People United Means Action
Encyclopedia
PUMA was a political action committee
in the United States
that opposed the Democratic Party
leadership and the nomination of Sen. Barack Obama
as the Democratic candidate for President
in the 2008 presidential election
. PUMA began as an effort of supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
who believed that Clinton should have been the Democratic nominee. According to PUMA, "We [were] protesting the 2008 Presidential election because we refuse to support a nominee who was selected by the leadership rather than elected by the voters." On May 11 2011, the PUMA PAC was stripped of its status as a recognized Political Action Committee for failure to meet reporting requirements.
(PAC) with the Federal Election Commission and organized as a 527 Organization with the IRS in June, 2008. PUMA's founders state that the group originated out of online comments of a group of Clinton supporters on a pro-Clinton blog, The Confluence, which was created by New Jersey biochemist and former John Edwards
supporter Riverdaughter, who had been recently banned from a pro-Obama liberal blog.
The website ClintonsForMcCain.com was, however, registered by the Republican National Committee
on May 15, 2008, well in advance of Clinton's concession speech.
PUMA is also part of a coalition of online activists with similar goals, the JustSayNoDeal coalition. The PUMA acronym as originally coined stood for "Party Unity My Ass"; however, the official PAC was registered as "People United Means Action," a backronym
. Executive Director Darragh Murphy estimates that PUMA PAC proper had gathered over 10,000 members and the organization's official site had received more than a million hits between its founding in June through August 2008. Dianne Mantouvalos, founder of the larger JustSayNoDeal coalition, estimates the coalition comprises over 100 groups, and was more than ten percent of the eighteen million votes Clinton received in the primaries.
Will Bower, a media spokesperson for PUMA and JustSayNoDeal, had summarized many of PUMA's objections to the actions of the Democratic Party during the 2008 presidential primaries. PUMA's stated beliefs were that Obama was selected undemocratically by the party leadership rather than through respect for Democratic voters' wishes, and that Obama was unfairly advantaged by the ruling by the Rules and Bylaws Committee on seating Florida and Michigan delegates.
PUMA members pointed to charges that the media directed sexism and misogyny at Clinton during the primary campaign and expressed anger at the failure of Democratic Party leaders to speak out against them or otherwise respond appropriately. Post-primaries, while focusing none of his comments on Obama, DNC Chairman Howard Dean
did criticize the media, saying, "The media took a very sexist approach to Senator Clinton's campaign" in response to hearing objections from what he described as a "cross-section of women, from individual voters to powerful politicians and chief executives."
Some media and online commentators used the term PUMA to describe any Clinton primary voter who did not support Obama's nomination or the Democratic Party leadership, regardless of PAC affiliation.
, voting for no presidential candidate, or supporting other candidates such as U.S. Senator John McCain
(R–AZ). Some hoped that enough superdelegate
s would change their minds to give the nomination to Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in August. Other expressed desires were to help defeat Obama in the general election by electing McCain president in order to set up another run for Clinton in 2012, or that Clinton run as an Independent candidate in the election. Some have noted that the Internet
had fostered the organization. Many PUMA advocates are part of the blogosphere
and use it for organization, advocacy and viral communication.
PUMA advocated for an open convention in which Clinton's name would be placed in nomination and her delegates allowed to vote for her,
supporting a petition by delegates
to the convention to put Clinton's name into nomination. Allied organization The Denver Group had spearheaded an ad-based media campaign advocating for an open nomination convention including placing Clinton's name in nomination, allowing speeches in support and a roll call vote. The ad campaign emphasized a connection between historical events and the 2008 convention, calling on DNC Chairman Howard Dean and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to "follow fair and honest application of the democratic process and according to democratic principles" and resist turning "the convention into a coronation."
PAC members were among the groups protesting the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
Diane Mantouvalos, who also founded HireHeels.com, a website trying to get women involved in politics founded “Just Say No Deal.com” along with Peter Boykin (creater of the slogan for the domain name), Will Bower, Cristi Adkins, and Thuc Ngyuen after Hillary Clinton announced her suspension of her campaign. Just Say No Deal was a coalition of groups, including PUMA, advocating against the selection of Barack Obama as the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee.
