PUMA Martyr, Take Two -
On the heels of Debra Bartoshevich, we now have Colorado Democratic Party delegate Sacha Millstone, who told a fellow delegate that "she was not sure she could vote for Obama at the Democratic National Convention later this month".
Millstone's fellow delegate reported this to the Colorado Democratic Party, who sent an email to Ms. Millstone saying "You are directed to come in to the party headquarters and explain your comments and why you should remain a national delegate ..."
She refused to go, claiming that she saw the request as a "threat." Colorado Democratic Party says:
"From our point, it's over with. She's chosen not to come in and talk with us and so, we're two weeks away from the convention and we'll continue to work with the delegates who want to be worked with."
A further article in the Denver Post stated that the state party wanted to "explore with Ms. Millstone the possibility of her voluntarily resigning her position," Compton said. "I simply wanted to discuss the matter with her."
And what does that evil undemocratic Obama campaign think of this. From the same Denver Post piece:
"Obama campaign spokeswoman Shannon Gilson issued a statement Monday saying it was the campaign's 'priority to ensure Ms. Millstone's delegate status was not in jeopardy.'"
You read that right. The source of all evil in PUMAland-SENATOR OBAMA-thinks that Ms. Millstone should remain a delegate. Wow, the unmitigated gall of them!
Of course, I'm kinda surprised it took this long for the Colorado State Democratic party to do or say anything about Ms. Millstone. Since on 8 June the Denver Post reported the following:
"Sacha Millstone is nobody's sweetie.
The Democratic insider will stand up at August's national convention and cast her vote for the candidate who suspended her bid on Saturday. And then Millstone will quit the party with which she is falling bitterly out of line.
"This isn't sour grapes. This is about the best candidate losing the nomination because she's a woman. It's the most blatant example of sexism in our society. This is about the party breaking my trust, women's trust. And that can't be fixed," she says."
So Sacha Millstone has been dead-set against Sen. Obama from day one. She was at the rules committee meeting that gave Florida and Michigan half their delegates back. In short, she's a PUMA. And it's quite possible that her actions as a PUMA may have crossed the line from candidate delegate to attacking the nominee. Delegates have to sign a pledge that states they will support the party's eventual nominee - which is why Debra Bartoshevich was replaced with another Clinton delegate.
"There is no arguing with Millstone about whether Clinton was the most viable Democrat. She is unwavering that sexism cost her the race. Gender is the prism through which she views all things political. Any woman who doesn't, she says, is "deaf and blind.""
Needless to say, PUMAland are hailing her as their newest marytr to the cause. Like "Riverdaughter", who in a post says "HOW could we have ever expected that Hillary’s pledged delegates would be threatened for wanting to stay true to their pledge?".
I suspect it wasn't her pledge to vote for Sen. Clinton that was the problem, it was violating her pledge to support the party's nominee. And I'm sure her announced plans to quit the party after the convention didn't help either.
Either PUMA is the most paranoid bunch since the Jim Jones cult or they simply fail to grasp the meaning of words like "threat." Not just in this instance -- in all situations. Maybe they think "threat" means "disagree." That would explain why they think citing the public records of a person who trumpets her cause on TV under her own name is a "threat." And why they perceive the DNC enforcing its own rules as it always does as some sort of intolerable oppression. They need deprogramming. Or maybe just a dictionary.
Posted by: Betty Cracker | August 13, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Did you see this from yesterday?......
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diane-tucker/puma-hillary-supporters-h_b_118522.html
Is PUMA really prepared to be part of a McCain victory?
Seeking the answer to that question, I roamed the halls of the Marriott Wardman Hotel Saturday looking for the PUMA Conference, doing my best Michael Moore "Roger and Me" impersonation. "No PUMA conference is registered here," they told me at the front desk. They allegedly told a Hearst reporter the same thing a day earlier. There are no reports yet on what PUMA may be cooking up for the conventions.
Today I received this email from Bower: "The conference was moved to a new location. We made an agreement with all our participants that we would treat the proceedings as confidential. There was a great deal of information that was generated that our members want to disseminate to their colleagues in their own way."
.............................
No conference, just suckers paying for the puma gliterati's latest cocktail party.
To the subject of this post... This woman didn't lawyer up to protect her delegate spot.
She lawyer'd up to prevent the content of the email becoming public.
