I'll be voting along party lines. You?

[Sheepshank]

It has taken me too many years and more poignantly, a clarity of what has been happening during Obama's administration to come to a personal realization. Regardless of how strongly I feel about any candidate's personal platform, once seated in Congress or the Senate, too many important issues get voted on almost exclusively along party lines. FWIW I realize there are always a few DINO's out there...and unfortunately certainly in the state where I reside.

If I want ANY hope of a progressive agenda, there is little choice when it comes to how I would vote. I will be voting along party lines in the next election. On this personal opinion, I assume I'll get flamed, but it is what it is.

[Donnachaidh]

1. a wee bit early for purity polls, yes? n/t

[WinkyDink]

5. "Purity" is what you call voting for all Democrats, on "DEMOCRATIC Underground"?

[Sheepshank]

8. lol....no agenda here, just what was on my my mind based on a local news article n/t

[readmoreoften]

58. Funny how purity of party=dirty on platforms and issues.

[Liberal_in_LA]

62. nope

[msongs]

2. vote for as progressive/liberal a dem as u can find or the conservadem if that's what yer stuck with

[Maru Kitteh]

67. Yup. I'm stuck w/Ben Nelson (NE) but you bet your ass I'll vote for him over the (r) Jon Bruning.

[mitchtv]

70. ha

I will never vote for Juan Vargas calif senate (D-homophobe)

[mmonk]

3. I will vote my conscience.

[woo me with science]

28. +100000 nt

[krabigirl]

29. Same.

[readmoreoften]

57. +1

[emilyg]

65. Good. So will I.

[WinkyDink]

4. I'm a Democrat. Period.

[MannyGoldstein]

6. 20 years of triangulating Dems - how's that working out for us?

Have we moved in the right direction?

Is the economy strong?
Is the middle class vibrant?
Are we at peace?

This has got to stop. Someone needs to fight for working Americans, not just tussle with the crazy-right over who gets cash from the wealthiest.

[Sheepshank]

12. IMHO the way I 'm seeing it, there are no alternatives.

so, perhaps you could clarify why it's best to vote with a different philosophical outlook?

I'm totally open to suggestions. I'm almost in "give up" mode that an individual can press an agenda that is outside of their party lines, and if that agenda comes from an "R", will that agenda be represented by a consistent vote across party lines, or will that "R" be pressured 95% of the time to vote with the party? Why is is good to vote for an "R" at any time?

[MannyGoldstein]

17. I'm keeping my options open

I highly, highly doubt that I'd ever vote for a Republican. But we need to stop triangulating Dems - they simply push the Right even further to the right, and here we are, staggeringly screwed.

[bluestate10]

43. Aay??

"I highly, highly doubt that I'd ever vote for a Republican". That one would even remotely consider voting for a republican is beyond comprehension. Wake the fuck up people, there are no more liberals OR moderates left in the republican party.

[iwishiwas]

7. The new voting bill in WI will no longer allow it.

[cali]

9. No. If I did I couldn't vote for Bernie if I did. I couldn't vote for progressives

if I did. We have three parties here in Vermont. And independents stand a chance.

[TahitiNut]

104. Indeed. Give me a choice between Bernie Sanders and Ben Nelson ,,,,

... and I'll vote for Bernie 11 times out of 10. :shrug:

[Jakes Progress]

10. I will be voting for Democrats only.

But the Democrats I vote for must be Democrats, not corporate shills with a D by their name.

[kentuck]

11. Would you vote for a blue-dog conservative Democrat...

over a liberal Republican that shared most of your viewpoints?

[lightningandsnow]

15. How often does that happen, just out of curiosity?

I ask because I live in Canada and there's a multi-party system here. I've seen races where the Conservative and the Liberal were almost indistinguishable from one another (like in my old district), but never where the Conservative was more liberal than the Liberal candidate.

[patricia92243]

18. I know there are blue dogs, but I did not know there was such a thing as a liberal republican - some

moderates. yes - but liberal?????

[Tesha]

106. It's unlikely today, but in the past there have been.

When Lieberman ran against Weicker in Connecticut,
Lieberman ran to Weicker's right and he certainly
voted that way once elected.

*ESPECIALLY IN RETROSPECT*, Weicker, the Republican,
was the far better choice.

There's no one like Weicker any more, of course.

