Hillary Supporters: How many of you were PUMA's?

[democrattotheend]

I have said many times that I am committed to supporting Hillary if she is the nominee. However, I find it counterproductive and kind of ironic how Hillary supporters are already demanding loyalty oaths and telling Bernie supporters they will be to blame if Trump wins.

So, I am curious, for all the Hillary supporters who are acting like it's already over and demanding our loyalty, can I assume that all of you voted for Obama both times and committed to doing so even before Hillary conceded? Can we assume that all of you vocally denounced the PUMA's in 2008?

[Barack_America]

1. Oh boy.

I recognize a few.

[LyndaG]

2. No way

After what happened in the 2000 election and eight years of Bush/Cheney, I gladly supported then-Senator Obama.

[Ken Burch]

19. Thanks. n/t.

[onecaliberal]

3. If Hillary loses it will be because 67% of the country thinks she's a liar.

Bernie has ZERO to do with that. People can spout all the crap they want doesn't mean it's true and won't mean a hill of beans to me. You want to back a liar that is very Polarizing, don't be surprised at what happens.

[Kalidurga]

4. No I was supportive of Barak Obama's nomination twice even though the second time was not needed.

[stevenleser]

5. I don't think any DUers were PUMAs. I think PUMAs were an idea invented by Republicans.

For all the noise made about PUMAs in 2008, there was an overwhelming Democratic vote that year and I think Hillary's strong endorsement of President Obama after the primary was over (which I have written about several times in terms of changing my mind about her, see my sig line) made some of that possible.

[democrattotheend]

8. Hillary herself was a class act after she conceded

She could have just given Obama a half-hearted endorsement and walked away, but she did a lot more for him and I appreciate that. I remember seeing her interviewed in July or August of 2008 and thinking "I am really glad she's on our side now."

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for all of her supporters on DU or elsewhere. I remember many PUMA's on this site, and even those who were not PUMA's did not appreciate being interrogated about their loyalties, as we are being now.

And don't even get me started on the angry mobs who showed up for the DNC rules and bylaws meeting. I think many of them might have been Republican plants.

[H2O Man]

10. Respectfully disagree.

I do not believe that PUMAs were the creation or republicans. (And I am not basing that off of studies of republicans' sexual activities, and respectfully ask that we not go there. I hope no one even brings the topic up.)

More, there were quite a few PUMAs on DU, including long-time members.

As with literally everything, republicans no doubt attempted to exploit the situation. But they did not create it.

[tkmorris]

13. There were more than a few here that loudly declared themselves to be PUMAs

And I am quite certain you know that Steven.

[stevenleser]

18. I don't remember it that way at all. Once Hillary conceded, I remember DU unifying around Obama

I don't remember any folks from the Hillary camp proclaiming they would not vote for Obama once it was all over.

I would need to see a link to believe that.

[JohnnyLib2]

32. Yes!

[Scootaloo]

6. You'll find almost nobody who supported clinton in '08

Much less people who went PUMA.

It's not that they're not there, of course. It's just that for people whose sole and only concern is "winning" no matter what, admitting that htye backed a candidate who lost (twice, in the case of PUMAS) is just unthinkable.

[Autumn]

23. I supported Clinton in 08. In hindsight, damn did we ever dodge a bullet

and I look forward to her losing this time. I can't wait till she loses again. I know of several anti HRC people back then who support her this time around and direct the same vitriol at Bernie Sanders and his supporters that they used against the HRC and her supporters back then.

[oldandhappy]

7. What is a PUMA? Thanks

[democrattotheend]

9. PUMA's were a fringe group of Hillary supporters who refused to support Obama in 2008

I believe PUMA stood for "Party United My Ass." I find it ironic how many Clinton supporters are now pushing party unity.

I do not in any way condone the Bernie or Bust ideology, but I also think that it's obnoxious and counterproductive for Clinton supporters to act like they have already won and demand our loyalty now.

[stevenleser]

12. I was an Obama supporter in 2008. I wanted Hillary to drop out earlier than she did.

For the same reason I want Sanders to drop out earlier than later now.

I want the nominee to be able to focus on beating up on the likely GOP nominee, not a sniping Democratic opponent.

[Fawke Em]

14. Then it should be Hillary who drops out. She's the only one of the two who "snipes." eom

[democrattotheend]

16. I think Hillary staying in actually helped Obama

Because it helped toughen him up and prepare him for the general election, and it kept both of them and the Democratic message in the news for a lot longer while McCain was largely ignored.

