They have me by the balls

[Winterblues]

If my Representative was a Democrat and voted against real Reform I would work to get them removed through the Primary process. No matter how pissed I get at them though, I am just too damn civic minded to just sit home and not vote. I could never ever ever vote for a Republican though so I am basically forced to vote for any Democrat on the ticket. The real Problem with this is They fucking know it There is no way I could live with myself if I sat out an election and Republicans took over by a tiny margin. The worst Democrat there is (except Zell Miller) is still a thousand times better than the alternative..I do not have to donate to them though.....

[eleny]

1. But we've seen members of Congress respond

For instance, in my state, Senator Bennett was lukewarm about the public option. As soon as he got a Primary challenger, he's changing his tune. He still keeps trying to use weasel words. But that weasel will bite his ass if he doesn't support the public option.

[dysfunctional press]

2. psst- you're not required to vote in every race on the ballot.

not voting for a democrat doesn't mean that you have to vote for the repug. there have been pleny of times that i abstained from voting in certain parts of the ticket- if i couldn't support any of the candidates, or if i was totally uninformed about a particular office/race.

[LuvNewcastle]

5. That's what I do.

If there's somebody I can't vote for, like my current Blue Dog congressman, I just skip that race and go to the next one. At this point, I don't care if he loses -- he votes just like a Republican.

[kentuck]

3. It's good he's not a Republican...

right?

[Winterblues]

7. My Representative is indeed a Republican so I have zero voice on the matter.

He may even be one of the longest sitting Representatives so his seat if fairly safe..We did get a Democrat for a new Senator( first in thirty years) though and he has said he will support most any bill that comes down the pike. He is listed as a blue dog but he is actually pretty level headed.

[gateley]

4. In the 90's there was a movement in the Seattle area where we voted against

the incumbent to get our message across. It was somewhat successful. I was lucky since my rep was Jim McDermott and there was no way he would actually lose office, so I got to make my statement but didn't suffer the consequences.

If you voted against your Rep, is there a real chance that s/he might lose the slot? If not, it might be worth it,

Or, you could do what I've been doing a LOT lately, e-mailing them all saying that I was going to contribute to their opponents' campaigns. That's maybe even more scary than threatening to vote against them. Money talks.

[abluelady]

9. I Believe Money Does Talk

Every time I receive a phone call from the Democrats asking for money for all Democrats, house or senate, I tell them I am disappointed with many members of the party and I am giving to individual candidates who support what I support. Maybe if they heard that more often, they would think about how they are voting.

[Mz Pip]

6. It is a dilemma

This is the first time I've really been torn about the idea that there really would be no alternative. if I lived in Montana or Arkanasas I would certainly work for and support a primary challenger to Baucus and Lincoln. But I live in CA where I'll support Boxer wholeheartedly and Barbara Lee is my Congresswoman so no problem there. Feinstein is iffy but I wonder if she's even run for re election when her term is up.

What I'd love to see is Baucus, Lincoln, and Conrad take one for the team. Vote for a Public Option and if they lose in their states, at least they did the right thing. I do think that if they did the right thing they would end up with lots of support from out of state. I'd even donate to their campaign just like I did for Jim Webb who ran in a state I've never even been in.

Mz Pip

[Toasterlad]

8. That Is Exactly the Logic That Keeps Us Where We Are.

If you are not willing to withhold your support, your money AND your vote from politicians who do NOT represent your interests, strictly because you're afraid of "someone worse" getting in, this country will NEVER improve.

No one is forcing you to vote for anyone. You can write in whomever you choose. If you can't find a progressive candidate on the ballot, find one who's running who's NOT on the ballot, and write them in. Write them in even if they're NOT running.

The myth of the "wasted vote" has kept this country from real progress for decades. If you are voting for a candidate you believe in, whether that candidate is selected by corporations or whether they represent honest change, your vote CANNOT be wasted. Your vote is only wasted if you vote AGAINST your own interests.

Your vote is your voice in our democracy. If you don't vote for what you want, you are being dishonest with yourself, and you are hurting all of the other people who agree with your views.

[galileoreloaded]

10. I shall write a book called "The Captive Base".....thanks for the idea.....sorry for your loss..n/t

[Warpy]

11. Undervote

Your other option is to abstain from casting a vote in races where the only vote you could possibly live with is "none of the above."

The best thing is to oust these corrupt corporatist bastards in the primaries.

I hate the thought of having to send a message by abstaining and allowing a Republican to get the seat. As bad as the worst Democrat is, he's better than the best Republican.

However, it is an option.