The lawyers question to the party guy reveals as much imo...
“Anytime we receive a complaint, we are required by our rules to hear that complaint and decide whether or not it should be taken to the rules committee,” said Pat Waak, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party.
[Millstone’s attorney]Ferrugia asked Waak, “If someone brings you private correspondence, you’ll use that in investigating a complaint?”
Waak responded, “We have used documents, memos, other things in the past where complaints have been filed. We have used whatever comes to us. That does not mean it goes to the rules committee.”
Waak said the investigation and e-mail from Compton was not made public by the Colorado Democratic Party and regrets that it is in the public domain.
So my guess is she sent a racist screed to someone she thought was a friend and that person was so appalled they sent it to the Dem state leadership.
But considering Harriet 'inadequate black male' is their hero, and considering Riverdaughter has now started posting straight up racist affirmative action claims about Obama's candidacy, I'm not sure PUMA would feel any embarrassment if the 'private' free speech issue they are wailing about was acutally her ability to say nasty racist shit about our nominee.
Posted by: polo | August 13, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Nice polo, I love Bower's statement about the conference being moved, which contradicts statements made by Murphy and Maryland PUMA (the only other pumas who have publicly commented on the so-called conference).
Reminds me of the old days in pro wrestling, when a wrestler would win a championship in an "untelevised" match, aka one that never happened.
Posted by: Pumalicious! | August 13, 2008 at 12:20 PM
lol. Those were always the best matches too. Or so we were told.
Mean Gene and Gorilla Monsoon weren't fibbers were they?
Posted by: polo | August 13, 2008 at 12:33 PM
polo or anyone else. is there any way that I could possibly get my hands on Diane Tucker's email address? She wrote that story and I would love contact her- please email me if you find it.
yestodemocracy@gmail.com
Posted by: Christina | August 13, 2008 at 12:40 PM
Wait we have a pulse!
http://www.observer.com/2008/politics/defiant-clinton-women-refuse-support-obama?page=4%2C0
From the article:
In that regard, at least, Ms. de Rothschild has something in common with the anti-Obama bloggers and organizers, about 60 of whom gathered at the Country Inn hotel near Dulles airport in Washington on Aug. 9 and 10 for a leadership meeting to coordinate strategy for protesting the Democratic convention. (The meeting was closed to the press, organizers said, to avoid infiltration by Obama sympathizers.)
The attendees came from the ranks of the creators of PUMA and dozens of Web sites, including HillaryClintonforum, pumaparty, AlwaysForHillary, the Denver Group—which plans to run anti-Obama commercials during the convention—and a blog radio show called No Quarter (featuring a “Reading Rezko” edition). Many of the sites feature videos of pumas baring their teeth in the wild.
So hey, it actually happened. But sixty is not quite 250.
Posted by: Pumalicious! | August 13, 2008 at 12:57 PM
Ah yes, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Lady Rothschild. The woman multimillionare who met her husband when Henry Kissinger introduced them at a Bilderburg conference, and married into the family that has been dominating European banking for over 200 years.
The same woman who called Sen. Obama an "elitist" on CNN *faceplant*
"(The meeting was closed to the press, organizers said, to avoid infiltration by Obama sympathizers.)"
Translation: Didn't want people to know how small their turnout really was.
"So hey, it actually happened. But sixty is not quite 250"
Well, Pumalicious, by the time you counted all their screen names and sock-puppets, that 60 would well be 250..... *smile*
Posted by: patrick McKinnion | August 13, 2008 at 01:16 PM
re: the Conference - the registration was $250, which was supposed to include lodging at the hotel. So, what became of the registrants' money? They stated that registrations would be refunded if they didn't have 250 attendees. Just wondering if folks rec'd pro-rated refunds or what happened there.
I'm curious that way. That's why my friends call me Whiskers.
Posted by: Ripley | August 13, 2008 at 01:25 PM
Puma Martyr take 3:
The Chair of Arkansas Democratic Party was shot today.
http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/aug/13/police-chasing-after-shooting-democratic-party-hea/
Let's hope Bill Gwatney is okay.
Gwatney endorsed Clinton in the primaries, I predict the Chucky & the pumas will blame Obama or Dean for the shooting,if they haven't already.
