All 60 of them apparently.
At a restaurant on the outskirts of Denver Sunday night, some 60 women gathered at a PUMA PAC-sponsored screening of a documentary called "The Audacity of Democracy." In interviews beforehand, many said they would defy Clinton’s calls for party unity.
It's hard to claim to represent "10,000" or even "millions", depending on whose press release you stumble upon, when their public gatherings fall so far below expectations.
But how embarrassing is it compare the PUMAs to Code Pink and have the Pinksters come off in comparison as "sober, savvy, and fixated on long-term goals?"
The Code Pink folks whom I met in Austin at Netroots Nation were funny, and savvy, and smart, and very committed. But "sober" as in "serious"? That's not a term that jumps out at you (nor, I assure you, were they striving for "serious".) ;-P
In contrast, from Errol Louis in Denver:
A scheduled pro-Clinton march through downtown Denver Tuesday is co-sponsored by a group called PUMA, whose initials stand for "Party Unity My Ass."
This demonstration has no conceivable purpose other than to embarrass and weaken Obama at a critical moment in the campaign. There is no bargain to be struck, no goal that anyone can bestow on the Hillary tantrum-throwers.
They should be doing something constructive, like battling for rules changes that might enhance the importance of primaries in future contests - a change that could help Clinton down the road. Instead, PUMA members are threatening to jump ship and vote Republican.
That, to most of the 4,000 or so Democratic delegates, is treason and lunacy, to be dismissed without a second thought.
By contrast, the mood among anti-war activists from CodePink, whom I ran into at Denver's funky, psychedelic Mercury Bar coffee house, was warm, earnest and full of hope. CodePink has been staging protests around the city demanding a full and immediate withdrawal from Iraq.
More:
The spirit of the demonstrations was aptly captured by the restaurant's special Convention menus, which advise diners to "enjoy the city, protest well, and don't forget to dance."
Here's hoping they [Code Pink] prevail - while the angry Hillary die-hards suffer a humiliating setback and get a long stint in the political wilderness.
Forgive me if I'm less than impressed with the tantrum throwers. Demanding the media attention has only diminished them, and made clear how un-constructive their engagement has been (and how few people they actually represent.)
What they do with the rest of their time is up to them, but I do hope they enjoy the city, protest well, and don't forget to dance. It's good advice, and better than the stuff they're peddling.
In the meantime, I'd rather engage with actual Hillary supporters, not the post-rational1 ones.
1Rachel Maddow's observation about Clinton supporters who are not making decisions based on logic, such as Debra Bartoshevich, who thinks McCain will support Roe v Wade.
