the senior Obama contingent from their missionary zeal.

It is the responsibility of the Clinton delegates to be assimilated and stop resisting their role at the convention as rubber stamps.

It is the responsibility of the superdelegates to ignore their obligation to give the party the strongest nominee to go into the general election so they can be seen as cooperative team players.

It is the responsibility of John McCain and the Republicans to not paint Obama in a negative light and accuse him of out-of-touch elitism.

It is the responsibility of forum hosts to allow Barack Obama extra time in answering questions by letting him go second after he has an opportunity to review the answers of John McCain.

It is the responsibility of evangelical Christians and other audiences to immediately like him and stop making demands for clarity and other favors.

It is the responsibility of the news media to continue to promote him as the second coming of Jesus “tapdancing” Christ himself in order to destroy his rival.

But most importantly, it is Hillary Clinton’s responsibility to put all of her policy experience, political expertise, energy and professionalism at Barack Obama’s disposal and allow all of her accomplishments to be relevant only in reference to him, in order to shore up his abysmally sinking poll numbers and save his ass in November.  This is a task for which she is uniquely qualified since she would have been able to win the White House without much assistance at all.  This makes her obligation to him even stronger since she has the mojo that he lacks.  But it is her joy to become the plaster that holds his crumbling foundation in place.

And when her task is finished, she will modestly step back in to the shadows while she privately beams with pride at her creation.

It is what we all live for.