I just read what I think is an extremely insightful point in an email. The writer, a very smart guy with a LONG memory says,
“ We need to identify ourselves as from the Clinton wing of the party, and continually point out that we represent the base. As writer Michael Lind points out, the Northern “liberal” wing [of the Democratic Party] has Ivy League leadership mills. But populist economic Democrats are nearly WITHOUT LEADERS, except for the random exceptions like and Bill and Hillary. Except for the fluke of skin color, we’d have close to 2/3 of the party on our side this time — even though most of the party leadership defines itself in opposition to us.”
(emphasis mine)
Here’s the thing — the Obama Movement started a civil war in our party. Led by elitists from the “Ivy League leadership mills” (love that phrase), they systematically identified those blocs resistant to their message (that’d be us) and excised them one by one. The idea was that they’d secure the nomination with the SLIMMEST of majorities and then worry about the consequences after. Rural whites? Out! Women over 35? Out! Florida and Michigan? Out! Basically it boils down to Donna Brazile’s famous line: “Message to the base: Stay home.”
The upside to a scorched earth primary strategy was that the Obama message would be unequivocally left-wing and progressive. Hard core opposed to the war; staunch opposition to FISA; resolute opposition to “politics as usual.” Yes, yes, WE know that it was all hooey and that Obama himself contradicted and betrayed his base as soon as Hillary was effectively knee-capped and had to hobble off the field. But, by then it was too late. Obama’s followers were in for the long haul. There is no looking back for the Blogger Boiz, the Ivy Leaguers, and the rest of Whole Foods Nation. Those he persuaded with his message were REALLY, REALLY persuaded. They became his most loyal and permanent followers (think Markos and Josh and Olbermann).
The downside, the danger Obama courted by using a Divide and Conquer strategy, was that he might seriously alienate millions of Democrats whose votes he’d need in November to win. But that was a gamble they made. Their belief was that we’d come around. Women would be sufficiently subdued with the Roe bat to pull the lever for Obama on Election Day. Rural and lower working class whites would be sufficiently afraid of the economic threats of recession, foreclosure, and layoffs to vote against the Republicans and their dismal record. In other words, we’d have nowhere else to go. Of course we’d come around.
But here’s the thing, and it’s why I always say we are the ones no one was expecting: the Obama Movement was both right about us AND wrong. At the same time. They’re right, WE HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO GO! We will NOT vote for Barack Obama, BUT we know the Republican Party is not our home — it’s not even a nice vacation cottage. That’s the main reason we Pumas are so out of sorts and discouraged lately. We really AREN’T closet Republicans (Message to the Republicans: Stay on your side of the yard! Just kidding. Sort of.) For some of us, voting against the DONC and Obama by voting in protest for McCain is as easy as pie. These are the moderate-to-conservative Democrats for whom the tenets of Whole Foods Nation are anathema. But for another huge part of our Puma base, voting for McCain is an excruciatingly difficult thing to do — so hard that many of us just won’t be able to do it. These are the moderate-to-liberal Democrats for whom the tenets of Whole Foods Nation are pretty much a-okay! But they’re still not voting for McCain — Pumas in this camp will vote third party or write-in or stay home.
It is more important than ever that we stay united as Pumas. Remember what my email friend said: “Populist economic Democrats are nearly WITHOUT LEADERS”! We know who we are. We know it in our bones that Obama is wrong for our country and even more wrong for our Party. But we DON’T know who’s in charge. Hillary’s back in the Senate, sidelined from national leadership. Bill’s direct influence is limited on all official sides by the DONC, which wants above all else to KEEP BILL CLINTON CONTAINED! So, if we feel rudderless, it’s because we are. This is what the Obama Movement was wrong about. We know we have nowhere else to go, but we also know just as sure as can be that we are NOT going back to the DONC.
