I'm going to paste the whole thing and not editorialize:
August 29, 2008
TO: Puma PAC Members
FROM: Murphy
Subject: AnnouncementHello Puma PAC,
Goodbye Howard Dean. Goodbye Barack Obama. Goodbye Nancy Pelosi. Goodbye Donna Brazile. You have not only lost the White House for the Democratic Party. Today you have brought the Democratic Party to the brink of irrelevancy altogether. John McCain has played you all like a piano.Today we say GOODBYE to the OLD Democratic Party. The OLD Democratic Party has led us to DISASTER. John McCain and Sarah Palin will win in November by a landslide.
TODAY, August 29th 2008, Puma PAC has started a new political party:
THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
We have a website launching tonight. at www.thenewdemocraticparty.org
and www.ndp.org
We will be modeled on Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party. We will NOT be running candidates. We WILL be endorsing candidates.
We will be the Party for All Disaffected Democrats who are FINISHED WITH THE OLD DEMOCRATIC PARTY. We are NOT Republicans, though millions of us will vote McCain/Palin in November.
Our Platform is the Platform of the TRUE Democratic Party
• Healthcare for All
• Equal Rights
• Reproductive Rights
• Worker Protections
• Envmtl Protections
• Fair Immigration Policy
• Help for working class college students
• Good public schoolsWE MUST PREVENT A REPUBLICAN TAKEOVER OF THE ELECTORATE. WE NEED A POLITICAL PARTY FOR ALL THE MILLIONS WHO WANT TO BOLT THE DEMS AFTER TODAY’S FIASCO.
Please JOIN US. We NEED the Platform and Principles of GOOD DEMOCRATIC VALUES now MORE THAN EVER. We MUST STAY UNITED AS A DEMOCRATIC VOTING BLOC OR WE COULD LOSE EVERYTHING.
To Join the New Democratic Party, please send an email with your name and state today to newdemparty [at] pumapac [dot] org
Listen in tonight to the Lion’s Share on No We Won’t Radio with Sheri Tagg.
Riverdaughter and I will join her to talk about today’s events and where we go from here.
www.blogtalkradio.com/no-we-wontThank you and Good Luck,
Murphy
Interesting. I guess we'll see.
TROLL PROPHYLACTIC I subsribe to the list, just like I subscribe to a lot of lists. That doesn't make me a member. For pity's sake.
UPDATE And their sites are down. Shit, if they were Republicans, they'd have money! Why is that so hard to see?
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Hmmm.
Okay.
I criticize Nader each and every time he runs, because he has never built a downticket organization to start up a political party the right way -- from the ground up, getting the right petitions and the right candidates in the smaller positions so they get experience.
We'll get no candidate defections, this late in the game, so this party is starting now for a 2010 rollout.
If they mean to have impact this election season, well, it's time to insist that they move immediately to electronic filing of FEC contribution data (I read PUMAs complain when Obama was tardy about filing, so this should be a no-brainer). Then we sift and scoop like we do for the Greens -- if the donation history is mostly Republicans or stooges with Republican org ties, throw it back. If they can't do that, then the NDP will be the unacknowledged feminist wing of the Republican Party.
If they want a future, one with real influence instead of becoming a weapon for either established party, the one thing they must push for NOW are changes in the voting system to allow third party outcomes. I mean petitions to get on ballots for local elections next year, then working up to state ballots. Otherwise this rule comes into effect:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger's_law
and no matter how well-intentioned PUMA PAC is, the same spoiler effect will happen as with Nader, and nothing will change.
No such link
Well reasoned.
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
oh, yes there is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%E2...
I copied the link from Google, but obviously it was different.
And see the benefit of actually going to a PUMA function, and listening what they have to say? This was in the wind Monday, and I started thinking about it then....
We've got two litmus tests
1. Operational, as you point out above
2. Policy, HR 676, as DCB points out.
Not bad. We should be able to assess this particular flavor of shit pretty soon.
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Bitter
Just guessing on the flavor.
But I would think..