I think Sanders staying in helps Clinton as well, because with all the action on the Republican side, they are getting the lion's share of the media coverage and more people are hearing their message than ours. If Sanders dropped out it would be even more lopsided. Just as McCain struggled to get coverage during the Clinton-Obama race, Hillary would struggle to stay on the radar while the media covers the Trump show all the time.

[stevenleser]

20. I dont think it did. We got "lucky" in 2008 with the economic downturn. Without that, I am not sure

we would have prevailed.

It's always better to be able to start in on your General Election opponent earlier. Obama did this in 2012 with Romney, defining him as Mr. 47% in June if I recall correctly, a characterization from which Romney never recovered.

[oldandhappy]

17. Thanks. Lovely. Giggle.

Yes. The media has been wanting things wrapped up since before the first vote. I have stopped watching.

Thank you for the vocabulary lesson.

[gwheezie]

11. I voted for Hillary in the 08 primary

I supported her over Obama by a smidge. I thought she'd be tougher on the GOP but before the convention I knew Obama was going to be the nominee. I immediately started volunteering for Obama and by the time if the convention thought the right person had been nominated and still believe Obama has been a wonderful president. I have never regretted voting for him. In fact I was exhausted for the GE election so that might have been part of it but I cried with joy when I voted for him in 08. My daughter and her husband bought my then 4 year old grandson to "vote" for Obama and they took pictures of him standing in line to vote and put the I voted sticker on him. I wept, literally wept because someone who looks likey grandson became president my grandson will never have to wonder if the country is ready for him to be president someday. What a different world he will grow up in.
I voted for Obama in 12 with even more enthusiasm because Obama turned out to be much better than I had hoped for.
So yes, I had no problem voting for Hillary and then Obama twice. I thought the handful of pumas were insane. I am a democrat. I am a liberal. I will have no problem voting for either Bernie or Hillary.

[rufus dog]

15. How many Berniebros are there?

I think both groups are almost entirely made up of a few Internet disrupters.

[democrattotheend]

22. I think you are probably right

Either that or people at the fringes of the Democratic Party who have frequently defected to the Greens.

[hack89]

21. I am a Democrat. I have always voted for the Democratic nominee. Always. Nt

[kerry-is-my-prez]

24. What do you mean by "Demanding a loyalty oath?" People just asking if you plan on voting for the

Dem candidate? Or is there something I've missed? I've seen a poll, have seen people declare that they will vote Green and people sort of "jump on them."

[democrattotheend]

25. I have seen a bunch of threads attacking Sanders supporters and questioning our loyalty

Saying that if we don't vote for the eventual nominee we are enabling President Trump. I don't actually disagree with that statement, but I think it is way too soon for supporters of either candidate to be browbeating supporters of the other candidate about what they would do if their candidate doesn't win.

[itsrobert]

26. I supported Obama

thanks

[JI7]

27. many Clinton supporters right now supported Obama back then, the PUMAS were mostly banned

and they should be banned again this time .

[RandySF]

28. I supported Obama in 2008

and the rhetoric I hear form so many Sanders supporters resemble what I heard from the handful of PUMA's back then.

[still_one]

30. exactly, and there sure weren't many on DU among those who supported Hillary in 2008.

can't say the same for those supporting Sanders though. There is a heck of a lot more on DU saying they won't vote for Hillary if she is the nominee today, while back then there were very few who said they would NOT support the nominee, and I was here.

I supported in the primaries and voted for Obama both time. , As contentious as it was then, that was child's play compared to the hatred expressed here against Hillary.

[still_one]

29. How many so-called Sanders' supporters on DU say they won't vote for Hillary if she is the nominee?

Those are the PUMA's with a different name today. Same garbage, just different clothes.

Those in 2008 who were PUMAs were an extremely small minority on DU.

I cannot say the same for those who say they will not support Hillary, if she is the nominee on DU.

[MrWendel]

33. OH Boy...

[JohnnyLib2]

31. Supported HRC, supported Obama, never FOUND a PUMA.

I'm not even sure there was such a thing, other than a small group of vocal holdouts somewhere. Very mysterious, yet the idea continues to be floated.

[democrattotheend]

35. There were a bunch in 2008

But most of them were banned. Many were allowed to come back after the election.