Tesha

[woo me with science]

46. or Bernie Sanders? He's not a Democrat. nt

[lightningandsnow]

13. I can't really answer this question because I live in a country with three left-ish parties.

That being said, if I lived in the US, the Democratic candidate would pretty much always be preferable to the Republican one, even if the Democrat still isn't great.

[AnOhioan]

14. Partly line voting got us into this mess

The Party knows a certain percentage will vote for them regardless...so there is no real accountability.

Thanks by my vote goes to the candidate who I feel will best represent me. And that candidate may or may not be a Democrat.

[B Calm]

25. You vote for any republican, you'll know what you get! They'll lie and

and say anything to get into office. HELL, LOOK AT THE GOVERNOR OF WISCONSIN!

[AnOhioan]

26. Never said the candidate that gets my vote will be republican

[bluestate10]

47. So. You're saying that if there was a tight race, you would waste your vote. nt

You get the representation that you deserve in that case.

[daleanime]

16. Where's the third option?

Voting, and supporting, select individuals within party lines?:think:

[LAGC]

19. Depends on how close any particular race is.

I live in Idaho, which overwhelmingly supports Republican presidential candidates, so my lone vote there is like pissing in the ocean -- won't make a difference. So I'm more inclined to vote my conscience by going third party. Obviously, if I lived in more of a swing state I wouldn't be so cavalier with my vote. But for local races that are much more competitive, I definitely vote more along party lines.

[Sheepshank]

21. ITA on pissing in the wind lol

another good reason to get rid of the electoral vote imho.

[Alexander]

20. Actually I'll probably vote Working Families next time, since they endorse all the Democrats

And by voting that way, I'd accomplish two important things:

1) Giving my vote to the Democratic nominee

2) Supporting a progressive third party

The WF party isn't in every state, but I know they are at least in NY and CT.

[abq e streeter]

22. Straight party line

except in cases where there's a sure Democratic win by someone I don't particularly like, and would then vote Socialist or La Raza Unida etc. as a symbolic vote only. But my view is that these days and for quite some time now, the worst Democrat is still better, even if , unfortunately, only slightly better, than any repub. We do actually have some decent Democrats in NM, such as Sen. Udall and our Atty. General Gary King who I would love to see be Governor some day (his dad was a much loved 3 term governor). And whoever is our candidate to replace retiring Sen. Bingaman (GOT to keep that despicable Heather Wilson out of the Senate) has my full support too. I'm old enough to remember the existence of moderate and even liberal republicans, and even decent honorable conservatives. Those days are ancient history. Voting a straight party line (with the theoretical exceptions I already mentioned) is a corner that we have(or at least I feel we have) been backed into.

[Raine]

23. I will NEVER vote for a repuklican. nt

[tabbycat31]

24. In a general, the only time I do not vote on party lines is my municipal elections

Because in my town, the municipals are nonpartisan. If they were partisan I would vote straight Democratic ticket. The time to make the decisions for the Democrats running is in the primary.

The only time I personally think a sitting Democrat should have been primaried was in 2009 with Jon Corzine. I like him and happily voted and campaign for him, but his approval numbers were way too low to win in the general and we now have Chris Christie as a result.

[fredamae]

27. There are far too many "DINO's and Blue Dogs"

for me to vote straight party lines.

My First preference will be voting party lines, but IF the "other guy/gal" meets "my" progressive test? I'm contributing to and voting for them.
We must purge those who are elected by progressives/dems/libs that once elected always votes with the pubs/cons/tea people.

I'm going along with the thinking that; if a "dem" won't stand with the party..... and consider what has happened to this country and to Us for not having a willing super majority in the senate... as the 375 bills passed in the house were filibustered..... With the Blue Dogs help in the senate...I cannot in good conscience support and vote for them again.

What a different country this would be right now if we had had very different thinkers and party line voters in office during that time.

[Sheepshank]

31. True...enough DINO's to sometime kill a progressive bill

Ok, lets say you had to make the difficult choice to not vote for a Dem because of DINO tendencies. The other ballot option is a RINO. Do you have confidence the RINO would be more likely to vote the way you would want, once seated in the House or Senate?

See this is my dilemma. I have even less confidence in that possible "ethical and morally correct" progressive vote from a RINO once they are in office. So few of them ever vote across party lines. With DINO's, wouldn't they realize they take the chance of losing in the next election?

[fredamae]

36. I'm with you there and I don't take my position

lightly...Of course I would vote for the DINO over the RINO.

