for progressive Dems, are you a Dem first or a progressive first ??

PDA has explained its voting and campaign strategy to me as follows ... this is apparently an arrangement that has been worked out between PDA and the Green Party:

"When there is a strong progressive Democrat running and NO Green, you will see Greens working with PDA'ers on the ground for that. If there is NOT a Progressive Dem running, and a more centrist Dem running, AND a Green Candidate running, you will see PDA'ers out in support of the Green Candidate."

the PDA position seems to say the organization puts being "progressive" ahead of being a Democrat ...

the question is primarily targeted to people who consider themselves both Democrats and progressives (or lefties or liberals) ... centrists can just bash away with their worn out old phrases ...

so, if you're a Green, would you vote for a progressive Dem if no Green is running? for progressive Dems, would you vote Green if no progressive Dem is running but a centrist Dem is running?

and, though i hesitate to get involved with the idiocy of 2008 specifics, would you vote for any of the following Democrats if a Green ran for president in 2008: Hillary, Kerry, Biden, Mark Warner?

on edit-- to answer your question: yes, I would vote for a progressive dem if there is no Green running, or even if there is when the dem is a better choice. But no, I will not vote for any more "moderate" dems except under the most extraordinary circumstances-- and if 2004 wasn't extraordinary enough, it's hard to imagine what would be!

On local, state, and Congressional races (especially House) I would support a Green vs. a centrist dem. For President and even likely for the Senate, I think a Green candidate will have a much harder time, and after '00, I've decided to not ever do a protest vote. The stakes are too high. We need the looneys out of this administration.

If the Greens will get in some credible state and House candidates, given me the confidence they can really win seats, then I'd re-evaluate my national campaign thinking.

I have to judge whether my vote has any chance of swinging my district or state's electoral votes.

If I can't impact the outcome, then I vote my principles. I want what I stand for to "count", even it it can't change anything.

But if the district (or state or whatever) is in play, then I need to be more tactical. I'll vote to pick between the most likely winners, unless I find them both absolutely distasteful, then I'll back up to my first position.

Most elections are between the two parties.
If it looks like a close race, I vote dem.
Otherwise, I vote progressive.

but a Dem in the general, with few exceptions.

...the corporatist/free traders will NEVER get my vote.

I wouldn't vote Hillary, Kerry, Biden, or the other DLC types whether a Green was running or not. I not afraid to leave it blank.

of America. I will not support the party's support of Bush's tyranny and I will not support any Democrat who does. I've never voted anything but Democrat. I'm one of those people the party can always count on. But from now on, the heck with the Democratic Party unless it nominates progressives. Most of these people don't serve me any more than Bush does. If a progressive like Kucinich gets the nomination in 08, he'll have my vote. But no centrist Democrat will. I talked people into trusting Kerry and then had to apologize after he handed the presidency to Bush. Anyone who voted for the Real ID Act or Negroponte can count on losing my support next election.

:kick:

Whatever it takes to oust the bastards is my first priority. After that I vote my ideals whenever it does not conflict with my first priority. Finally if none of the above applies I will vote Democrat. Under no circumstances will I vote for any republican. The world has suffered far to much from the slime-balls in that party, I can no longer take even their own moderates seriously. Moderate Dems are rapidly joining my "Only vote for if absolutely necessary list". (See first priority)
:patriot:

but if we don't have to power win over the Democratic Party, then we certainly don't have the power to win over the entire country.

Democrat because it's the only viable alternative.

As it stands now, I don't think I can vote for the Dem who's running for Congress in my district. Of course that means the Repub will win, but the Repub will win anyway. If you lived here you'd understand. I am just tired, tired, of same ol' same ol'.

2008 is too far ahead to think about.

In my lifetime, the worst Democratic administration has been well above the best Republican administration.

Your voice, progressive or moderate, is amplified when you have a representative who will listen. My Republican congresswoman cares little for what I say. It is a fact of politics.

I honestly don't think I could vote for a DLC/free-trade/corporate whore/warmonger again. This is a big change for me and something I have criticized others for in the past (a bit--I wasn't too obnoxious), but I am getting to the point where a vote for one of these types would feel like complicity to me.

(obviously, if a progressive dem actually won the primary I would be thrilled to vote for him/her)

Greens don't have the organizational capacity to do national electoral policy. I don't think that any third party person should run for office unless it is in a political subunit small enough to canvass on foot in person, alone if necessary.

I support the democrats, but i would vote for a third party member. My ideals are much more aligned with the third party candidates.