In any case, the PUMA numbers were very close to matching the “massive turnout” numbers for Obama.

OK, WTH is she trying to say here?  Tiny words, please…

Don’t try to interpret it, Ripley. Sometimes you’ve just got to let teh stoopit flow over you, like a river…

The PUMA factor is being estimated at between 2.7 million and 2.9 million,

Estimates vary , depending on the number of active voices in Murphy’s head at any given moment.

I was giggling over the rush to delete all references to “Hillary” from their user names. Many made the switch to “Mac” references, and now they want to unload that since McCain is throwing Palin under the bus. So now no one knows who anyone else is anymore, and they’re denouncing each other down unto the 5th generation like a Stalin purge party.

Wow. I’d feel sorry for them, I would, but then I remember that they’re a bunch of racist xenophobic ignoramuses (who also display breathtaking ignorance of basic civics, let alone Feminism 101), and I simply have no sympathy. I don’t wish them ill, because they’re too pathetic for that. It’s just that I’m more interested in rolling up my sleeves and getting to work to make some more changes.

I think that’s the real problem with PUMAs: for all their talk about being activist and grassroots, yadda yadda yadda—they have no idea what that really means and what kind of work it entails. They just wanted Big Mama Hillary to get elected so they could have a symbolic victory to make up for their own sad underachieving lives.

What they failed to realize is that Obama tapped into existing networks from across the spectrum of left and moderate politics—environmentalists, feminists, civil rights advocates, healthcare reform and on and on and on—that were composed of smart dedicated people who have actually been WORKING on social justice issues for years, not just waiting for a symbol with high name recognition to come along and lead them. Did his charisma and the benefit of good timing help Obama out tremendously in mobilizing these networks? Sure. But it’s not like any of these groups were gonna fold up and die if Obama didn’t make it. That’s the difference between a movement and a self-serving fad.

Kerry, I agree that Obama’s harnessing of existing networks and marshalling of those resources into a massive grassroots operation is a too-little explored aspect of this election. Not only by the PUMA jackasses, who couldn’t be expected to grasp anything so obvious, but in general.

I had insomnia last night and really enjoyed the treasure trove o’ crazee in this thread

I, too, was reading that thread.  jenniferforhillary (whose name will soon change I’m sure) is our of her mind with hate.  Betty, I think you’re right about going Annie Wilkes.

There’s tons of infighting and tons of new names.  It looks like a lot of the old regulars have faded away.

I’m still scanning for the first Oblah-blah/PUMA related marital seperation for those lucky ones that are married.  Many claim they have been cut of or have cut off families and friends.

A good chunk of these hardcores will windup family and friendless puttering around cat and newspaper-filled apartments muttering about Hillary and Sarah.

I loves me some PUMA.  I was hoping they wouldn’t go away.  They are like Stupid 2.0.  Its all quite exciting.

Speedy, that estimate is a bit high but doesn’t seem too far out to me- enough to populate a hermetically sealed active blog network with lots of frequent commenters, but not enough to make much of a difference in the election.

I’m still scanning for the first Oblah-blah/PUMA related marital seperation for those lucky ones that are married.

I know!  How many times have I read (paraphrased) “I’m being a real asshole to my husband/boyfriend, he just doesn’t understaaaaaaaaand, I think this might be the end…”?

The first few comments on that thread include an endorsement of Michele Bachmann.  They’re off their fucking rockers.

In other news, I love the Strength image from the Rider-Waite tarot deck and now they’ve sullied it. :(

Reclusive Leftist also continues to be full of win, and The New Agenda continues to be smarmy.  I’m so glad these people haven’t disappeared; I’d go into stupid withdrawal.

I’m a woman and I’m used to struggle. I’m part of one that is SIX THOUSAND YEARS OLD.

She must be talking about that Sumerian god living in her fridge. “Get out of the butter dish damn it!”

ZUUL!

Maybe she meant she is actually 6,000 years old?

ZUUL!

Gozer the Traveler. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!

I’m waiting for Lady Lynn and Joe the Plumber Make a Porno.