So, look in the mirror and face the facts. There are no leaders here. There is no politician or public figure who can sit for us at the table of national power and speak for us or represent our interests. Hillary’s on Capitol Hill mulling her next moves and brooding over what happened. Bill is being Bill (which is a very good thing, but his days of being President are over). We have only ourselves to rely on. This is THE most difficult phase of our movement, while we watch the national election play out without our enthusiastic or whole-hearted participation. Some of us have found, and will continue to find it too tempting not to just jump on the McCain bandwagon. That’s VERY understandable. You can still be a Puma if you’re also a Democrat working for McCain. It’s okay.
The rest of us are discouraged, lonely, and feeling useless. Working for local congressional candidates is a very good thing to do, but it just doesn’t have the Zing and the Rush of a Presidential campaign. But, if we allow our sense of loss and isolation to fuel attacks on each other WE ARE SUNK. Let’s remind ourselves that, as Democrats, we are BY DEFINITION a motley rag-tag group. We are working class, diverse, and far-flung. We found out this year that the DNC doesn’t care about us and would MUCH rawther carry on without our participation or even our votes.
So Puma PAC, if we want to have a leader we’ll have to create one from within. We will have to stay united with each other, with the clear-eyed acceptance that we represent a VAST range of different lifestyles and backgrounds, from really quite conservative all the way to fringe hippie peace-nik free-lovers. Our common and precious shared goal is a love for democracy, fair play, and a level playing field for all citizens — rich or poor, black or white or yellow or brown, woman or man.
When we decided to revolt against the DONC and Obama and every Democrat who shrieks “STUPID RACIST UGLY OLD FAT IGNORANT HYSTERICAL RACIST BITCH” at us; when we committed ourselves to NOT COMING AROUND, we set ourselves on a long and lonely road of rebellion. This will take TIME. But, most importantly, it will take UNITY. That is the secret to Obama’s success. He divided us. Let’s NOT continue his work for him. Let’s recommit ourselves to unity with each other.
I received this in email last night from a delegate I know and trust. I’ve removed the personal information. Please click on the links to visit the website thegreenpapers.com (it is quite a fascinating site, and worth a few minutes of prowling around — I found myself hooked).
FROM One Democratic Hillary Delegate To Another on 9/2/08:
“Found a tally of votes on this site. http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/D.phtml – It appears every vote was in fact not counted. Can’t find anything on DNCC or Alice Germond related sites. What BS. So 18 million votes and what gets recorded is 341.5 delegates??? I’m just glad I’m one of them [State Name], but I’d be really angry if I wasn’t…”
FROM my delegate friend To ME at murphy@pumampac.org later that day:
“Hello: The Green Papers are a very well respected source of non-partisan information on the political process in each state in the US. It includes information on the results of elections, as well as the recent total vote tally at the Democratic National Convention. After all *4,000* Obama and Clinton delegates voted at breakfast last Wednesday morning, press the link below to see just how many votes the Democratic National Committee actually recorded. Most of you will be amazed that your votes were not counted, at least if you voted for Senator Hillary Clinton. You see, the Democratic National Committee did not want the nation to see how close the election actually was, so we voted at breakfast, they tallied the votes, saw how close the race was, and decided they would not add most state’s votes to the official tally. Folks, wake up, this is supposed to be a Democracy. And, this is the party that people want to elect their next president from. If I had the time to tell you about all of the fraud that went on at the convention, you would not have the time to read about all of it. I do not say to vote for the Republican or Democratic Party. At this point, aware that both parties play the same game, I have decided I cannot, in good conscience, vote for either party. To think, they actually had a seminar at the convention called, ” How to be a Practicing Jew and be a Good Democrat.” Click the link to see if your vote was counted, oh, go ahead now, take a look: http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/D.phtml
…snip…
This is exactly what we were trying to avoid by having the petition for a floor vote. This is what I got into the disagreement with my [state's] Whipover. Gloria Allred was handing out the petitions to get a vote on thefloorand Chris Lavery, who I had a run in with when volunteering for Hillary months earlier, came over to me and intimidated me by saying, ”You realize you are an At-Large delegate for Hillary and Hillarydoesnot want people to sign this. This would be an embarrassment to Hillary.”Later, in a message to my facebook account, Chris told me “he wouldrememberwhat I had done” basically telling me I would never get an at-largedelegate slot again for Hillary. I told him I could care less because politics was not my life and I was there to represent the public and tostand up for the constitution.Check out the bottom of the site, but I will say you will never know howeach individual voted. Those sign in sheets/tally sheets have beenexpunged. I’m sure.”
