Next Up, Nancy P.

This is the third in a series of “give-em-rope-and-let-em-hang” posts about the people who drove me from the Democratic party.  Today, we visit the comments of Nancy Pelosi during the primaries.  As Speaker of the House she wields tremendous influence and used it more liberally than one might think prudent.

In an article found on the FlaDems website re: seating the delegates from Florida and Michigan, dated Oct. 9, 2007:

“The Democratic National Committee is the ruling authority now .. but the tradition is that the presidential candidate will decide,” Pelosi said.

She noted that she had the job in 1984 of reviewing whether states had complied with rules governing the party’s presidential primaries and caucuses.

She recalled that when she threatened the states with not seating their delegates if they broke the rules, “they said ha, ha, ha, because no presidential candidate is going to say we’re not seating New Hampshire and we’re not seating Iowa.”

ABC News, Nov. 5, 2007, saying Clinton was not receiving sexist treatment:

“[Sen. Clinton] said it best: They’re ‘piling on’ — or whatever the words were — ‘because I’m the front-runner.’ That’s why they’re piling on,” said Pelosi. “If she was in third place, they wouldn’t say, ‘Let’s go attack a woman.’”

SFGate, Jan 29, 2008 commenting on Ted Kennedy’s endorsement of Barack Obama:

“Did you ever see anything like that?” asked Pelosi. “Transferring the mantle from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama. It was the most stunning thing. I mean, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. And I didn’t have any time to sit there and watch TV, you know – we had a whole schedule. I just was mesmerized by it.”

Feb. 16, 2008, with Obama leading in delegates, Clinton in superdelegates:

“I think there is a concern when the public speaks and there is a counter-decision made to that,” she said, adding quickly, “I don’t think that will happen.”

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“I do think that they have a respect — it’s not just following the returns, it’s also having a respect for what has been said by the people,” Pelosi said. “It would be a problem for the party if the verdict would be something different than the public has decided.”

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“Well, I don’t think that any states that operated outside the rules of the party can be dispositive of who the nominee is. That is to say they can’t make the difference because then we would have no rules,” she said.

Politico, Feb. 19, 2008:

“I think there is a concern when the public speaks and there is a counter-decision made to that,” she said. “It would be a problem for the party if the verdict would be something different than the public has decided.”

March 5, 2008, Washington Post:

“I don’t think it was ever intended that superdelegates would overturn the verdict, the decision of the American people,” Pelosi said. “What they are there to do is to be in place should there be a need for some change … but not to change what happened in the election.”

March 8, 2008 re: Florida and Michigan:

“As chair of the convention, I want to make sure I can moderate the matter in a fair way,” she said. “But I mean, let’s face it: Barack Obama wasn’t even on the ballot in Michigan, so how can you say that that was an election? I think Florida has a bigger case. But in each of the cases, they are outside the rules and an accommodation is going to have to be made.”

ABC, March 14, 2008:

“If the votes of the superdelegates overturn what’s happened in the elections,” said Pelosi, “it would be harmful to the Democratic Party.”

When asked by George Stephanopoulos what if one candidate lead in popular vote and one in delegates:

“But it’s a delegate race,” Pelosi replied. “The way the system works is that the delegates choose the nominee.”

On April 1, The New York Daily News quoted from a Good Morning America interview:

“These superdelegates have the right to vote their conscience and who they think would be the better president, or who can win, but they also then should get involved in the campaigns and make their power known there,”

In the same interview, asked about a letter she received from Clinton backers concerned that she was taking Obama’s position re: delegates:

“It wasn’t important to me.”

Asked about a Clinton/Obama joint ticket, the Chicago Tribune quotes the Larry King Show, April 24, 2008:

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Pelosi says, according to a partial transcript. “I think that first of all that the candidates, whoever he or she may be, should choose his or her own vice presidential candidate.”

There’s plenty of talent to go around to build a “good, strong ticket,” says Pelosi. “I’m not one of those who thinks that that’s a good ticket.”

In a joint statement with Howard Dean and Harry Reid, reported in the LA Times, Jun 4, 2008:

“We have come to the end of an exciting primary and caucus process — the voters have spoken.  As the Democratic leaders of the Senate, House of Representatives, the Governors and the Democratic National Committee we commend all of the participants of the 2008 primary process, especially Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, for making this such a transformational election.