Lambert: with PUMA being an outgrowth of what happened with HRC, and with Universal Health Care being one of her keystone issues, I would think that PUMA would want candidates who do support UHC. Of course, I could be wrong! :-)
We need to get rid of the spoiler effect
by not allowing majority instead of a plurality to win. Nader's 1% wouldn't matter if a presidential candidate needed over 50% to win. Personally I'd like to see this combined with getting rid of the electoral college.
A 3rd party will take time to develop, but at the moment they can't develop because voting for them doesn't make sense since it will allow the worse candidate to win. Unless you think that a 3rd party is going to manage to win a plurality the first time it runs a candidate nationally, or that there really is no difference between the Democratic and Republican candidates, the best way to support challanges from 3rd parties is to change this situation.
i'm honestly shocked so far
by the response from the Obots. It's like they saved up all their venomous sexism, and are unleashing it on Palin. They don't know anything about her, but the focus is already on her appearance, her clothes, her "inexperience" (which is somehow worse than Obama's inexperience). And it's quite venomous.
I'm a Democrat who's extremely tepid on Obama, and I see a disaster happening here right before my eyes. Whether or not Obama wins, the Dems are destroying their relationship with the women's movement.
And that's the thing
Virulent misogyny everywhere, and everywhere that a critique might come from? Infested with operatives in all flavors, including COINTELPRO. Ick. Was it always this way?
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Simple Answers
You know this was coming, right lambert. ;-)
I would say it's always been the case that everyone had their own agenda and that was covered over by mutual hatred for Bush. Now that we're at the end of Bush, we're seeing everyone's agenda coming out and what they're willing to do to push it. Answer - pretty much what Bush was willing to do to push his.
As for the misogyny, many of the more virulent sources aren't new sources. Kos had his problems before. Olbermann and Matthews, too. Others might never have had a reason to show their sexist sides.
This has been a very good election year for women, IMO. Not only did we have a candidate for President, we now have one for VP (even if I think she's wrong about everything). More importantly, I think you'll see a revived and invigorated women's movement come out of it or I hope you will. Because it's pretty clear that we've got bipartisan agreement from an awful lot of folks when it comes to hating women. Which is good to know even if it's not good.
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. " - Eleanor Roosevelt
Oh, yeah. They must make alliances with everyone,
no matter how COINTELPRO they get, in the detail of getting more parties on the ballot with viable results.
There will be parties specifically designed to discredit such a movement; ANSWER, for one, won't hesitate to add FUD to the process. But it's not just about PUMA, or NDP, anymore. If one more party deserves to be considered seriously, then the Greens and Ron Paul's party must work together with NDP to get the job done.
Yes, they'll hate each other.
But won't that be a test that together they'll be better than the GOP or Dems?
let's see who they endorse
I am guessing none of the HR 676 candidates will be endorsed.
You are a goddess, DCB
Excellent litmus test.
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Care to place a wager on that?
I'm not PUMA PAC, but I'll take that bet ;)
I don't understand the comment about the endorsements
What do you mean that the 676 candidates won't be endorsed?
I got this via email as
I got this via email as well, and my immediate impression was, "this is not a good idea." We don't need any more political parties in this nation - we have plenty of political parties already. What needs to be done is allow the existing parties to be heard via election reform (I'm a fan of instant run-off voting) so that the Democratic/Republican duopoly is threatened. Of course, getting such reforms made means infiltrating one of the current two mainstream parties and steering it towards such an end. Needless to say...a Catch-22.
Lenora goddamn Fulani
is why I am supremely immunized from the appeal to my passions regarding a candidate's uniqueness due to gender and skin color.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenora_Fulani
What this article does not mention is that Fred Newman runs a cult, under several names, and uses campaigns as trickster operations.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040126/ir...
to quote, "There's nothing at all "independent" about Newman and Fulani's latest creation, ChIP. It's just the latest in a skein of more than two dozen front groups and rackets Newman has created, all of which have as their ultimate goal nothing more than enlarging the cult and subsidizing Newman's and Fulani's lavish lifestyles."
They have lasted for decades, are impossible to eliminate, and give third parties a bad name as they lease out their tickets to the highest bidder.
This is what the NDP has to avoid.