Unless their voting/public record states I should move differently.
I'm vetting all candidates more carefully than ever and worrying Less about party affiliation.
There are "civil rights loving small gov't" minded folks out there that bear the "R" label just as there are "Big Gov't Nanny State Loving, Freedom Robbing" Dems.

[SDuderstadt]

38. "Big Gov't Nanny State Loving, Freedom Robbing Dems"

Huh?

[abq e streeter]

40. Yeah, that one caught my eye big time too. I second your "huh?"

[fredamae]

42. My "Dem" Rep is one....

He voted to eliminate EPA and etc--With the pubs and supports compromising womens reproductive rights..just for starters.

[SDuderstadt]

44. How is that...

a "Big Gov't Nanny State Loving, Freedom Robbing" Dem?

[bluestate10]

49. I see freedom robbing, but don't see nanny state loving. The poster must explain. nt

[fredamae]

55. Anyone who wishes to govern

my uterus, is "freedom robbing"...those who wish to perpetuate the monitoring/controlling my personal health care choices. Those who continue to support the Patriot Act, Gay Marriage Bans, Enforcing DOMA, Object to Ending DADT, Assault upon MedCanna Patients etc
I am referring to the Blue Dogs that caucus with repubs.
The Dems in Mass who just recently attacked Collective Bargaining...
I would Not vote for any of these people, would you, just because they are Dems?

[SDuderstadt]

59. Your term included...

"Big Gov't Nanny State Loving".

What did you mean by that? The GOP/RW typically applies that to Medicare/SS and other safety net programs.

Why are you perpetuating a RW meme?

[fredamae]

69. No, not at all

I am talking about laws that monitor my "personal life decisions". IMHO, Repubs are obviously wrongly using that term:)...I apologize if I have confused as I have (believe it or not) Not heard the pubs use that term in that manner.

Those are social programs that I Want my Tax Dollars to support!
Not wars and definitely Not for the benefit of the wealthy, special interests and BigCorps.

[bluestate10]

48. Looks like a slip in. Should have a short DU life. nt

[fredamae]

56. No, just because I am thinking critically

about actions (votes) over party affiliation does not mean anything ;)

[SDuderstadt]

61. The issue is the...

"Big Gov't Nanny State Loving".

That makes my blood boil. How about yours?

[fredamae]

66. Yes, it does. I don't Want

Gov't monitoring my every move, my every decision brought to me by Any politician.
Some Dems agree with Some pubs that this control is the only way..."it's for the kids or to stay safe, or to live longer or or or".

One of my dem senators had a bill not too long ago that asks to put Drones over public lands. Please explain how that could never go wrong.
Many of these issue need to be brought to the people.
There is also the issue of great conflicts of interest as most of our lawmakers are very wealthy...and are voting to Reduce taxes, continue Ag/Big Oil subsidies in part because they, themselves reap the benefits. Sadly this includes some dems and those are the ones I will Not support at the state or fed level.

[Maru Kitteh]

71. And I take it you have an issue with Freddy Mac / Fanny Mae?

[Fire1]

30. Definitely "party lines." n/t

[NorthCarolina]

32. I won't vote Republican, but if there is a

candidate running who is not a Democrat (ie Independent/Green), but is more Liberal/Progressive than the Democrat in the race, then that Liberal Progressive candidate WILL get my vote.

[bluestate10]

51. Even if the Dem or repub are more likely to win and the Dem needs your vote to win? nt

[NorthCarolina]

117. Yep, even if. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

33. I'll vote for the most progressive, anti-war, candidate on the balllot ..or write one in.

"I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent. If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all." Thomas Jefferson to Francis Hopkinson, 1789.

"Were parties here divided merely by a greediness for office,...to take a part with either would be unworthy of a reasonable or moral man." Thomas Jefferson to William Branch Giles, 1795.

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." John Quincy Adams

[bluestate10]

53. And your vote could very well set back your dreams to beyond your lifetime.

Good luck with that.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

54. Really? My vote? All by itself? WOW!!

I must have been elected God and didn't even know it.

However, I'll still cast my votes for the best candidates on the ballot rather than waste them on conservatives or moderates with whatever letter behind their names.

[whatchamacallit]

83. As the nightmare escalates under a democrat, your statement has no meaning. (nt)

[OmahaBlueDog]

34. Answer "Voting for the PERSON and their individual platform" at your peril as a DU member

"Members are expected to be generally supportive of progressive ideals, and to support Democratic candidates for political office."