You can probably imagine what today’s Prowl is Puma PAC. Let’s try to Recreate 8-two-seven-08 shall we?
Call and fax your State Party Chair and ask him or her for the breakdown of the breakfast vote for your state on August 27th. And if they tell you they don’t have the information, ask them — WHY NOT?
Please post in comments any response you receive. We are especially interested in first-hand accounts from delegates of intimidation and bullying. You can send me anything private at murphy@pumapac.org and I pledge to keep the information anonymous for those delegates who still feel intimidated.
There will be a more detailed PROWL in your email boxes later this morning.
If the big-shots at the DONC and the Obama Movement thought Puma PAC was going away to sulk or to conveniently turn into Republicans, they should think again. We will be here EVERY DAY in the Democratic Party, until Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, and Donna Brazile ARE OUT OF THEIR JOBS and until Barack Obama is BACK IN CHICAGO where he belongs.
And, A heads-up to Republican interlopers: Puma PAC is a Democratic Party political action committee. We welcome all Democrats and Independents who want to be part of the Voice of the Voters in the Democratic Party. We will NOT be voting for Barack Obama on November 4th because we are PROTESTING the ELECTION. But that doesn’t suddenly make us Republicans. We are still pro-choice, pro-equal-rights for women, LGBT, and people of color, pro sex-ed and pro-science. We like gay marriage. We like labor unions a lot. We like hippies and anti-war protesters. We like immigrants — in fact many of our most passionate and effective members are gay, hippie, anti-war, legal, entrepreneurial immigrants (well, maybe not ALL in one, but pretty close). We want Universal Health Care for every single American. We want to raise taxes and close tax loopholes on the very rich and help the poor. We want to protect and help the old, the ill, and the vulnerable.
So, you know, it’s great if you’re a Republican — that’s excellent and all, but this site probably isn’t for you. And anyway, your work here is wasted. We’re not voting for Barack Obama. We didn’t need your help to get to this decision, and we don’t need you to hold our hands all the way to the voting booth on November 4th. In fact, it’s probably a bad idea — the more you reveal of your true political beliefs the more you will remind us why we are NOT and never have been Republicans. You’d probably be spending your time better trying to make the polar bears cry or writing love letters to Ann Coulter or something.
Goodbye Howard Dean. Goodbye Barack Obama. Goodbye Nancy Pelosi. Goodbye Donna Brazile. You have not only lost the White House for the Democratic Party. Today you have brought the Democratic Party to the brink of irrelevancy altogether. John McCain has played you all like a piano.
Today we say GOODBYE to the OLD Democratic Party. The OLD Democratic Party has led us to DISASTER. John McCain and Sarah Palin will win in November by a landslide.
TODAY, August 29th 2008, Puma PAC has started a new political party:
We will be modeled on Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party. We will NOT be running candidates. We WILL be endorsing candidates.
We will be the Party for All Disaffected Democrats who are FINISHED WITH THE OLD DEMOCRATIC PARTY. We are NOT Republicans, though millions of us will vote McCain/Palin in November.
Our Platform is the Platform of the TRUE Democratic Party
Healthcare for All
Equal Rights for women, LGBT, and people of color
Reproductive Rights
Worker Protections
Envmtl Protections
Fair Immigration Policy
Help for working class college students
Good public schools
WE MUST PREVENT A REPUBLICAN TAKEOVER OF THE ELECTORATE. WE NEED A POLITICAL PARTY FOR ALL THE MILLIONS WHO WANT TO BOLT THE DEMS AFTER TODAY’S FIASCO.
Please JOIN US. We NEED the Platform and Principles of GOOD DEMOCRATIC VALUES now MORE THAN EVER. We MUST STAY UNITED AS A DEMOCRATIC VOTING BLOC OR WE COULD LOSE EVERYTHING.