Christi Adkins, along with Anne Franklin, Peter Boykin and other Clinton supporters, created Clintons4McCain.com. Adkins’ organization was composed of volunteers who donated time, effort and energy to elect Clinton, and now feel Hillary was subjected to unfair attacks during the campaign by "sexism, misogyny, reverse racism and ridicule." Clintons4McCain.com was "opposed to the DNC, the media and Hollywood's influence in the Democratic nomination process." The group’s membership intend to vote for Republican John McCain in November, and believe that John McCain would be tolerable. Adkins had been interviewed on Fox News
on multiple occasions about the mission of the PUMA organization. Adkins was interviewed by Chris Matthews of MSNBC outside the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
candidates John McCain
and Sarah Palin
, especially considering the sharp policy differences between the Republican ticket and Hillary Clinton; this has left the organization open to charges that it supported the McCain campaign solely out of spite, with no concern as to whether a McCain victory would actually advance Hillary's policy agenda.
Some Democrats argued that the organization's goals contradict Hillary Clinton's stated views, and PUMA's lack of support from Clinton herself undermined the credibility of the PUMA position. On CNN
's Situation Room
, Clinton herself had been quoted as saying, "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that anyone who supported me... understands what a grave error it would be not to vote for Sen. Obama." PUMA itself suggested that Hillary was not sincere in her endorsement of Obama, but was simply trying to avoid damage to her position in the party by not openly criticising the candidate. One Democratic state committeewoman who says she supported Clinton, and whose attitude was "Enough with this PUMA stuff," said: "It's not like it's 'Rah rah Obama'. No. But he was our candidate...."
PUMA was also charged with hypocrisy for claiming that Obama was selected by the party leadership rather than elected by Democratic voters, while at the same time seeking to have the primary results overturned by unelected superdelegates.
Patti Higgins, the Chair of the Alaska Democratic Party, wrote to a PUMA supporter: "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 was not an undercover McCain operation." On August 14, 2008, Senators Clinton and Obama issued a joint news release stating that Senator Clinton's name would be put into nomination and a roll-call vote held at the convention, in response to calls from Clinton supporters. Clinton previously stated at a fundraiser: "[I] believe that we will come out stronger if people feel that their voices were heard and their views were respected. I think that was a very big part of how we actually come out unified."
Amanda Marcotte
of Pandagon had accused PUMA of being a front for McCain advocacy, pointing to founder Darragh Murphy's financial support of McCain in February 2000. Murphy admitted having donating to McCain, stating that the donation was to help defeat George W. Bush in the primary. She says she voted for Al Gore in the general election, although she did not donate to his campaign. She says she was "devastated when Bush stole the election". According to the Huffington Post's Fundrace 2008, Murphy had donated $850 to Clinton's presidential campaign through Q3 2008. Marcotte's accusation omits Murphy's campaign contributions to Clinton. FEC records show a $200 donation to WomenCount PAC by Murphy in June 2008. Bower rejects the claims of Marcotte and others: "People have been trying to paint this as a Trojan horse, you know, as though I'm a Republican, that this was a Republican strategy... No, that's not it at all. From dog-catcher to president, I've voted Democrat."
Clinton-supporter Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz
(D-FL) had argued that while she sees why many have subscribed to the "Puma attitude", she argues that for women "reproductive rights, the economy and a range other issues, the only choice was Obama." She believes that voting for McCain, or letting him win by default, was worse than not having Clinton as the nominee. Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Nancy Pelosi
had stated that PUMAs and other Clinton supporters "have been less than gracious" for their continuing refusal to support Senator Obama.
DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee co-chairman James Roosevelt disputes the claim that the Michigan–Florida delegate decision was in any way pre-ordained to favor Obama. He argues that Party rules and regulations were "followed and interpreted fairly," saying that there were allegations of impropriety in the Texas caucuses, but only one complaint was filed with a delegate.