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“Democrats must now turn our full attention to the general election.  To that end, we are urging all remaining uncommitted superdelegates to make their decisions known by Friday of this week so that our party can stand united and begin our march toward reversing the eight years of failed Bush/McCain policies that have weakened our country.

CNN, June 4, 2008 before Hillary Clinton conceded:

“Running for President is not for the faint of heart. This is very difficult, and people have to unwind from it in their own time, but I think the message was clear last night. The people have spoken, the elections are over for the nomination. Barack Obama is the nominee of the Democratic party,” Pelosi said.

June 24, the Chicago Tribune, asked was there sexism against Clinton:

“Is there sexism? Probably so. Is it responsible for the defeat? I really wouldn’t have the scientific knowledge, all of the information, to know that. But I do think that being a woman has a positive upside in the campaign, probably offset by more sexism, I don’t know.

Chastising Joe Lieberman, Aug. 13, 2008:

“You are right. Joe Lieberman has said things that are totally irresponsible when it comes to Barack Obama,” Pelosi said. “Here we have a leader for the future, really a great leader for the future and one that comes along only every now and then, and they know it so they have to undermine him. And one of their best weapons, of course, is someone who is considered by some to be a Democrat.”

According to Politico, at a fundraiser in San Francisco, August 18, 2008, she referred to Barack Obama as…

“…a leader that God has blessed us with at this time.”

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

Palin’s Stunning News?!

This is the headline of Yahoo News’ political section:

Day of stunning Palin disclosures

What were these earth-shattering developments?

Her daughter is pregnant and she hired a lawyer.

That’s it.

It was my intention to ignore this story, because that’s what it deserves.  Let me be clear, I am not a Republican, I was born a Democrat.  My party affiliation was changed in early June to “none” because of the actions and deeds of the Democrats, their surrogates and the bloggers and news services in the pocket of their selected nominee.  The ones who make stories out of nothing just to try to divert attention from the fact that their chosen candidate leaves a lot to be desired; collectively known here as the schmoos.  So listen up, schmoos, for what it’s worth, since I’m just another ignorant, bitter chick, here’s a bit of not-so-friendly advice.  Knock it off.  You’re doing more harm than good.  It’s none of our business, and if you guys weren’t poking your noses into people’s business looking for non-stories to pump while you ignore real stories that actually deserve scrutiny, maybe people wouldn’t feel the need to hire lawyers.  Besides, if teenage girls didn’t occasionally get pregnant, you’d all be voting for Hillary Clinton this year, anyway.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

Hurricane? I’m Off To Chicago!

Here’s the story from Yahoo:

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has canceled a planned overnight stay in Milwaukee to return to his Chicago headquarters and monitor Hurricane Gustav’s damage to Gulf Coast states.

The campaign said Monday that Obama may revise his plans to campaign mainly in Pennsylvania and Ohio later this week. He canceled plans to spend Monday night in Milwaukee and to hold a small event there Tuesday morning.

Obama’s 16 campaign offices in North Carolina solicited non-perishable goods for Gustav’s victims. Other state campaign organizations may do the same, Obama spokesmen said.

Here’s what the New York Times says about it:

As Mr. McCain traveled to Mississippi on Sunday, Mr. Obama decided to monitor the approach of Hurricane Gustav from afar. Mr. Obama was briefed on the evacuation in a telephone call with Michael Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland Security, on Sunday afternoon, as well as conversations with the Louisiana governor, the New Orleans mayor and other officials.

Mr. Obama told reporters that he might visit the Gulf Coast after “things have settled down.” He and his advisers discussed making a weekend trip to the region, but they concluded that visiting the area before the storm would complicate the efforts of the authorities there.

Leadership, anyone?

PUMA

Just Say, Whatever

No Bounce to the Ounce

CNN is reporting that the Democratic National Coronation yielded Barack Obama no discernible “bounce” in the polls.  Duh.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Sunday night shows the Obama-Biden ticket leading the McCain-Palin ticket by one point, 49 percent to 48 percent, within the statistical margin of error.

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A previous CNN poll, taken just one week earlier, suggested the race between McCain, R-Arizona, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, was tied at 47 percent each.

Seems the convention and Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s running mate announcement cancel each other out.  Double duh.

“The convention and particularly Obama’s speech seems to be well-received. And the selection of Sarah Palin as the GOP running mate, also seems to be well-received. So why is the race still a virtual tie? Probably because the two events created equal and opposite bounces assuming that either one created a bounce at all,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

I know in this economy everybody needs their jobs, but come on, do we really need “experts” to tell us that these two particular candidates are running neck and neck, and why?  Does the phrase “six of one, half-dozen of the other” mean anything to you?  How about, “none of the above”?  “Okay if I have to pick one…?”  Those reasons make just much sense as all the “poll data” in the world.  More.  Sheesh.