To Join the New Democratic Party, please send an email with your name and state today to newdemparty@pumapac.org
Listen in tonight to the Lion’s Share on No We Won’t Radio with Sheri Tagg. Riverdaughter and I will join her to talk about today’s events and where we go from here.
Some changes are not for the better. The Democratic National Committee should maintain all of its important offices in Washington D.C., the people’s city. The DNC should count every Democratic vote, every single time without exception. The DNC should NEVER allow racist, sexist, or any other kind of hateful, ad hominem attacks to affect the outcome of a national primary contest. It is as simple as that.
The poster above, another by Dances With Pumas, will be available to download and print on the ACTION CENTER today. Until then, we have fabulous posters and flyers already there. LINK! Print them out and Paint Your Town PUMA today!
Polls from yesterday show that Obama has the magical power to turn even the bluest of the blue states red. My dear old Massachusetts, the last refuge of losers (Dukakis, Kerry, McGovern) isn’t even safe for him anymore. It was on June 5th that I published the post “Landslide 50-State Loss.” Looks like we might be right, after all. On November 5, when Obama is slinking back to Chicago with his tail between his legs and a mandate to for once in his life actually EARN some of the accomplishments he pretends to have already achieved, will we be so petty as to say “We told you so!”?
DAILY ACTIONS FOR ALL PUMA PAC MEMBERS — EASY, FUN, AND FREE!
CALL your super delegates and tell them you expect them to push for an Open Convention with Hillary’s name in nomination AND for them to VOTE for her. Get the phone numbers for your Super Delegates HERE. Do it today — it is easy and free — and it will make you feel GOOD!
CALL in to your local talk radio shows and tell them the Puma Movement is here to stay. We WILL affect the outcome of this election, and the DNC ignores us at their peril. Raise your voice! You know how to reach your local talk radio hosts. Here’s a LINK for the bigger shows. Do it today!
FAX Donna Brazile’s office and tell her: NO UNITY WITHOUT NOMINATION! 18 MILLION DEMOCRATS DESERVE A RIGHT TO HAVE THEIR VOTES COUNT! Fax it to: 202.628.8085 or CALL: 202.628.8081. It’s free and easy. Do it today!
FAX Hillary’s campaign office and tell her we want her to allow her delegates to vote for her in nomination in Denver. We want the right to be represented at the Convention. FAX your note to: 703-962-8600 or CALL Headquarters: 703.469.2008. It’s free and easy. Do it today!
POST Puma PAC flyers all around your neighborhood. Our collection of member-designed flyers keeps growing! We have LGBT flyers, senior citizen brochures, Spanish language flyers, flyers for college campuses, business cards, postcards — EVERYTHING you need! Just visit our ACTION CENTER and pick your favorites!
TRY TO DO AT LEAST TWO OF THESE DAILY ACTIONS TODAY AND TOMORROW. BE SURE TO COME BACK TO THE FORUM AND BRAG AND SHARE! Good Luck!
Wow! Check out Jennifer Rubin’s article about us today! It is really great! Be sure to comment — and THANK you to all the Puma PAC members who agreed to interview with Jennifer. You know who you are! Read and comment HERE.
PROWL coming up — check your inboxes. Folks we just reached the top of the roller coaster. From here on out we are flat-out flying. There are literally thousands of things to do between right NOW and the Convention. MP, Mama, the Regional Moderators, and the other behind-the-scenes people here at Puma PAC will be outrageously busy the next three weeks. We need to stay focused, united, and wonderful to each other. Let small slights roll off rather than rubbing you the wrong way. Visualize Victory and don’t get hung up by small hurdles. Stay active — keep blogging, emailing, and calling. Keep bragging and reaching out to new Pumas.
SOME DAILY ACTIONS EVERYONE CAN DO!
CALL your super delegates and tell them you expect them to push for an Open Convention with Hillary’s name in nomination AND for them to VOTE for her. Get the phone numbers for your Super Delegates HERE. Do it today — it is easy and free — and it will make you feel GOOD!