Following John McCain's defeat in the 2008 presidential election many commentators from both sides of the political spectrum accused PUMA of essentially misrepresenting their influence or numbers, as exit polls showed that Obama won better than 90% of the Democratic vote, a larger percentage than the previous Democratic nominee, John Kerry
.
and trolling and, on some occasions, even going so far as to make public real-life names, addresses, and telephone numbers of perceived rivals and/or adversaries, as on an August 20, 2009 Recusive Leftist post, where Myiq2xu posted an anonymous protester's real-life identity, for no apparent reason other than the opportunity having presented itself.
Among the anti-PUMA blogs, StupidPumas! is easily the least restrained, accusing the group of both overt and covert racism, duplicity, and even fraud. StupidPumas! has gone so far as to post on their site online copies of official letters sent to PUMA-Pac from the Federal Election Commission
, demanding the filing of long-overdue financial reports.
and Lorenda Starfelt
finished work on their feature-length political documentary The Audacity of Democracy
, which followed the 2008 race for the Democratic Presidential nomination and focused in particular on the PUMA organization. Shot from June through September 2008, Mays and Starfelt filmed interviews and political activity taking place in Los Angeles
, Princeton
, Dallas, Austin
, Washington, D.C.
, Chicago
, New York City
and, ultimately, at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
in Denver, Colorado
. Mays came under almost immediate fire from pro-Obama groups, citing conflict of interest due to the production having been financed by PUMA-Pac itself. Mays acknowledged these concerns, while maintaining that his film would be an objective account of what he saw and heard during the Democratic primary. About a week before the Democratic convention in Denver, all of Mays' camera equipment was stolen while en route to Chicago. Although most of the gear was eventually replaced, the crucial Chicago shoot was seriously compromised. When Mays decided to film interviews with Internet journalist Tommy Christopher, an outspoken PUMA critic, the rank and file of the PUMA movement quickly denounced the filmmaker, distancing themselves from the entire project.
In multiple subsequent Blog-Radio interviews, Brad Mays has expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the finished film, revealing that he had not been allowed to complete shooting in the manner originally agreed to, adding that many of the PUMA members who had decided to switch their support from Hillary Clinton to John McCain did not care for the way their new-found Republican leanings played onscreen.
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that opposed the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
leadership and the nomination of Sen. Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
as the Democratic candidate for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in the 2008 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
. PUMA began as an effort of supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
who believed that Clinton should have been the Democratic nominee. According to PUMA, "We [were] protesting the 2008 Presidential election because we refuse to support a nominee who was selected by the leadership rather than elected by the voters." On May 11 2011, the PUMA PAC was stripped of its status as a recognized Political Action Committee for failure to meet reporting requirements.
Origin
The PUMA PAC is registered as a non-affiliated political action committeePolitical action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
(PAC) with the Federal Election Commission and organized as a 527 Organization with the IRS in June, 2008. PUMA's founders state that the group originated out of online comments of a group of Clinton supporters on a pro-Clinton blog, The Confluence, which was created by New Jersey biochemist and former John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
supporter Riverdaughter, who had been recently banned from a pro-Obama liberal blog.
The website ClintonsForMcCain.com was, however, registered by the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
on May 15, 2008, well in advance of Clinton's concession speech.
PUMA is also part of a coalition of online activists with similar goals, the JustSayNoDeal coalition. The PUMA acronym as originally coined stood for "Party Unity My Ass"; however, the official PAC was registered as "People United Means Action," a backronym
Backronym
A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology....
. Executive Director Darragh Murphy estimates that PUMA PAC proper had gathered over 10,000 members and the organization's official site had received more than a million hits between its founding in June through August 2008. Dianne Mantouvalos, founder of the larger JustSayNoDeal coalition, estimates the coalition comprises over 100 groups, and was more than ten percent of the eighteen million votes Clinton received in the primaries.
Will Bower, a media spokesperson for PUMA and JustSayNoDeal, had summarized many of PUMA's objections to the actions of the Democratic Party during the 2008 presidential primaries. PUMA's stated beliefs were that Obama was selected undemocratically by the party leadership rather than through respect for Democratic voters' wishes, and that Obama was unfairly advantaged by the ruling by the Rules and Bylaws Committee on seating Florida and Michigan delegates.
PUMA members pointed to charges that the media directed sexism and misogyny at Clinton during the primary campaign and expressed anger at the failure of Democratic Party leaders to speak out against them or otherwise respond appropriately. Post-primaries, while focusing none of his comments on Obama, DNC Chairman Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
did criticize the media, saying, "The media took a very sexist approach to Senator Clinton's campaign" in response to hearing objections from what he described as a "cross-section of women, from individual voters to powerful politicians and chief executives."
Some media and online commentators used the term PUMA to describe any Clinton primary voter who did not support Obama's nomination or the Democratic Party leadership, regardless of PAC affiliation.
Political action
PUMA's protest actions during the 2008 election took several forms, including encouraging a Clinton write-in campaign for the general electionUnited States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, voting for no presidential candidate, or supporting other candidates such as U.S. Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
(R–AZ). Some hoped that enough superdelegate
Superdelegate
"Superdelegate" is an informal term commonly used for some of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention, the presidential nominating convention of the United States Democratic Party....
s would change their minds to give the nomination to Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in August. Other expressed desires were to help defeat Obama in the general election by electing McCain president in order to set up another run for Clinton in 2012, or that Clinton run as an Independent candidate in the election. Some have noted that the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
had fostered the organization. Many PUMA advocates are part of the blogosphere
Blogosphere
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
and use it for organization, advocacy and viral communication.
PUMA advocated for an open convention in which Clinton's name would be placed in nomination and her delegates allowed to vote for her,
supporting a petition by delegates
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008
The 2008 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. presidential election...
to the convention to put Clinton's name into nomination. Allied organization The Denver Group had spearheaded an ad-based media campaign advocating for an open nomination convention including placing Clinton's name in nomination, allowing speeches in support and a roll call vote. The ad campaign emphasized a connection between historical events and the 2008 convention, calling on DNC Chairman Howard Dean and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to "follow fair and honest application of the democratic process and according to democratic principles" and resist turning "the convention into a coronation."
PAC members were among the groups protesting the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
Organizers/co-founders and associated movements
Darragh Murphy, Executive Director of PUMA PAC, created the organization in June 2008, saying that the immediate goal of her website was "to let the party know, let the leadership know that millions and millions of us are not going to support Obama. That we believe the nomination process was flawed beyond belief, that was unfair and biased." According to one reporter who interviewed her, "Murphy ... believes that the only way to save the Democratic Party at this point was to destroy it. Mr. Obama must lose, and his supporters must be purged." Murphy had characterized PUMA PAC's goals, however, as "not an organized effort to leave the Democratic Party, but to get it back, to bring real unity to the party. Millions of voters are still very unhappy. We're going to still be here on November 5."Diane Mantouvalos, who also founded HireHeels.com, a website trying to get women involved in politics founded “Just Say No Deal.com” along with Peter Boykin (creater of the slogan for the domain name), Will Bower, Cristi Adkins, and Thuc Ngyuen after Hillary Clinton announced her suspension of her campaign. Just Say No Deal was a coalition of groups, including PUMA, advocating against the selection of Barack Obama as the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee.
Christi Adkins, along with Anne Franklin, Peter Boykin and other Clinton supporters, created Clintons4McCain.com. Adkins’ organization was composed of volunteers who donated time, effort and energy to elect Clinton, and now feel Hillary was subjected to unfair attacks during the campaign by "sexism, misogyny, reverse racism and ridicule." Clintons4McCain.com was "opposed to the DNC, the media and Hollywood's influence in the Democratic nomination process." The group’s membership intend to vote for Republican John McCain in November, and believe that John McCain would be tolerable. Adkins had been interviewed on Fox News
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
on multiple occasions about the mission of the PUMA organization. Adkins was interviewed by Chris Matthews of MSNBC outside the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Criticism
PUMA has been criticized for their support of RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidates John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
, especially considering the sharp policy differences between the Republican ticket and Hillary Clinton; this has left the organization open to charges that it supported the McCain campaign solely out of spite, with no concern as to whether a McCain victory would actually advance Hillary's policy agenda.
Some Democrats argued that the organization's goals contradict Hillary Clinton's stated views, and PUMA's lack of support from Clinton herself undermined the credibility of the PUMA position. On CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's Situation Room
The Situation Room
The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer is an afternoon/early evening newscast on CNN and CNN International hosted by Wolf Blitzer that first aired on August 8, 2005. The show replaces three politics and hard news programs: Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics, Crossfire and Wolf Blitzer Reports.At first,...
, Clinton herself had been quoted as saying, "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that anyone who supported me... understands what a grave error it would be not to vote for Sen. Obama." PUMA itself suggested that Hillary was not sincere in her endorsement of Obama, but was simply trying to avoid damage to her position in the party by not openly criticising the candidate. One Democratic state committeewoman who says she supported Clinton, and whose attitude was "Enough with this PUMA stuff," said: "It's not like it's 'Rah rah Obama'. No. But he was our candidate...."
PUMA was also charged with hypocrisy for claiming that Obama was selected by the party leadership rather than elected by Democratic voters, while at the same time seeking to have the primary results overturned by unelected superdelegates.
Patti Higgins, the Chair of the Alaska Democratic Party, wrote to a PUMA supporter: "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 was not an undercover McCain operation." On August 14, 2008, Senators Clinton and Obama issued a joint news release stating that Senator Clinton's name would be put into nomination and a roll-call vote held at the convention, in response to calls from Clinton supporters. Clinton previously stated at a fundraiser: "[I] believe that we will come out stronger if people feel that their voices were heard and their views were respected. I think that was a very big part of how we actually come out unified."
Amanda Marcotte
Amanda Marcotte
Amanda Marie Marcotte is an American blogger best known for her writing on feminism and politics. Time magazine described her as "an outspoken voice of the left" and said "there is a welcome wonkishness to Marcotte, who, unlike some star bloggers, is not afraid to parse policy with her...
of Pandagon had accused PUMA of being a front for McCain advocacy, pointing to founder Darragh Murphy's financial support of McCain in February 2000. Murphy admitted having donating to McCain, stating that the donation was to help defeat George W. Bush in the primary. She says she voted for Al Gore in the general election, although she did not donate to his campaign. She says she was "devastated when Bush stole the election". According to the Huffington Post's Fundrace 2008, Murphy had donated $850 to Clinton's presidential campaign through Q3 2008. Marcotte's accusation omits Murphy's campaign contributions to Clinton. FEC records show a $200 donation to WomenCount PAC by Murphy in June 2008. Bower rejects the claims of Marcotte and others: "People have been trying to paint this as a Trojan horse, you know, as though I'm a Republican, that this was a Republican strategy... No, that's not it at all. From dog-catcher to president, I've voted Democrat."
Clinton-supporter Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. She is a member of the Democratic Party and the Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. She previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate...
(D-FL) had argued that while she sees why many have subscribed to the "Puma attitude", she argues that for women "reproductive rights, the economy and a range other issues, the only choice was Obama." She believes that voting for McCain, or letting him win by default, was worse than not having Clinton as the nominee. Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
had stated that PUMAs and other Clinton supporters "have been less than gracious" for their continuing refusal to support Senator Obama.
DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee co-chairman James Roosevelt disputes the claim that the Michigan–Florida delegate decision was in any way pre-ordained to favor Obama. He argues that Party rules and regulations were "followed and interpreted fairly," saying that there were allegations of impropriety in the Texas caucuses, but only one complaint was filed with a delegate.