Posted by: JasonM | August 13, 2008 at 01:53 PM
Christina I could only ind her work number. But she owns the joint so I suspect you can get the info you want from there.
IF, if, PUMA said 65 to th
Posted by: polo | August 13, 2008 at 01:53 PM
Pumalicious:
Did you see the comments on that story you posted the URL to?
"pumamama (not verified) says:
We are going to punish every Judas who betrayed Hillary. Rendell, Kennedy, Richardson, Lehey start looking for work!!
If we lose this we've lost America to Backs Mexicans Catholics and other foreigners!
Punishment Revenge Revolution
PUMA!!
Grrooowwlll!
AUGUST 13, 2008 12:46 PM"
or
"Sharon (not verified) says:
Let's call it what it is, shall we? It's not just misogyny. It's not just fraud. It's not just the hijacking of the party and of democracy. It's not just theft. It's not just hate. Sure, it's all those things - and much more - and much worse.
Call it what it is - it's GANG RAPE! Of Hillary Clinton. Of all women.
No more sugar-coating the crimes of obama, the DNC, the media, the blogosphere - GANG RAPE!
AUGUST 13, 2008 12:40 PM"
or
"TerryDo-Pum-40+ (not verified) says:
Does Obama really qualify to be POTUS or is this just another case of Affirmative Action?
When the best candidate Hillary R. Clinton, who has the curriculum vitae to be President is overlooked it speaks volumes.
Citizens votes ignored, caucuses manipulated by in your face Obomacans, states disenfranchised, super delegates being outspoken during a primary and last but not least the many Judas against Clinton. Has America turned into a communist state, where the dictates of those in power must be adhered to?
The world has its' eyes upon America and never again I believe can they go into another country and demand elections be fair...
The only way for America to rise back up to its' former world respect, will be if in the end, Clinton wins the Democratic leadership role in Denver.
Hillary R. Clinton, a woman of substance, intelligence, sound politic policies (that Obama continues to copy), solutions regarding economicals and international affairs.
That is why in the end she will be President, yes she will!
AUGUST 13, 2008 9:51 AM"
Posted by: Patrick McKinnion | August 13, 2008 at 01:57 PM
Comment by Darryl | 2008-08-13 12:45:32
So apparently now they are shooting Hillary’s superdelegates. Bill Gwatney is in the hospital right now, according to Fox.
Posted by: polo | August 13, 2008 at 02:03 PM
Patrick, those are clear indicators that these are delusional, probably psychotic individuals. I wouldn't be surprised if this mania who shot Gwatney turns out to be among their ranks.
The GOP, fronted by a couple of shills like Murphy and Bower, are doing their best to encourage psychotic behavior. I hope they are satisfied when one of their minions hurt somebody.
Posted by: Pumalicious! | August 13, 2008 at 02:13 PM
Hello folks,
Everyone here should read this article from The Atlantic which deals with the truth behind Clinton's campaign. She did not lose because of sexism.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200809/hillary-clinton-campaign
Obama's campaign was simply stronger and better on all fronts, and that is why he is the nominee and why she is not. That is why he is going to be the President. That is why all you PUMAs will soon find yourself with Obama as President and realize that he is actually fighting on your behalf too... Soon you will realize that you were just being loud, obnoxious fools. Obama will prevail and will be a great President. PUMA will fall into the cracks of obscurity. Anyone who does look back upon PUMA will regard it as a humorous curiosity in the annals of political history.
Posted by: steve | August 13, 2008 at 03:45 PM
"Everyone here should read this article from The Atlantic which deals with the truth behind Clinton's campaign. She did not lose because of sexism"
Hello Steve!
I read that article. VERY interesting.
And it confirms something I've been saying for a while - Sen. Clinton deserved a far better campaign than she got.
If it had gone on Sen. Clinton's instincts and strategy alone, and if she would have made more of the tough decisions on her own, the result would have been far different. The rest of it is amazing to read.
The biggest thing that seems to have sunk her is the internal fighting between factions. And Penn in particular comes off as wanting to go negative out of the gate. The framing he did of Sen. Obama, much less the attack he did of his "lack of American values" in March of 2007 is STILL the talking points his critics use. Indeed, a lot of PUMA's talking points are line for line the attacks Mark Penn suggested using.
I think a case could be made that Mark Penn is the spiritual father of the PUMA movement.