Zombie front groups!
Yep. I'm not altogether sure the greens managed to avoid this.
It's all the fault of the Trots, back in the day. Not only did they give us the neo-cons, I bet they gave us all these clowns, too.
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
This here feminist thinks McCain's choice of Sarah
Palin is a hideous insult to all women.
But hey maybe that's just me.
Reporter to Mahatma Gandhi: What do you think of Western Civilization?
Gandhi to reporter: I think it would be a good idea.
Why?
Expound!
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
it makes women the most imp. group
of this election, and pushes Obama to step up and cut the shit--or lose.
It makes this election all about women--after Obama and the DNC treated Hillary like garbage, and millions of other women too--repeatedly.
He now has to come out strong for choice and stop his faith-based, "consult your pastor" bs.
She's the GOP taunt of what we won't get,
with McCain or with Obama -- an image of a caring woman engaged in human rights issues, also contributing in a major way to a Presidential administration.
We won't get Hillary, now or possibly ever, as President. Will this simulacra signifying feminism in action, but really, really encasing someone incapable of embracing feminism's core beliefs about reproductive choice and corporate greed, do?
Exactly
I don't believe this is about getting women into the voting booth (RW nutcases, aside) as much as keeping Democratic women at home. The taunt, coupled with the revived misogynist attacks is there to exploit the frailty of the peace that was made during the convention. I've already seen the revival of "not voting with my vagina" from two different people.
"Taunt" is good
Yes, I can see that. And now the boiz are having a haka, egged on by the usual misogynists. The taunt worked -- heck, it worked on me. Just shoot me now.
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
[bang]
well, you said...
did i call it? why yes i did, albeit timidly. and call me crazee and a traitor both, but i'm considering voting for that ticket if it doesn't get shot down at the convention.
i can be bought though, and in spite of all they've done to everything i value, the democrats can have my vote in november if they drop the weasel words and promise to enact hr 676 within the first 100 days of the new administration.
Don't be timid!
We love you, hipparchia!
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
oh, i'm not, not now
that timid vote was from 3 months ago, back when it still looked like i might get to vote for hillary for either president or vice president.
I'm shooting this meme down. You ought to be ashamed.
Women who vote for McCain to get Palin are not right-wing nutcases, in the same way the tiny majority of people who voted for Reagan, Bush and Bush are not insane.
They might be scared, they might be mistaken about the policies behind the spin, they might think a Republican would kill their veteran son less than a Democrat because he'll be in favor of bombing a country to glass before it goes to ground conflict, and they just might do it for spite because tax and spend limousine liberals don't give a good goddamn about their lives. But they are not crazy. They think you are.
See how you played into that stereotype? How we all reach for it like a binkie?
What part of "What's the Matter with Kansas" did you choose to forget? What happened to working toward people to convince them to stop voting against their best interests, by strengthening our core beliefs, and luring swing voters to them? If you were an airline stewardess getting the big spenders to buy some wine, they'd stab you in the thigh with their first-class forks.
Huh?
Where did I say that:
Women who vote for McCain to get Palin are ... right-wing nutcases,
??? ?
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
I knew DeepInIt above you said it,
but I posted it in the wrong place, tried to cancel that placement out... and the site put in the wrong place anyway.
You said nothing of the kind; you responded to DeepInIt, and DII got me steamed.
We are Karl Rove's bitch, by way of his padawan Donna Brazile,
and at least I'm man enough to admit it.
Taunt, a Perfect Characterization of This Pick.
I completely agree. This isn't about pulling in disgruntled Hillary supporters, at least not primarily, but about depressing turnout among Democratic women.
When I woke up yesterday morning and saw the news, I was literally laughing out loud. Palin does not get me any closer to voting for McCain, but I was happy to see McCain give Obama the finger. And, at the end of the day, that's all I'm getting by on, these days. Short of either of these two candidates surprising me with unconventional policy switches, most of what I'll looking for is how many times McCain can jab the DNC and Obama with a stick. Yes, this has turned me into a sadist.
But, we've always been at war with Eastasia...
heh, you just expressed my sentiments exactly. n/t