CALL in to your local talk radio shows and tell them the Puma Movement is here to stay. We WILL affect the outcome of this election, and the DNC ignores us at their peril. Raise your voice! You know how to reach your local talk radio hosts. Here’s a LINK for the bigger shows. Do it today!
FAX Donna Brazile’s office and tell her: NO UNITY WITHOUT NOMINATION! 18 MILLION DEMOCRATS DESERVE A RIGHT TO HAVE THEIR VOTES COUNT! Fax it to: 202.628.8085 or CALL: 202.628.8081. It’s free and easy. Do it today!
FAX Hillary’s campaign office and tell her we want her to allow her delegates to vote for her in nomination in Denver. We want the right to be represented at the Convention. FAX your note to: 703-962-8600 or CALL Headquarters: 703.469.2008. It’s free and easy. Do it today!
POST Puma PAC flyers all around your neighborhood. Our collection of member-designed flyers keeps growing! We have LGBT flyers, senior citizen brochures, Spanish language flyers, flyers for college campuses, business cards, postcards — EVERYTHING you need! Just visit our ACTION CENTER and pick your favorites!
TRY TO DO AT LEAST TWO OF THESE DAILY ACTIONS TODAY AND TOMORROW. BE SURE TO COME BACK TO THE FORUM AND BRAG AND SHARE! Good Luck!
UPDATE JULY 28TH AT 8:07PM: OBAMA CONTINUES TO SINK. UPDATE JULY 28TH AT 5:59PM: I got some static the other night for my post “Hey Axelrod, Where’s the Bounce?” But I felt confident standing by my challenge, and I still do. Looks like the NYTimes agrees, I like their headline — very original.
“What’s clear is much of this so called rage is being stirred not by Hillary, but those pretending to be her supporters. Stop the hate. You have totally disrespected the Senator with your emails. Stop the hate. Not sure if you know, but we are keeping copies of all these emails in the archives. Yes, you are not going to get away with pretending to be for Hillary. She is a leader of the Dem party.”
from Donna Brazile threatening Sharon, a Democratic voter, with retaliation for contacting her about the election, on June 8, 2008.
“The racist bullshit I have gotten from my fellow Clinton supporters has been enough to make me puke. You have a choice. No one would be forcing you. It is a choice. A choice you will have to live with. 100 years in Iraq if McCain gets elected. Thousands more dead American Soldiers.” — from Garry S. Shay, Member, DNC (CA) and Lead Chair Rules Committee, California Democratic Party, to a Democratic voter from California, July 18, 2008.
“Man, you have to chill. Try tennis!” — from Dwight Pelz, WA State Democratic Party Chair and Super Delegate, to a Democratic voter in Maryland in response to an email she sent requesting an open convention and roll call vote, on July 18, 2008.
“Good for you, when the fascists come in the middle of the night to take you to a concentration camp, remember how you voted. Take me off your whiner list . . .then tell them to stop calling me telling me that they are going to vote for mccain. i am would rather vote for a rabid dog than any Fascist republican like mccain. read the declaration of independence.” — from Steven Ybarra, a California Super Delegate, in response to a letter from a Democratic voter, July 8, 2008.
“When God was giving out brains…you thought he said trains…and you missed yours. Who gives a croc what you do, its your business fool.” — from Ben Johnson, member of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, to Sherry, a Democratic voter from Michigan, July 7, 2008.
“Having Senator Clinton’s name on a roll call without having the votes would just embarrass her, waste time, and make people agonize over nothing. I find it difficult to believe that this organization is not an undercover McCain operation. If you want to be productive, advocate for Senator Obama to choose Senator Clinton as his running mate.” — from Patti Higgins, Alaska State Party Chair and Superdelegate, to a Democratic voter who asked that she ensure an open convention and roll call vote for all the delegates, July 18, 2008.
“GOD WILL GUIDE THE HAND OF JUDGMENT THAT WILL STRIKE YOU DOWN!
Do not email us again. Thank you.” — from Carolyn Warner, Arizona Super Delegate and former state senator, to a Democratic voter who requested that she help make sure that the Convention includes an open roll call vote as in years’ past, July 18, 2008.
“Honestly, this is the 9th email today, so I believe you’re ready to not only destroy Roe versus Wade, voting rights, civil liberties and civil rights. Perhaps adding trillions more to the deficits through non stop tax cuts to the wealthy and 100 more years in Iraq. Yes, please join Rush and McCain asap. The train has left. Catch it. Please don’t send these emails to working people like myself. Notice you sent it to my campus address. I am a working class person. Can you find someone who drinks latte? Message to the base: stay home.” — from Donna Brazile to Jennifer, a Democratic voter, May 2008 (Though she claims to be a working class person, Donna Brazile has been named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in America, is a best-selling author, and is represented as a speaker for hire by the Harry Walker Agency, the same firm that represents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Michael Eisner, and Henry Kissenger.
“I must confess a bit of fatigue and irritation with people who continue to carp, complain, and criticize the results of the primary and lay down conditions for their support. The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t establish conditions to recognize the Boston Celtics as NBA Champions; Roger Federer did not demand concessions before recognizing that Rafael Nadal defeated him at Wimbledon.” — Don Fowler, DNC Member at Large and former Chair of the DNC, and Alice Germond, Secretary of the DNC, in a letter to Democratic donors, July 19, 2008
“Please remove me from list” — Allan Katz, Florida Super Delegate in response to email requests from individual Democrats who asked him to put Senator Clinton’s name into nomination in Denver.
“So out of touch for being in the moment and not declared. Just keep sending me hate mail and I send you another reply. Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile. Please contact my office at (202) 628-8081.” — from Donna Brazile to Robin, a Democratic voter, March 2008
“Get over it, loser. I am NOT a Hillary delegate.” from Amy Everhart, an Austin, Texas delegate pledged to Obama, to Thomas a Democratic voter, July 11, 2008.
“I don’t watch much cable TV.” Howard Dean, chair of the DNC, on why he was not aware that there was blatant sexism in the mainstream media coverage of Senator Clinton’s bid for the nomination. June 1, 2008, one day after the DNC’s Rules Committee voted to take 4 Michigan delegates from Clinton and give them to Obama based on data from mainstream media exit polls.
“I think they’re gonna come around. . . Many of these women were not in the feminist movement when we started this years ago. Many of these women are in the suburbs and raised their children, took care of the house and were dutiful wives, and many of these women are now alone, their husbands are gone, sometimes with younger women, and the children are grown and they have an empty nest . . . they didn’t pursue their dreams — they watched Hillary suffer, they felt her pain, and you know what? They bought in — they got angry and they’ve got to be worked with; they’ve got to be dealt with. They need to know that there will be some real opportunities for women that can come behind this; and I think that can be done.” — Maxine Waters, Democratic Congresswoman from Los Angeles, California since 1990 in an interview with Peter B.Collins on KRXA Radio (from 00:27:30 in webcast), July 24, 2008.
“Hillary ran a very impressive campaign and deserves all the respect that entails. Puma and your tactics diminish that respect. Flooding the e-mails of delegates with hundreds of the same rhetoric does nothing to further your cause.” — James Akers, Texas delegate to Democratic voters who contacted him via email, July 11, 2008.
This log will be updated. We have many more responses from public and elected officials in the Democratic Party and DNC to the public and to individual Democratic voters who contacted them about the election. None of the letters sent by voters which elicited these responses were harassing, threatening, or crude. Some were angry, most were simply serious, but none were ad hominem attacks.
Welcome new members! Visit the Puma PAC homepage HERE!
Quote of the Day: “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.” M.K. Gandhi
UPDATE JULY 11, 2008 at 1:19pm: Interesting mail today. First, I received this pointer to a MoveOn mailing that went out today begging for help to get Obama elected:
Dear MoveOn member, You’ve probably seen the polls—in the key battleground states, the presidential race is within the margin of error. We’ve heard a lot of confident talk from Democratic pundits, but the simple fact is, we could still lose this thing if we don’t get every last voter out to the polls.That’s why today we’re launching Change for America—the biggest program in MoveOn’s history. With $10 million and an army of 100,000 of us working together, we’ll reach out to specific, targeted voters who wouldn’t already vote, and make sure they get to the polls. We tested this program in 2004, and we know it makes a big impact—the biggest boost in turnout, in fact, that our researchers have seen.We need to know if we can count on your help. Will you join the Change for America corps this fall, and help elect Obama? You can sign up here: http://pol.moveon.org/pledge/changeforamericapledge.html?id=13202-9268499-zZTgE2x&t=2
Sounds kind of desperate, huh? Next I was copied a response from Donna Brazile to one of our Puma PAC members who DARED question why Obama and his minions in the DNC are planning to bypass democracy this year and ANOINT rather than ELECT our nominee for President:
—– Original Message —– From: Donna Brazile To: Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 11:19 AM Subject: Re: OBAMA PLOT: KICK OUT HILLARY @ CONVENTION Excuse me? Why the hatred or worse the lies? I do not work for the party or Obama. What is your goal to just lie to help the GOP? You are a hater and worse delusional.
Oops! Stay civil and classy there, Donna. Now I know, this is TAME compared to most of Donna’s Diatribes to Fellow Democrats, but I was VERY HAPPY to read the third sentence. So, you don’t work for the Democratic Party or Obama, Donna? GREAT NEWS! Let’s have a party! Enjoy your retirement from relevancy Donna!
Morning Folks! Yes we ARE being heard. I recently learned that our 40,000 letters aren’t making everyone happy. It appears that many Very Important People often access their email through their handheld wireless devices (that’s “cellphones” for you and me) and, I gotta tell ya, it is HELL to have to open, ignore, delete, and move on through hundreds of “spam” emails from individual voters around the country so that you can get to the Very Important Emails from Very Important Other People about where and when you’ll be meeting for drinks tonight.
It’s enough to piss a person off! I mean Geez, go back to your silly little lives voters. You don’t actually expect them to treat your letters to them with any interest do you? BWAHAHAHAAA!!!!
So, Pumas, today is another day. Do you think today will be the day that our leaders will, you know, lead? They got us into this mess. The party divided, perhaps permanently. Democratic leaders accusing Democratic voters of being racists just because they happen to live in certain states. Democratic leaders writing off entire states and entire classes of people as being irrelevant and unwelcome in their ephemeral “new coalition.”
You may be wondering, just WHO is not welcome in the Democratic Party these days? You may be asking yourself, am I not welcome anymore?? Let’s try to make a list to help us all find out. You have been told you’re not needed anymore by Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, Donna Brazile, and Barack Obama if you are a member of any of these groups: the working class, the poor, the old, the sick and uninsured, immigrants, gay and lesbian people, Florida residents, union members, grandmas, Appalachians, women, rural people, small business owners, Michigan residents. Are you a member of one of these groups? I’m betting you are. You are probably a representative of SEVERAL of these groups. I am. And we’ve all been told, No thanks! We don’t need you in “our” party anymore.
Geez! Who’s left in the party? And why is that poor donkey all alone?
Click on this link to our Action Center and Daily Growl for today’s Action. Huge thank-you to Dragonfly for pulling this action together and to ElainePuma and MarylandPuma for their help. Send your letter and then come back and in comments tell us where you fit in among the unnecessary. Are you a gay union carpenter in rural Michigan? How about an immigrant Grandma who runs a small business and can’t afford health insurance for your employees? Maybe you’re sick and politics just isn’t funny anymore.
THE LEADERSHIP HAS SPENT THE LAST FOUR MONTHS TELLING PEOPLE LIKE US THAT WE ARE NOT DEMOCRATS. THAT WE DON’T MATTER TO THE PARTY ANYMORE.
None of this is funny. Selecting a nominee using Network Marketing tricks, and trying to dupe the electorate into believing this is just a special season of American Idol is not funny.
Everything is upside down this summer. At first it seemed like a joke. That the leadership would actually try to force such a disastrously incompetent candidate on the party? It was almost funny! There’s an old saying that comedy equals tragedy plus time. This election, the DNC is demonstrating that sometimes tragedy equals comedy plus time.
Please consider contributing to Puma PAC. All of our funding is used for our political activities and comes in small donations from individual contributors like you. Contributions are not tax-deductible. Learn more here.
UPDATE JUNE 25 AT 8:42AM: Here’s the clip of our interview on Fox and Friends this morning.
UPDATE 6/25/08 AT 9:58AM: If you did not receive a “subscribe” email from join@pumapac.org, and you would like to receive emails from Puma PAC (the Daily Growl and other updates) PLEASE click on this link to to join the PAC and start getting our announcements (not many, we promise). This system should work very well at keeping us all connected, but will take a day or so to fine tune. Thanks very much for all you are doing to make our PAC stronger and more effective every day. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.
Paid for by P.U.M.A. PAC, People United Means Action (http://blog.pumapac.org). Not affiliated with any candidate or candidate’s committee.
Happy 1-Week Birthday to Puma PAC! We were visited over 100,000 times in our first 4 days, and we’ll double that in less than four more. We really are everywhere.
Today is another day, Pumas. Please check this post for updates during the day. This is the place to inform, learn, advise, and BRAG when you accomplish any of our ongoing Actions.
UPDATE 6/11/08 at 3:44pm: Please read this post by Heidi Li. It is eye-opening and supports the feelings of mistrust and disgust many Pumas have expressed here. The backlash against the DNC and the media has begun in earnest. We are a powerful force in that backlash. Read Heidi’s post and do what you can to support Senator Clinton.
1. Send a copy of any email or letter you have received from Donna Brazile to us at murphy@pumapac. org with the “subject: brazilewatch”.Be sure to tell us here that you’ve contributed to “Brazile Watch.” (Thanks to Sable1 for the tip)
2. Add your city or town to the Puma roll call in the “All About Pumas, part 1″ post, here.
3. Write the “1,000 Reasons” letter to Howard Dean. Click here. Letters will close at 12:00 noon today Thank you Pumas! we have over 600 letters declaring thousands of reasons we will be Protesting the 2008 Presidential Election. Great job! Stay tuned for updates on the letters as we send them to the DNC.
4. Request a refund of all the contributions you made to the DNC. Their bylaws require them to refund donations made within a certain time limit if requested. Send a polite and concise email to DNCMemberServices@dnc.org You do not need to itemize or remember when or how much you donated. All you need to give them is your name and address. They will look up your info in their database and get back to you right away (within 1-2 days). Tell us when you send the letter and tell us what you receive as a response.
5. Find the names and emails of Unfaithful Superdelegates in your state who plan to ignore the will of the voters. If Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in your state but you have superdelegates who have pledged support for Barack Obama, we need to know who they are and how to contact them. Post their contact info here. Email the addresses of Unfaithful Superdelegates to murphy@pumapac.org with the word “unfaithful” in the subject line.
6. Get five friends or family members to join the Puma PAC. Tell them to visit our website, join by sending an email to join@pumapac.org, and contribute $5 to our growing movement.
Please be organized, focused, and effective. The actions you take today will be done by yourself, but you are not alone. Take the solitary, personal actions outlined above, then come back here and share, brag, and inform.
Thousands of new visitors are joining us every day. Newcomers, please click here and read the directions in the 2nd paragraph for registering so you can comment on the threads, as well as for basic information about this blog. Please also click on the “About” and “Goals” pages in the right sidebar. Welcome.
PLEASE consider sending a contribution. We really do need it to keep this site going and our movement growing. $5 or $10 from a lot of people goes a LONG way. Funds collected are used EXCLUSIVELY for building the Puma PAC and blog. We are a political action committee registered with the Federal Elections Commission. Contributions are not tax-deductible. Thank you so much to those who have contributed already.
