Friday, August 15, 2008

The PUMA Conference

-- Yes... it was good to meet Andy last weekend. Here's what he has to say about the PUMA confernece in DC and a few choice words for our critics...

Thank you Andy.


The PUMA conference and its aftermath: renewed reform in the Democratic Party

ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com

"Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct"

AMERICA'S #1 POLITICAL
BLOG ON THE 2008 CAMPAIGN

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We're not always first because we're #1;
We're #1 because we are always first.
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OBAMA AUTHOR ANDY MARTIN ATTENDS A "PUMA" CONFERENCE AND FINDS A NASCENT REFORM MOVEMENT IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

ANTI-OBAMA LEADER MARTIN SAYS PUMA PACKS PUNCH IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY; JUST WAIT AND SEE

(NEW YORK)(August 15, 2008) Last weekend I spent three days at a conference sponsored by a maverick group of dissident Democrats. The "PUMA" conference was held in a nondescript Washington suburban motel. I was writing a new essay on the history of reform in the Democratic Party over the past 80 years; the PUMA's appealed to me as exemplars of reform and dissent (the column is still not finished). I was asked not to write about the conference until after the proceedings were completed and I complied with that embargo.

Little did I realize that crackpot left-wingers and right-wingers would be attacking this placid and almost tranquil conference as a hotbed of radicalism. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The Huffington Post also sent one of their acolytes to attend; she was so inept she didn't even know where the conference was being held. I also became the target of vicious and irrational attacks from people who were not there.

On reflection, the desire of the organizers to close the meeting to news media appears sensible. I was happy to be the only media presence in attendance.
I am now convinced the PUMA movement is morphing into something vastly more influential than I realized, all due to the hysteria of the left and right. Here's a little background.

Every day we get hundreds of e-mails from all sorts of sources. Our job at ContrarianCommentary.com is to make sense of this mélange, and to sort the wheat from the chaff. We do a pretty good job of doing just that. As a result of being fair to both conservatives and liberals we also receive input from all types of sources and channels. The result is that we are usually a week to ten days ahead of our competitors in the mainstream media.

For example, the now legendary cell phone video of Hillary Clinton seeking to have her name placed in nomination for "catharsis" reached my desk within hours; it took the mainstream media ten days to get the same material and realize its significance. I attended the PUMA conference in a spirit of inquiry.
Some writers have sought to ridicule the meeting for a variety of perceived failures. On the contrary, the meeting was an extraordinary event and highly successful.

First, the meeting was national. People came from across the United States. It's not easy to create a national movement overnight. PUMA's have accomplished something very challenging when they convince people from coast to coast to assemble in one place.

Second, the PUMA movement provided "cover" for the ultimately successful efforts to have Hillary Clinton's name placed in nomination. PUMAs were even more successful than any Clinton supporter could have predicted.

Third, as in the case of most political meetings, much of the "content" was boring, organizational, and basic politics. Although David Shuster (sitting in on MSNBC's Hardball) tried to suggest PUMA was a Republican "front," I saw no evidence of that fact. The attendance was primarily, though not exclusively, composed of women who had hitherto been loyal Democrats.

Fourth, although hostile bloggers have criticized the TV presence of PUMA representatives, the PUMA media techniques are not a concern. The people involved are amateurs. They are not professional politicians and they are not professional media types. They are going to have rough edges. They are not going to be smooth and polished.

Fifth, the Democrats are taking "women" for granted because of some of the loonier planks of the Republican Party platform. But in an election where Democrats are likely to retain congress, Democratic women maybe much more inclined to stray to McCain when they know he will be hemmed in by a solidly Democratic congress. The women I saw at the PUMA conference are being discounted and underestimated, and they don't like it.

I attended my first Democratic National Convention forty (40) years ago, in Chicago. I saw the chaos on the streets. Today, the Internet, cell phones, digital cameras, blogs and the paraphernalia of the i-pod generation have largely supplanted street protests. But people are more powerful in 2008 than they were in 1968. I have not seen anything since 1968 with the gathering storm potential of 2008.

Well, what is happening and what does PUMA represent?

First, PUMA activity is a quintessential example of the "aggregating" power of the Internet. People across the United States are linked in a network that, however rudimentary and preliminary it may appear to outsiders, is gaining strength and managed to assemble a national turnout.

