I have a political delimma

On the one hand, I think that refusing to vote for the Democrats in the general, given the abysmal state of third parties would be tantamount to cutting off my nose to spite my face. On the other hand, I'm a union worker and if unions decide to refuse to vote for Democrats in the general election, that's equivalent to a general strike with regards to the election and I won't, as a union member, ever cross a strike line. I'm not going to be a scab.

Count yourself lucky.

Apples and oranges. Crossing a picket line is fucking with a brother's job. You don't do that. Boycotting an election is more like giving half your candy to a school yard bully. I lovehate my union like family, but they don't own my vote.

voting for them regardless of how they cut your chances of making a living and paying for food, health care, etc....

I'm looking at the unpopularity of the health care bill, and realizing that the most politically expedient thing Obama could have done would have been the crucifixion of Joe Lieberman: You put together a Dem plan with strong public option and all the bells and whistles, you get it through the house into senate, you get the 59 Dem votes behind it, and let Lieberman block it by joining filibuster. Then you complain about Lieberman ad infinitum, let the bill fail, and every can complain about how somebody other than Dems are the problem. That way you stay popular. Or you could get something, anything, done. That's what Obama opted for.

The way to get single payer or anything cool like that is to have a LOT of Dems in congress, period. There is no other way. How does not supporting Dems achieve that?

Surprise! :party:

I also don't buy the "my party, right or wrong" line and that it somehow deserves to get blind support no matter what. That's what Republicans do because they seem to be unable to think for themselves.

She has been here since 2004 and has over 15,000 posts and on her profile she has written: "A little shell shocked at how much good Obama has done in so little time!"

That sure sounds like praise of Obama and does not in the least sound anti-Democratic, but then that was too much trouble to check out before the quick response, wasn't it?

I've accepted the fact that the DU management will no longer make a directed effort to cull out the rightwing infiltrators. So, I pretty much ignore the transparent attempts at disruption. However, I do worry about long-term DUers who voice the same ideas of challenging Obama in the primaries, boycotting the elections, hammering the House and Senate leadership at every turn, etc.

DU seems to have morphed from a pro-Dem, anti-GOP site into a free-for-all in which all political opinions are welcome, no matter how scathing they are of the Democrats or how far they go in undermining the Democratic cause. Expressing frustation about trends or recent events is one thing, but promoting the defeat of Democratic leaders is completely different. The OP hasn't gone to the furthest extreme, but she certainly is testing the waters.

rather than taking pot shots.

But, if you want to "think out loud" on a discussion board, expect comments.

Not.

I cannot understand how people can deceive themselves into believing that dropping out of the political process sends a message.

Showing up at the grassroots meetings and championing a Democrat who actually supports your views sends a much louder message.

My post is about a wrinkle in that idea. If union members stay home, I'm unsure whether I will support the unions (being a union member myself) or continue with my personal plan.

That seems to have been missed by one of the posters to this thread.

we always have a vigorous discussion before we finally agree on anything.

The unions are not going to get everything they want. They are going to get a lot of what they want. They are going to support Democrats at a high level this fall.