Speaking of PUMA, where has Will Bower been hiding?

Speaking of PUMA, where has Will Bower been hiding?

I think he moved to Wasilla.

PUMA is like a bad soap opera. 
Currently, GaryChapelHill and Riverdaughter are on the outs.  MadamaB and some of the gang are “spending their time equally with both,” and Murphy aka Momma, has just totally gone off the deep end. 

The Boomers, Boston and Lady are fighting misogyny everywhere they find it.  Currently they are angry with Spanish because it requires masculine and feminine noun-verb agreement.  Which of course is Obama’s fault.

Anybody seen Nancy Pfotenspewer on teevee lately?

I’m still scanning for the first Oblah-blah/PUMA related marital seperation for those lucky ones that are married.

I have always had the impression that a lot of these women are bored upper middle class housewives with negative personalities who blame everybody else for their problems and are thrilled to be part of this exciting group that is going to take over American politics and everyone will finally realize how important they are.  Their families are probably thrilled to have them off banging away on the computer keyboards so they don’t have to listen to them bitching non-stop about everything in life anymore. (Maybe you can tell I know some of these types!)

As for Joe:

You know, fame is fleeting, leaves you hungry, leaves you cold, leaves you tired. Fortune never comes with it.

Something tells me Joe has entered the last 30 seconds of his 15 minutes and those book deals and recording contracts probably aren’t going to come through.

Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!

One of my all time favorite lines evAr!!!1!

Rick Moranis was awesome in that roll.

Betty, that’s a great link. Thanks! I’ve heard of Al, but hadn’t been over to his place. Too bad I couldn’t go to that event last night at DePaul. Unfortunately, even if I’d known about it, I had a condo board meeting instead. I guess that’s community organizing, too—of the incredibly tedious kind. (If someone can really explain to me what a “parapet wall” is and why it’s gonna cost us so much to replace them, I’d be ever so grateful!)

Teh crazee is running thick and fast! How many of them are asking Hillary for their money back?

I have always had the impression that a lot of these women are bored upper middle class housewives with negative personalities who blame everybody else for their problems and are thrilled to be part of this exciting group that is going to take over American politics and everyone will finally realize how important they are.

I don’t know if they’re housewives or upper-middle-class, but I do peg a number of them as middle-aged white mothers who feel marginalized and unappreciated.  The GOP threw them a bone in the form of Palin—a mediocrity who was nonetheless showered with attention and praise because she, you know, had a bunch of babies—and they identified with her incredibly strongly as a result, because they felt as if they were getting that praise and that attention and that money.  Never mind that the GOP’s policies would not materially benefit most of them—psychologically it was a huge reward.

I still can’t decide how much I sympathize with them and their needs.  To some extent I think what they’re doing is just lashing out at people they think have it easier (especially younger women), or standard white privilege bullshit—you know, I’m more important than everyone else, so if I don’t get all the cookies all the time, it’s not faaaaaaaaair.  On the other hand, it’s not exactly a secret that a lot of middle-class mothers are stretched incredibly thin—second shifts, marginalization at work, and all that.

My sympathy level is pretty low after having read all the nasty comments they’ve made about Michelle Obama.  The “standard white privilege bullshit” seems to be a real factor.  Their antipathy towards Barack seems way out of proportion to anything he’s actually done especially since, at one time, they identified themselves as liberal Democrats.  Or maybe that was just out of devotion to Hillary.  But I have plenty of friends who supported Hillary early on but had no issues realigning with Barack because the issues were actually important.  The petulant PUMA’s are more a cult of personality and just can’t believe the world doesn’t take them as seriously as they take themselves.  Having transferred their allegiance to Palin it was easy and logical to now toss Hillary aside.

Whenever i read the PUMApac and Hillbuzz comment threads (etc)... i’m always reminded of Martha Mitchell, sitting in her bathtub, making crazy drunken phone calls to the Arkansas Gazette demanding that Senator Fulbright be crucified.

*

I think you took Joe out of context.  That’s the intro to his smash hit, “Roto-Rooter Rodeo.”