Second, there is a nascent reform movement in the Democratic Party. The "outsiders" may ridicule PUMA, but something happened this week to afford Clinton a name on the convention ballot as well as a prime-time speaking engagement. Dick Morris on Hannity and Colmes called these concessions an Obama disaster. Why did Obama's people give in? They realize that there is sustained opposition out there. PUMA's may not have the internal party power to have a conventional impact, but they can act as a focal point for others to concentrate their own energy and opposition.

Third, the PUMA movement is going to be extraordinarily well-organized and powerfully connected in Denver. The right/left wing bloggers and mainstream media may claim that PUMA's are "small in number." That's not a problem. Small groups can function with lethal impact. Just ask the Green Beret (12-man) "A" teams.

Fourth, PUMAS are going to Denver to be heard. I will also be in Denver to observe and report. I was initially a little concerned about spending three days in Washington; now that I have seen the developments of this week, I am absolutely glad I attended.

Fifth, with time and exposure and experience, amateurs become more professional and more effective. That will no doubt happen with the PUMA movement. It has happened to every party reform movement in the past.

Sixth, the process by which Barack Obama claimed the nomination, namely a skewed delegate system that underweights big states and overweights small states, is a disgrace to democracy. The caucus system is rife with corruption and cronyism. There is no way Obama would have won in a race where Ohio and Pennsylvania had the proportional impact with Idaho and Kansas. The current proportional allocation system leads to an undemocratic and disproportionate result. There will be reform of the Democratic Party; PUMA activists could help spearhead it.

My audience and influence have grown exponentially during 2008 because of my impartial commentary and cutting edge investigation. Those who criticize me are merely expressing sour grapes. If the best people can do to smear me as a columnist is to dig up 25 year old litigation I handled, they are worse sickos and more desperate than anyone can imagine. And they are all funded and controlled by Barack Obama and George Soros.

My record of writing on Obama since 2004 and Clinton since 2008 has proven prescient and unerringly accurate. My new book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, details much of this research and commentary. http://OrangeStatePress.com. I will keep telling the truth, and keep driving both the extreme left and the extreme right crazy.

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UPDATE: We are working on a response to the media hysteria triggered by Barack Obama's latest pamphlet of lies, titled "Unfit for Publication," attacking one of my competing authors. I don't make a habit of supporting my competitors because they are, after all, taking money out of my pocket. Proceeds from my book all go to the anti-Obama movement, not my personal enrichment. But because Obama's "defense" against "lies" is a new set of his own lies, I feel I should respond.

In the meantime, readers of my book, Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, can rest assured my work is still the only gold standard and practical handbook on Barack Obama's unfitness for the presidency. Buy it.

Book orders: http://OrangeStatePress.com. Immediate shipment from the publisher now available.
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FULL DISCLOSURE: I have decided to oppose Barack Obama's election and have become Executive Director of The Stop Obama Coalition, http://StopObamaCoalition.com. By default, I have become the national leader of the anti-Obama movement. I am not acting as either a Democrat or Republican. I have had no contact whatsoever with the McCain Campaign. I am not a member of any political organization. The views express are entirely independent. I am acting as an American citizen who sincerely believes Obama is not the man we need in the Oval Office. We are going to run a very dynamic and aggressive campaign against Obama. I will continue to write my columns for ContrarianCommentary.com.
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Andy Martin is a legendary Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of www.ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin comments on regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. His columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Andy is the author of Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, published in July 2008, see http://www.OrangeStatePress.com. MEDIA CONTACT: E-MAIL: AndyMart20@aol.com [NOTE: We frequently correct typographical errors and additions/subtractions on our blogs, where you can find the latest edition of this release.]


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3 comments:

M. Sakel said...

Thank you for posting Andy Martin's phenomenally insightful, unadorned commentary on the sad infiltration of extremism and Obamyopia in the ex-Democratic Party.

Andy is the antithesis of a far-right fanatic and most certainly has not as yet sung Kumbaya with the Obamarama gang. What I believe he is--and I first heard about Andy only this year from NoQuarter's info.--is a true Citizen who values participatory Democracy and is not under the influence of the corporate media and its misogynist frat-boys who pushed Obamarama to a fraudulent "finish-line" of superdels.

