Progressive canaries and Democratic coal mines

Conventional wisdom, both at the national and state level, suggests that progressive Democrats will stick with the party no matter what levels of corruption, incompetence and compromise we are asked to swallow. And when it comes to marking the ballot, that's may very well be true.

But before a person can mark that ballot, he or she has to get to the voting booth. But the reactionary path that Obama and Perdue are currently pursuing suggests that 2012 will not be especially inspiring. Unless something changes dramatically, which seems unlikely, the consequences for my own personal activism will be dire.

In rebuttal to this grim view, Democratic leaders have told me it's all about individual candidates. In concept, that's a valid point, but in practice, it seems a waste of time and money. While individual elected officials do matter in many ways, the failure of the collective to govern effectively trumps even the most heroic of efforts by a single person.

This chart shows the dollar amounts my wife and I have raised for Democrats over the past 15 years. It shows us shifting from raising money for candidates to focusing on non-profit organizations who need more help than ever. Republicans are trashing the few remaining safety nets in place, charting their own reckless course toward oblivion, the result of being on the wrong side in class warfare. The pesky peasants always rise up in the end.

Governor Perdue and President Obama give progressive Democrats little reason to vote for them, let alone contribute financially to their campaigns. Like so many in America, this progressive is coming to the sad conclusion that may not really matter which party is in power.