(from the DU rules)

[Balbus]

39. The word "generally" implies wiggle-room.

[OmahaBlueDog]

87. The way I read the rule

"Members are expected to be generally supportive of progressive ideals"

Comma

"and to support Democratic candidates for political office."

The way I read it, you are expected to generally support progrssive ideals, and always support Democratic candidates for political office.

Of course, I am not a mod. Probably for good reason.

[whatchamacallit]

82. And what happens when progressive ideals and democratic candidates are at odds

:shrug:

[OmahaBlueDog]

88. Support Democratic candidates for political office

:dem:

[Name removed]

95. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[blondeatlast]

35. I'm in Arizona--this is a no-brainer since our brand of RRR is

hateful, contemptuous, and greedy as hell.

[Zorra]

86. +1...

You forgot stupid and incompetent.
:hi:

[Balbus]

37. I value my vote more than just to vote on what letter is after a name.

[tularetom]

41. Ever since the republican party went batshit crazy it's what I have done

I used to vote for the candidate rather than the party, but unfortunately there are no sane republican candidates around anymore. These days I don't even have to think about it.

It's made my decision making process a LOT simpler although I must confess I've had to hold my nose once or twice while voting for the DINO's we seem to get a lot of around here.

[eleny]

45. Party lines

[pipi_k]

50. I guess I'm sort of in the middle...

I always vote Democrat (even though I'm unaffiliated) except for the one time I had to vote Republican because the (local) Democratic candidate was running on a platform that would have been indistinguishable from a RW candidate's. The Repub was actually more Democrat than the Democrat.

[Dawson Leery]

52. My "partisanship" is along the lines of being anti-Republican.

At least in the modern sense. Since Reagan's unfortunate time, the GOP has been slowly forcing out the liberals and moderates. Now they are forcing out the traditional conservatives.

[Maeve]

60. If there were such a thing as a moderate Rebuplican in Ohio

One who would not further the goals of our bat-shit crazy governor....

hell, that would make him/her a Democrat, wouldn't it?

[Warren Stupidity]

63. Yum! I love the smell of purges! Let the heads roll!

[Sheepshank]

73. Almost reason enough to wipe the smirk off so many faces :)

[Mr. Jefferson]

64. In order to vote along a line, the line would need to be visible.

[Sheepshank]

72. The question then is.......

Since you can"t see "lines: would voting for your preferred "R" individual(Senate or House) EVER result in that personal agenda being implemented, especially if that party affiliation's philosophy is in contrast to your candidate's agenda? The question is even more pronouced in your case...so you don't care which party you vote for since you are claiming the lines are not defined enough? Voting on party lines...which ever party is your preference....gains you nothing?

[AnOhioan]

102. Best damn response in the entire thread +1000

[roamer65]

68. Not decided yet.

It's a long way to November 2012.

[Name removed]

74. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Modern_Matthew]

75. Labels mean diddly, but that's what I'll probably do. nt

[whatchamacallit]

76. I will vote for any democrat / independent / green... who eschews the pro-war pro-corporate agenda

Everyone else can take a hike.

[SDuderstadt]

77. Even in the general...

election?

[whatchamacallit]

81. Local, state, national...

My vote is my voice and I will no longer lend my voice to what I oppose.

[RagAss]

78. D D D D D D D

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

79. Vote on the ISSUES... not the PARTY.

Voting for a paticular letter next to a name just propogates the corruption & race to the bottom which all two-party systems are plagued with.

[Zorra]

80. Wow. Since the only genuine challenge to a Democrat is a republican,

who are all those that are not voting along party lines going to vote for?

[Tesha]

112. Once Vermonters stopped believing that, it was no longer true.

Curious, no?

Tesha

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

84. Too early for party line. First come the circular firing squads

otherwise known as "primaries".

Unity can wait.

:hi:

[Rochester]

85. I vote for the person and their ideology/platform, and...

...this means I almost always vote "D".

[DevonRex]

89. I'm a Democrat and proud of it. So I vote a straight Dem ticket.

Good poll. Thanks.

[SDuderstadt]

90. + 1 n/t

[Sheepshank]

93. Pretty steady of the party line. I guess I'm just coming late to the "party" lol

I found it very interesting that throughout the poll, the party line voters have stayed 2/3rds or above (for a while almost 75%).

What I found intersting was the rec/unrec numbers as well. +2 then back to 0. +1 and back to 0 etc. The confusion for me comes in that this has been a very civil discussion, no controvercial issues, no questionable data, no lies being propogated, opinions on both sides posed respectfully and not slammed, no really wrong or right answer.

