attack of the PUMAs

by Cameron Contois

Published: July 27, 2008

The PUMAs are angry Democrats ready to pounce on Obama and shred him apart with razor-sharp claws.

Will Bower is the 36-year-old head of PUMA. Bower states, “I have never voted for anything but a Democrat, and I feel that there has been an internal coup, and they are putting forward a candidate that does not represent the will of the Democratic Party.” (Preston on Politics: PUMAs stalking Obama) Other PUMAs are still mad about the unfair sanctions put on the Michigan and Florida primaries. Many feel Obama is too liberal, too inexperienced and/or a flip-flopper.

PUMA’s ultimate goal: get Hillary Clinton nominated at the Democratic National Convention. If Clinton is not the nominee, they will consider writing in her name in November, voting for Green Party Candidate Cynthia McKinney, Libertarian Party nominee Bob Barr… even Ralph Nader.

Honestly, I’d love to put on those PUMA sneakers and join the club. I’m not alone. According to a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, more than four in 10 Democrats still prefer Clinton as the nominee.

Democrats like me really don’t like Obama. He suddenly changed his mind on public financing of his campaign when it didn’t suit his needs. He may or may not have changed his position on troop withdrawal from Iraq (again, his long-winded answers have lead to confusion). Furthermore, spokesman Bill Burton issued a statement promising liberal blog TPM that Obama would filibuster any bill that gave telecommunication companies retroactive immunity from participating in warrantless wiretapping. But not only did Obama not filibuster the bill, he voted for it! Obama is, as Patrick Swayze once sang, “like the wind.”

In the essay “Divided They Fail,” Michael Kinsley rails against PUMA Democrats, as if they somehow owe Obama their votes. He states that the Democrats who dislike Obama for moving to the center are “childish” and that securing your base and then moving to the center is the fundamental move of politics, like the basic steps of the fox trot. Wasn’t Obama all about change and transcending politics? Obama not standing on principle doesn’t make him a ballroom dancer, it makes him, well, a liar. Furthermore, Kinsley’s call for party unity relies heavily on “just get over it” logic. To Kinsley, all our bad feelings seem “overwrought.”

Well, since you put it that way, why wouldn’t Clinton supporters want to forgive and forget?

So I’ve established that I don’t like Obama and that I agree with PUMA Democrats; however, there is one reason I won’t join them.

Becoming a PUMA Democrat would be a betrayal to Hillary Clinton. If voters loyal to Clinton really support her policies, then we will likewise support the candidate who will bring the changes Clinton so passionately fights for. If, as Democrats, we really want universal health care, to combat global warming, and guarantee rights and true equality for women and homosexuals, then Barack Obama is the best choice we have. Face it, America cannot afford four more years of failed Bush policies under John McCain.

Grudgingly, I have to agree with Kinsley when he writes, “There is no easy way [Clinton supporters] can vent their anger at Chris Matthews [regarding media sexism]. So they are taking their revenge on people without health care, women who need abortions, and others who they (if they supported Hillary) must think will be harmed by a Republican victory in the fall. That’ll show ‘em.” By not accepting our best and only option - Barack Obama - we’re hurting the people we’re trying to help

I’m sorry PUMA’s, I agree with what you stand for and I respect what you’re trying to do, but it’s time for change. And if that means voting for a candidate I’m not sold on, so be it. I would expect the same from Obama supporters if Clinton had clinched the nomination. Of course, Obama could make this all go away by making Clinton his VP, but that’s a subject for a whole other article…

Can Democrats really bring Hillary Clinton’s change to America if we work together? Yes we can!

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