PUMA. Haven't heard of them? Not really surprised, though they claim to have 18,000,000 of them in their group. No, Velveeta did not make a typo, that's 18 million. And, depending on who you talk to the letters stand either for: Party Unity My Ass or Party United Means Action. What they claim are 18,000,000 voters who plan to get Hillary Clinton elected one way or another. What they really are, may depend from one "PUMA cub” to the next. (Oh, did I forget to mention that they use words like cub, paws, growl, prowl and other “cat” type references throughout their blogs, emails, radio shows and merchandise). My goodness, it doesn't even sound like they are of voting age with all this jargon! The only thing missing is Hello Kitty! cartoons!

Velveeta was alerted to the PUMA phenomenon by Miss Raine's video post and then, using that ingenious "google", found reference to them from this blog. If you go read this blog, you'll see why I just had to run over and see what all the fuss was about. And also why I spent two nights lurking on a silly blog, compromising valuable time which could otherwise be spent on soiree's or relaxing rose petal baths, but I digress.

Yet on and on I read their babble; they claim to be Hillary supporters whose aim is to get their Goddess Hillary into the seat of power, at times becoming so redundant and overbearing that even Velveeta becomes overwhelmed and begins to walk lock-step with the drones of Hill-bots. There are daily mailings and phone calls to super-delegates and to other PUMA's, there are meet-ups and Television interviews (on their station of choice, FOX) and preparations for rallies and preparations for Denver and trying to get Donna Brazile to resign and smearing Howard Dean and ...........whew! When does a girl have time for sipping tea on the veranda!

(Thankfully, Velveeta is snapped back to reality by something that PUMA is sorely lacking: facts). Don’t get me wrong. I have a great respect for Hillary Clinton and I would not have hesitated to vote for her had she been the nominee. So why are these supporters so damn rabid? Should we, the Edwards supporters, feel obligated to remind John that he only “suspended” his run, and form some sort of PAC to raise money, we’d be called “bad sports” or worse.

Well, these PUMA’s are a PAC now, raising money for some purpose or another, again, it seems their goals may differ. Some want Hillary to be the nominee, others just want to screw the DNC and still others are, dare I say it: Wolves in PUMA clothing. You won’t have to look far to find a Republican.

Lets take a look-see into the world of PUMA. This is from the PUMA Blog run by Republican Darragh Murphy (will get back to her ‘R’ problem) whose “cubs”/acolytes refer to her solely as Murphy.



Does this not sound a tad threatening? I thought the Democratic party was more about the individual than the group? This is what has made us so welcoming and diverse. (And consequently the harder to agree with each other on where and what to focus our energies on). This sounds more like, well, um, Republicans! “Until the voices of Pumas are once again listened to by the leadership of the Democratic party, we will be guided by that defiance.” Excuse me? There are only 18 Million of you (allegedly) and the rest of us, the majority, are supposed to let you railroad us into selecting your choice?

The outset of the problem here is they have divided the Democratic Party in half. Those that support(ed) Hillary and those that support Obama. They ignore those, including myself, that supported Edwards, Richardson, Kucinich, Dodd, Biden, and yes, even those two that supported Gravel.

Hillary was treated unfairly? Ask Dennis Kucinich if he thinks Hillary got the shaft! My God, they wouldn’t even ask him serious questions in the debates, unless you’re counting those UFO questions as “serious”.

Obama was not my choice. Kerry was not my choice in 2004. Gore was not my choice in 2000. But I stuck with my party because I believed in their basic principles and I voted for (or tried to vote for) Gore and Kerry.

On the other hand, political contribution records show that “Murphy” supported John McCain in 2000, so we’ll assume that she stayed with her party and in 2000 voted for..........well, quite the opposite of Hillary Clinton!

But lets hear from some of the cubs and what they have to say on their blog. I’ll leave out any personal references even though they are anonymous - despite the fact that the PUMA group would not give the same courtesy. On the blog anyone who crosses them is promptly outed and slimed. Velveeta awaits the same fate.

Are they Republicans, expanding Rush's "Operation Chaos" to new extremes? You be the Judge. Here's a sampler of some of the milder postings:





The “left”? Whoops, your “right” is showing!



Um, okay. A “Democrat”, a progressive, is going to tune into FOX news to hear them talk about “biased media coverage”. Someone please alert Velveeta when that actually happens. I‘ll be checking to see if there‘s ice skating in Hell when it does.





And you casting your anonymous ballot for John McCain is going to teach the DNC a lesson, how?

Sigh. I could go on and on, but why?

My take on this group is that they are a combination of operatives, nuts and naiveté’s who don’t let small details like facts stand in the way of their mission. For some its the love of Hillary. (I tread into dangerous territory here, but I can’t stop the feeling that some of them like Hillary a tad too much, if you get what I’m saying). For others its sheer racism. And for others its simply love of their party: Republican.

Are there some genuine disenfranchised Hillary supporters? Absolutely, yes! And they have every right to be angry for their votes not counting in Florida and Michigan.

But again, those pesky “facts” keep popping up. Did Hillary say that she would abide by the rules set by the DNC? Yep. So, be mad that Hillary changed her mind (dare I say flip flopped) about it. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and screw-over the entire country, just because your state tried to circumvent the rules!

Here’s a few other facts which I have not heard one peep out of PUMA PAC (apologies to them if I missed it, but I don’t believe I have):

Nowhere have I seen anyone get upset over John McCain’s joke about a woman being raped by an ape. What kind of feminist would not be angered over that?

Never have I heard one mention of the fear that Roe v. Wade could be overturned by one single McCain SCOTUS appointment. What kind of mother would want that for her daughter?

Never once have I seen them concerned about remaining in this illegal occupation in Iraq for, as McCain once implied “100 years or more”. Where is the anger?

They are angry that Obama voted for FISA, yet fail to mention that he voted to strip the immunity as he’d promised (The Dodd Amendment). A vote that Clinton didn’t even bother to show up for! (Ted Kennedy, on the other hand, did manage to show up and vote for it, post brain surgery).

And one fact that seems overlooked. If these are indeed 18 Million HRC supporters, couldn’t they easily retire Hillary’s debt by only each donating a mere $1.25 or so? Seems like a small amount, the cost of a New York Times, for an out of state progressive. Ahem.

And as for those legitimate Hillary supporters who’ve joined this PAC because they sincerely want to see Clinton become the nominee? Well, it seems they have found true “pumas”, Rove-like predators, that have them in their teeth and claws and gotten them to do their bidding: GETTING A REPUBLICAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE AGAIN, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.