By now, most progressives and liberals are fully aware that Obama and the Democrats aren't going to do anything to help us -- that instead, they'll continue to serve the same corporate masters that have ruled this country for decades. (And yes, while it's true that there are a few individual elected Democrats who seem to "try" to do a bit better, the forces which control the Democratic Party make sure that any "progressive voices" will always remain nothing more than an ineffectual minority). So it's time for us to fight back!

To start with, we can learn from what the abolitionists did in the 19th century, regarding political parties. In the late 1830's they started a "third party", the "Liberty Party", and they ran Presidential candidates in 1840 and 1844. They then merged into the "Free Soil Party", which received 10% of the Presidential vote in 1848, and 5% in 1852.

By then, the abolitionists, along with others who were concerned about slavery, had forced the issue to become a political crisis. In 1854, the pro-slavery forces countered by managing to get Congressmen from both of the two major political parties (the Democrats and the Whigs) to pass the "Kansas-Nebraska Act", which provided for the possibility of slavery in the northern part of the remaining territories, thereby nullifying the "foundational" Missouri compromise. For the North, this was the last straw! Anti-slavery supporters bolted from the traitorous Democrats and Whigs into the newly-formed Republican Party to such an extent that within two years, the Whigs had entirely collapsed as a viable party. So what started out as a "third party" was able to replace one of the two major parties, after a number of years of pushing the issue, and going through several different political party names and structures.

Therefore, when it comes to electoral politics, please stop supporting the Democrats! Rather, support one of the "third parties", as much as you possibly can. (Here in California, that would either be the Green Party, or the Peace and Freedom Party, for most readers of this website). In particular, PLEASE CHANGE YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION STATUS to either "Green Party", or "Peace and Freedom Party"! Please also remember that with the passage of Proposition 14 last June, there are no longer any state partisan primaries -- so the last possible reason to remain registered as a Democrat (or not in any party) has now been removed. Also, you can get free postage-paid voter registration cards at most libraries and post offices.

Let's remember how the abolitionists were able to make use of the poltical party system. When it comes to electoral politics, please support one of the progressive "third parties"! (For more info and/or to get involved -- for the California Green Party please see: http://www.cagreens.org and for the Peace and Freedom Party, please see: http://www.peaceandfreedom.org ). And to start with, please change your voter registration status to "Green Party" or "Peace and Freedom Party" -- it's a powerful (and free) way to "register your vote" against the corrupt Democrats!