So is there something I'm missing? Is this controvercial and many are ticked off at?

Personally I would have thought the subject matter not even a rec/unrec issue...probably no one even noticed but me lol.

[DCBob]

91. How soon some people forget the Bush/Cheney/GOP Reign of Terror.

sad.

[Sheepshank]

94. I think this rattles around in my mind constantly

as does the flip flop. Would Romney have received the Mass individual votes of those that do not normally vote "R" if they had known how he was changing his stance after arrival in office?

[whatchamacallit]

96. Forget it? Much of it lives on. (nt)

[DCBob]

101. somehow I knew this response was coming.

[UTUSN]

92. Always have, always will. n/t

[The Straight Story]

97. I heard Jeb bush is running as a dem, should I vote for him if he has a D after his name? (nt)

[Iggo]

103. Yes!

[Ohio Joe]

98. I think...

It would not only be foolish but also dangerous to vote any way but D.

[Sheepshank]

107. See, in this current political climate, I agree with this.

It's almost dangerous to vote any other way simple because of the party line Congressional and Senatorial voting that is so prevataent. How many more time must I see that regardless of what is best for the country, over and over the Reps have chosen to screw the country in favor of what would hurt Obama.

I don't know if historically things have always been so partisan, but I would hope that it doesn't necessarily mean it always has to be so partisan.

[w8liftinglady]

99. In Texas? YOU BET!

We are SO over-represented by right-wing whack jobs...anyone would be better.The Dems who are brave enough to run totally have my vote and support.

[Marrah_G]

100. I'll be voting for whomever best represents my goals.

The best way for you to get me to say "fuck you" to a candidate or party is to try and demand that I vote for them. Their history and ideals should be what earns my vote.

[kentuck]

105. So you would vote for a Nazi....

So long as he called himself a "Democrat"? Foolish.

[Sheepshank]

109. Is there an actual situation where that has come up?

There have been issues of several Dems to vote for, but your situtaion seems out of touch. In the case of National (senatorial or Congressional) or Presidential elections, you think the only Dem available would be a Nazi? Seriously?

[blue neen]

115. Things that make you go hmm...

"A Straw Man has two features: it is easy to knock down, and it is a poor substitute for a real man" (in this case a poor substitute for a real answer).

:)

The fact that Nazism is a far-far right ideology is apparently wasted on that poster.

[quaker bill]

108. I don't vote along party lines

I research carefully and vote for the Democratic Party candidate in every race, even the "non-partisan" races. There is no elected office so minor that voting for or allowing by inaction any republican to occupy it is acceptable. I will do all I can to discourage that sort of behavior.

[TheKentuckian]

110. I'll be voting for decent candidates or writing in if there are none.

[brettdale]

111. surly theres not a repug that can beat Obama?

surly theres not a repug that can beat Obama?

[Philippine expat]

113. If I vote straight D I can not vote for Independents that I

agree with.

[rainbow4321]

114. Party line voter here

Unfortunately, I live in a red state/red county so my party line voting is never a very long list..what I usually do is click on each Democratic candidate and then click on ANYone who is running **against** a repuke (libertarian, etc..).

[Shandris]

116. Personal platform.

Although, given the scarcity of choices, that is almost always a straight ticket or an abstain and then straight ticket elsewhere.

But given my choices, I weigh for the most non-authoritarian, socially liberal option available that still has their feet grounded in reality. I don't do authoritarian liberal well, but I can't stomach anti-authoritarian socially conservative (read: libertarian) so given the choices, an auth liberal is better. Socially conservative is the 100% 'Hell no I wont vote for you'.

And before anyone wonders what I mean by 'feet grounded in reality', I automatically discard any option that believes that the military should be disbanded, completely defunded, or any of that tripe. That does NOT mean that I don't think our soldiers should be brought home and our military interventions brought in line with our projected national stance, however. I think our entire military apparatus is overextended and in places it DOES NOT BELONG. But I don't think the military, as a whole, is evil -- it is being wielded for corporate and evil gain. The two are not synonomous.

Best option: Military-endorsing but peace-preferring non-authoritarian social liberal and fiscal moderate/left-leaning. I'd vote for that person for eternity.

[Auntie Bush]

118. I can't think of a single Republican I like.

Maybe a Republican Justice of the Peace. lol