Having viewed the on-the-pulpit gyrations of Obama's pastor and then have Him say that he didn't listen to what was being preached, and then flip-flop when Anderson asked him later, I've come to my own conclusion that Obamarama is a dangerous phenomenon. This neophyte flip-flops on every issue.
Then he shows his utter lack of respect for women and especially his fellow female Senator Hillary Clinton by going on stage in N.C. the day after his pathetic performance in the ABC Pa. Debate...and stars in this Youtube megahit:

"Obama Gives HIllary the F!nger"--performing a JayZ rapper-wannabe act smirkingly "flip-offing" his fellow senator and dusting her off his shoulders and "scraping" her off like excrement from his shoes!
How presidential! Thank Zeus he's got Ludacris on his ipod for extra shots of misogyny! His Hopeness is the only dexterous candidate who can both do the "flip-flop" and the sexist "flip-off" with his camouflaged political ignorance and misogyny unchecked by the bimbo-out-of-rehab chasers we call "journalists"!

Andy is an astute journalist and he's seen through all this hopey-changey hoopla and synthesized its essence for us:
PUMAs is an energized, truly democratic, unstoppable grassroots movement that has taken roots! A third party may even be born from this injustice to the candidate who won the popular vote hands down. And I hope Andy keeps watering them often as they're fast growing...

Come November, the 18 million cracks on the DNC's ceiling will shatter it allowing the Light of reason to shine through--and cure the Obamyopics of their dangerous affliction.

Thanks for posting Andy's "must read" column. His book was well-documented and interestingly written, and I really haven't seen the need to read any of the others. I only wish he'd autograph it!

PUMAs, let 'em hear you roar!...

Nobama '08

mshillary said...

Thank you, Thank you! I hope
you kick a_ _ really good and make
such a stir that the party doesn't know what hit them. I wish I could
go, but my legs will not let me walk.
So I will send prayers up and letters out to anyone that will listen to me.
And any monies that they want to donate will be appreciated. I am
so happy there is thousands of people out here that feels the way I do.
I also want to thank you all for your hard work to put this together. It has taken a lot of
attention and detail to get the
information that you need to accomplish what needs to be done...
I applaud all of you, Puma and all of the other grass root org. that
is for Hillary...She is our gal,
and always will be...Thank you
again!

Anonymous said...

It is beyond appalling to hear such illogic and faulty thinking from this segment of Hillary Clinton supporters!

I was a pro-feminist man since before Shirley Chisholm began her
historic '72 bid for the WH & will always be thus, but by examining the evidence, I see Ms. Clinton as being UNWORTHY of holding the position as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, both NOW & FOREVER, unless she metamorphosizes into a LIBERAL Democrat vs. remaining an appendage of the terminal Zell Miller wing of the Party.

1. She LOST the primary, FAIR & SQUARE by NOT winning as many delegates & supers as BHO(who'd a' tho't that she would use lying DLC shills and overlapping Republican PR firm directorates to run her campaign)!
2. She is a member (since '00) of
"The Family", the anti-Democratic and anti-American "prayer group" cabal composed of rabidly ANTI-WOMAN Repub. Sens. like John Cornryn (!) who ostensibly worship Jesus, yet seek to arrogate ALL power for themselves from citizens like you & me by utilizing ANY MEANS NECESSARY from the playbooks of such vicious fascitarians as Genghis Khan, "Adolp" & "Steeln" (kudos to the always-formidable Barbara Ehrenreich, a FEMINIST worthy of EVERYONE'S respect & gratitude for her tireless research about this DANGEROUS GROUP & her body of work done on behalf of ALL Americans & not just the monied elites)! On the Primary trail HRC even referred to herself as a "religious conservative" (I think she said that in IN)! Yeah, like we need THAT Stockholm-syndrome mindset to lead us thro' the minefield which informs this new millenium!
3. The evidence is also clear that the electronic VOTING MACHINES ensured her NH "victory" while in Harlem, NYC, almost ALL precincts weren't even COUNTED (& she said NOTHING, as she did in '00 & '04)!

This shallow, self-aggrandizing example of "leadership" deserves no further reward, consideration OR campaign funds from ANYONE, much less thoughtful, forward-looking Democrats (she & Bill are FILTHY RICH, REMEMBER?)!

I urge all Democrats to close ranks, register more Democratic voters, raise money for LIBERAL Democrats (we NEED a filibuster-proof Senate) & stoke Sen. Obama's unstoppable steamroller (yes, it's about to crush that feeble baby-killer McBush and his flaccid, Mammon-worshipping chumps) to gain an absolute VICTORY IN NOVEMBER!

'Til victory,
S. Arapahoe Peak