Et Tu, Jose Rivera!

Bronx Democrats were disgraced and embarrassed today not here in New York, but by their county's Party Chairman currently in Denver. Like many prominent New York officials, he was a Hillary supporter throughout the primary. Then when it was apparent that the nominee was going to be Barack Obama, everyone stood with their party and united to beat John McCain and repudiate the possibility of four more years that could mirror the Bush Administration or worse. That is, until that united front was stabbed in the back by Jose Rivera, who is now a publicly declared PUMA!

From The Daily Politics:

On my way from the New York delegation's temporary home at the Sheraton to the Pepsi Center, I ran into some semi-hysterical PUMAs giving interviews to semi-interested reporters on a downtown Denver street corner.

Then Bronx Democratic Chairman Jose Rivera showed up, and things got a lot more interesting.

Rivera, with the help of Daniella Taylor, a PUMA from Wichita, Kansas, showed off his "The Bronx is With Hillary" banner that he pledged back in Albany to bring with him to Denver. He then declared:

"I'm a PUMA! I'm a Puerto Rican PUMA!"

However, when asked whether he would be willing, like Taylor, to vote for John McCain in protest of the fact that Clinton is not Barack Obama's VP pick, Rivera seemed to have second thoughts, saying that would be "going too far," unless, of course, McCain puts a woman on the ticket with him.

Alright so maybe he isn't twisting the knife and actually voting for McCain, but that doesn't mean what he is doing is acceptable. Commending Hillary Clinton for her run at the White House is one thing, but standing with a PUMA crowd means he is one, against showing a unified party or two, he didn't have a clue as to what the PUMAs are up to...or both.

Either way, being at that particular protest shows he does not have the Democratic Party's best interests at heart, and is not worthy of chairing a party at the county level. Let him do what he wants as an individual, but that "Puerto Rican PUMA" has no business in a position of authority within the party.

Hillary Intends To Keep Her P.U.M.A.s In Line At DNC

Hillary Clinton's campaign has been over for nearly three months now, but there are still a small but determined group of people that still want her to get the nomination. These so-called PUMAs (Party Unity My Ass) do not recognize Obama to have won the primary battles fair and square so they are taking their fight to the convention. Thankfully Senator Clinton has a better head on her shoulders than this rabid group, so she's going to do something about them and the possibility of them making a scene in Denver.

From Politico:

In an unusual move, Hillary Clinton's staff is creating a 40-member "whip team" at the Denver Democratic convention to ensure that her supporters don't engage in embarrassing anti-Obama demonstrations during the floor vote on her nomination, according to people familiar with the planning.

The team, which is being organized by longtime Clinton staffer Craig Smith, is working in conjunction with Obama's floor organizers to help foster the image of a unified front during a roll-call process Clinton herself has described as an emotional "catharsis" for her disappointed supporters.

"If people get down there on the floor and want to start blowing kazoos and making a scene we want to make sure we've got people who stand in front of them with Obama signs," said a person involved in the planning.

Now most of Hillary's supporters are sane enough to recognize that Barack Obama is infinitely better for the country than John McCain. Yet there are a few out there that are upset and want to make a big stink. So as long as there are ex-Clinton supporters holding Obama signs in front of them, then they can blow all the kazoos they want to.