PUMA

Just Say, Whatever

We TOLD Howard Dean First!

Greta Van Susteren has a question up on her blog, GretaWire, asking if PUMAs are real.  Boy, is she getting an ear/eyeful!  She also has an accompanying video up of Sarah Palin’s speech with John McCain, but nobody’s paying attention to that.  PUMA after PUMA is expressing all the outrage we’ve felt over the way the Democrats have treated us this year.  What’s interesting is that while Hillary Clinton’s name comes up, since she bore the brunt of the abuse, it probably is mentioned no more than the names of Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi and Donna Brazile.  All the pent-up anger and frustration we, and people like us who didn’t even know they were PUMAs, have been feeling, is pouring out from keyboard after keyboard in an unrelenting deluge.

There is this notion being put forth by some in the media, pushed by the DeaNC and the Obamacrats, no doubt, that the PUMA movement is a myth.  Somebody wants people to believe that a few Republicans have been making mischief by infiltrating the Democratic party and agitating the base.  Whoever is trying to peddle this poop knows better.

The way the primaries unfolded didn’t sit right with us voters not jumping on the O train, but we gave the Dems the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe there was something to this guy we weren’t seeing.  But week after week, more and more stink kept rising.  The Rules and Bylaws committee was the last straw.  See, unlike the Obots, we’re not kids.  We see, and we know what we’re looking at.  “Rules are rules,”  “we all agreed” and all that other parental sounding happy crappy is fine and dandy if you don’t know that “the rules” are always fluid and “we all agreed” not to mention that “we all know” there are “rules around the rules.”  We also know fair is fair, and “rules or no rules,” the nomination process between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was not fair.  Two hour private “lunches” at a public meeting on the same day the preferred candidate “sees the light” and dumps his contentious church, for which he is rewarded with delegates he couldn’t possibly have  earned, not being on the ballot, don’t exactly inspire confidence.  But that’s not the point.  We can re-litigate the primaries later, I’m happy to do it.  But right now what I want to address is the notion that the DeaNC and the media are surprised that we exist.

We told Howard Dean! He’s the one who sat up in the RBC meeting and called for “party unity” signaling from the jump that we were going to get screwed.  We knew that going in, but the blatant, dare I say it, “audacity” of these petty criminals trying to “hoodwink” and “bamboozle” people who wrote the game, in broad daylight, no less, was unbelievably appalling.  That was  the moment PUMA was born.  Party Unity My Ass!

On the Confluence, a website founded by Riverdaughter, angry HRC supporters gathered to vent. One of them SM77, christened the movement.  From the Confluence about page:

SM77: Our spicy Latina in Florida gave PUMA a name when she said after the RBC hearing in May: Party Unity My Ass!

The sentiment was already there, however.  All the PUMA movement needed at that point was a name.  And that name went viral.  More than one group co-opted it and adapted it to their vision, and while different groups took different approaches, throughout this loose-knit coalition, the underlying mission was the same: screw you back, DNC!

One of the PUMA groups, PUMA Pac, changed the acronym to mean People United Means Action and, in short order, became a registered pac.  But they didn’t start that way.  The frustrated visitors to their new website wanted to do something so they soon started organizing various missions called “action alerts”  One of the first was an e-mail campaign to Howard Dean. On Jun 5, 2008, this call to action was printed:

All Pumas, please send an email to Howard Dean, chair of the Democratic National Committee right now @ howarddean@dnc.org

Tell him that we are Democrats who will not vote for Barack Obama for president. We will not support a “Unity Ticket” with Hillary Clinton as the vice-president. We will not donate one thin dime to the DNC or any of its affiliate organizations until they wake up, listen to the voices of the voters in ALL 50 states, and start distancing themselves from this disastrous nominee.

Subsequent “action alerts” from PUMA Pac and many of the other groups, organizations and websites in, and out, of the Just Say No Deal coalition alerted the heck out of Brazile and Pelosi, too.  And if you check with them, they have their own stories of how they came to be and what they’ve done about their anger.  So, as you can see, the DeaNC knew about PUMA almost as soon as we did.  As well they should.  They started it.  They started us.

And the rest will be history.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal