Proof:
First, a quote from old #2 himself:
Puddy was the recipient of name calling WAY BEFORE Puddy called people names.Yes he's said this many times. We liberal leaning folk started name-calling him. He was provoked into being such an OCD name-calling troll.
Sorry Puddybud. This is not true. Let's look at your very first comment at HA.org (as Puddybud, anyway), way back in April 2005:
Hey Goldy: You never answered my question I posted to you on the wonderful SoundPolitics blog. Butt as you are, no guts to answer.Notice the emphasis. Puddybud continued this "butt" fetish and it didn't go un-noticed by the HA.org faithful. Motivated by the obnoxious commentary of this newly minted troll some started calling him "Puddy-butt". Why spell the conjunction "but" in this fashion? Well, Puddybud eventually answered:
The Butt is my reference to you all, especially Armageddon. He/she/it has many friends down here in the San Francisco area. In fact isn’t Armageddon the San Francisco treat?Well, there it is. He's calling everyone who doesn't care for his views a "butt". However(!), return to his first comment - "Butt as you are" - this can also be read as calling Goldy a "butt".
Of course Puddybud might claim that Goldy was the original name caller, calling Tim Eyman a horse's ass (a statement of fact in my opinion), or he might restate that he commented on HA.org earlier under another name (for which he's never offered a link as proof and likely never will) and was name-called for his trouble.
In any case, the evidence remains quite strong that Puddybud started the name-calling right out of the gate and it's little wonder that people have reacted to him negatively ever since.
Your move Puddybud.
Update: Puddybud denies calling Goldy a "butt" and still claims victim status.