Penn seemed stuck in the 1990's, and also showed a lack of foresight, with a strategy built up around a total win in Feb 2008 that would lock all the others out. It seemed like people in the campaign were lost around that time because nobody expected a loss then. Not only that, they had burned though their money expecting a win - and found themselves without money or people on the ground in states they needed.
The other thing that stood out was Ickes' warnings that they were ignoring the way delegates were allotted, which were being ignored until it was too late to fix it.
The chewing out Sen. Clinton gave her advisors after the Iowa loss was very interesting. It sounds like not only were her advisors not listening to each other, they weren't listening to her either. New Hampshire was an example of what happened WHEN her advisors listened to her - a win.
The problem is she should have really given Penn the boot as well. Instead, she added more advisors, which increased the infighting. She got rid of Doyle, but Penn as well should have gone.
And the part of the "Florigan Plan" really stands out - that the campaign in March 2008 deliberately set out to use Michigan and Florida as pawns in the campaign.
“we cannot secure enough delegates to win; we cannot overtake him; the math simply doesn’t work … it is imperative that we provide … a clear and tenable answer to the single most important question we face."
That's a level of pretty blatant cynicism.
It's an incredibly interesting article. And it answers a lot of questions on how a campaign that came in with all the advantages, a Superdelegate lead, a great brand name, etc., could have fallen down so badly. The answer is an instructive one - infighting and no clear chain of command.
People were so convinced it was an inevitable win that they spent more time protecting their turf in the campaign than working together for their candidate. And the one doing the most damage to her campaign was the one who lasted the longest, even trying to at the end to a sales pitch to the superdelegates using Karl Rove's numbers and maps.
I said in March that Sen. Clinton deserved a far better campaign than she got, This just confirms my opinion. If she had a far more unified staff, clear chain of command structure, and hadn't gone negative so soon, the result would have been far different. It's a complement to Sen. Clinton that she did so well despite these problems. But ultimately a lot of the blame has for her loss has to be laid at the feet of Penn.
Posted by: Patrick McKinnion | August 13, 2008 at 04:11 PM
I wanted to congratulate you, Christina. With all of their swagger and bragadoccio about how they're going to overthrow the DNC, the PUMAs are clearly afraid of you.
I heard you on the PUMA blogtalk radio last night, and I thought you were courageous. You might not like conflict, but it's always right to stand up to bullies.
In response I notice that riverdaughter is calling you their own Malkin. Ironic in that, I usually refer to her as rivermalkin.
Anyway, from her site:
Posted by: AltHippo | August 13, 2008 at 05:06 PM
Why are they so afraid of "Obamabot infiltration"? If they were truly on the right side, and their endeavor was a noble one, then they should have no problem confronting and converting so-called Obamabots.
Posted by: Pumalicious! | August 13, 2008 at 05:16 PM
And so it begins.....
http://www.observer.com/2008/politics/defiant-clinton-women-refuse-support-obama?page=8%2C0
Clinton Supporter (not verified) says:
BREAKING NEWS. 3 shots fired at Arkansas DNC Dem headquarters. 1 person shot 3 times in critical condition. Shooter appears to be in custody. The person shot 3 times is the DNC chairman and superdelegate in Arkansas, Bill Gwantney. He was a Hillary Superdelegate. Guess he won’t be voting for Hillary now.
Do you doubt the Obama supporters are completely unhinged now? The party unity concerns, for the record, surfaced when Obama said he could "get Hillary's supporters" but she couldn't get his. Blacks would sit home on election day. Young people would be forever disillusioned and never vote again. Riots and crime were threatened if the superdelegates failed to comply with the "will of the people." The Obama people sure made good on their word.
AUGUST 13, 2008 4:00 PM
Posted by: Patrick McKinnion | August 13, 2008 at 05:40 PM
Can everyone send me screenshots/links to these comments- I am going to do one big post about it!
Posted by: Christina | August 13, 2008 at 05:52 PM
Christina -
You and me both it seems :-) I'll save my copy as a draft. Enjoy!
Posted by: Patrick McKinnion | August 13, 2008 at 06:04 PM
Gwatney passes away. Prayers to his family.
Completely off the subject, Colin Powell will endorse Barack at the DNC. This absolutely no suprise to me.
Posted by: David | August 13, 2008 at 06:06 PM