Would the DNC listen if Dem grass rooters threatened to strike? [View All]

I realize that by far the members of this board are ABB. I thought I was until I kept getting pummeled with demands to take the pledge. After you've been hit with that for the thousandth time or so, it begins to dawn on you: these people are scared!

They want to whip everyone in line because deep down they know that ABB-ness alone is a pretty flimsy concept to hang a campaign on. The range of ABB-itude is pretty wide, when you get right down to it. Of course with Lieberman out of the race, the range has narrowed. But even without Lieberman, ABB could be a recipe for more Imperialism Lite and Corporatist Mush Surprise.

In my view, it's come down to "Safe" (Kerry, Edwards) vs. "Risky" (Dean, Clark, Kucinich and Sharpton). Notice the difference between the two groups? Do I have to spell it out for anyone?

I am sympathetic to the desire to go for Safe, especially considering the alternative in the General Election. I am totally sympathetic to the desire to not screw up the nomination to the point that voters outside the party get turned off. I'm a Democrat, unfortunately, so believe me, I understand.

But I would like to propose to others like me here at Democratic Underground (emphasis on the Underground!) that now may be the perfect time to stage or threaten a "strike" to make sure the DNC and the remaining candidates get the message that the party better remove the log from its eye and get serious about a number of issues. These are mine:

* Electoral reform: protect the integrity of the democratic process, promote participation, make representatives more responsible to voters, less responsible to corporate donors.

* De-imperialize US foreign policy. End unilateralism in every form, including armed actions against and even boycotts of "enemy" nations without consent and assistance from other nations. Prefer diplomacy always. Aim toward demilitarizing the US budget.

I'm sure others can add to this list, but those, as I say, are my basic issues.

What would a "strike" entail? Perhaps something like a refusal to sign Terry McAuliffe's ABB pledge would do the trick, if the refusal were e-mailed to the DNC. Imagine DNC being swamped with refusals from thousands on their e-mail list! Would that send a message? Can we make them sweat? Would we begin to see real effort at self-reform within the party?