Will progressives finally declare their independence from the Democratic Party in 2010?

Progressive disillusionment with the Obama administration and majority Democratic Congress continues to lead to calls for third party and independent activism against the ruling Democratic-Republican corporatist coalition. At Firedoglake, El Duderino asks: "Will FDL support Green Party candidates in 2012 and 2012?" He writes:

The Democrat Party is useless. It cannot be relied upon to be a vehicle for progressive change. If it wasn’t evident when the party took power in Congress in 2006 only to continue propping up George W. Bush’s unconstitutional and illegal policies, or when the party actively protected him and his regime from prosecution, then there can be no more doubt in the wake of the failure of health care reform . . .

Simply running primary opponents against recalcitrant Democrats is not enough to push the party leftward. All that does is make it easier for conservative incumbents (or aspirants to office) to pander to the base while all the while fully intending once they have their nominations locked up to move to the political right. They can do this so easily because they know that no matter how much we might complain, Democrat voters will usually buckle under and support them in general elections . . .

if Democrats cannot be counted upon to do anything but stand in the way of progressive principles, and not voting is not a viable option, what is our recourse if not to support independent candidates from the left going into the 2010 and 2012 elections? The primary-them-only tactic has failed because we do not back up the threat of electoral defeat with strong independent candidacies from the left. The most logical and effective choice for progressive support is the party with a presence in enough states to seriously compete with the major players, and that is the Green Party.

In response, Ross Levin suggests a number of third party and independent candidates that FDL might consider supporting. Among them:

Rich Whitney, running for governor in Illinois. His run for governor in 2006 got him 10% of the vote and put the Greens on the political scene in Illinois . . . Hugh Giordano. I live near Philadelphia and have known Hugh for about a year and a half, so I was very excited when I heard he was running as a Green for state representative in Philadelphia. He’s running in a one-party Democratic district and there’s possibly no Republican running this year . . . Eliot Cutler, running for governor of Maine. I’m not sure how progressive he really is, but he’s running as a left of center candidate, was a powerful lawyer in Washington, and used to work for President Carter . . . The Progressive Party in Vermont. They’re the most successful third party in the country.

Progressives who are interested in finding more Green Party candidates for elected office this year should check out the Green Party's Election Database, which can be searched by state, office and candidate name.