Following John McCain's defeat in the 2008 presidential election many commentators from both sides of the political spectrum accused PUMA of essentially misrepresenting their influence or numbers, as exit polls showed that Obama won better than 90% of the Democratic vote, a larger percentage than the previous Democratic nominee, John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
.
Blog wars
In the aftermath of Barack Obama's election, the PUMA's online presence has fractured into numerous warring groups. The once-united bloggers at The Confluence split in 2009 over a variety of differences, most of which had nothing to do with the actual 2008 presidential election. One of The Confluences most tenacious bloggers, the highly divisive Myiq2xu, has been severely criticized for posting overtly sexist remarks on what had ostensibly been a liberal feminist political forum, resulting in his being bestowed the satirical name Meatprod4u by writers at the Rumproast, a pro-Obama blog that has been highly critical of PUMA-Pac in general, and Darragh Murphy in particular. Splinter blog sites started by former PUMA members and sympathizers include Widdershins, Not Your Sweetie, Edge of Forever, and Wired Left. Administrators in virtually all of these PUMA and post-PUMA groups accuse rival groups of stalkingStalking
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
and trolling and, on some occasions, even going so far as to make public real-life names, addresses, and telephone numbers of perceived rivals and/or adversaries, as on an August 20, 2009 Recusive Leftist post, where Myiq2xu posted an anonymous protester's real-life identity, for no apparent reason other than the opportunity having presented itself.
Among the anti-PUMA blogs, StupidPumas! is easily the least restrained, accusing the group of both overt and covert racism, duplicity, and even fraud. StupidPumas! has gone so far as to post on their site online copies of official letters sent to PUMA-Pac from the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
, demanding the filing of long-overdue financial reports.
PUMA film
In 2009, Los Angeles filmmakers Brad MaysBrad Mays
Brad Mays is an independent filmmaker and stage director, living and working in Los Angeles, California.-Background and education:...
and Lorenda Starfelt
Lorenda Starfelt
Lorenda Starfelt was an award-winning independent film producer, as well as a committed political activist and blogger who famously dug up president Barack Obama's in an August 1961 edition of The Honolulu Advertiser while researching her documentary on the 2008 presidential election...
finished work on their feature-length political documentary The Audacity of Democracy
The Audacity of Democracy
The Audacity of Democracy is an independent documentary film produced by Lorenda Starfelt and directed by Brad Mays for LightSong Films in North Hollywood. The film, which was shot in New York City, Washington, D.C.; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas and Austin, Texas; and Denver, Colorado is an in-depth...
, which followed the 2008 race for the Democratic Presidential nomination and focused in particular on the PUMA organization. Shot from June through September 2008, Mays and Starfelt filmed interviews and political activity taking place in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, Dallas, Austin
Austin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and, ultimately, at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
2008 Democratic National Convention
The United States 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. The convention was held in Denver,...
in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. Mays came under almost immediate fire from pro-Obama groups, citing conflict of interest due to the production having been financed by PUMA-Pac itself. Mays acknowledged these concerns, while maintaining that his film would be an objective account of what he saw and heard during the Democratic primary. About a week before the Democratic convention in Denver, all of Mays' camera equipment was stolen while en route to Chicago. Although most of the gear was eventually replaced, the crucial Chicago shoot was seriously compromised. When Mays decided to film interviews with Internet journalist Tommy Christopher, an outspoken PUMA critic, the rank and file of the PUMA movement quickly denounced the filmmaker, distancing themselves from the entire project.
In multiple subsequent Blog-Radio interviews, Brad Mays has expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the finished film, revealing that he had not been allowed to complete shooting in the manner originally agreed to, adding that many of the PUMA members who had decided to switch their support from Hillary Clinton to John McCain did not care for the way their new-found Republican leanings played onscreen.
External links
- PUMA PAC blog
- The Confluence Originating PUMA site