One of the best ways to express your civic power is through your pocketbook. More and more citizens are seeing the effect that corporate lobbyists have on our government but we often feel powerless to stop the money monster that D.C. has become. There are those that feel that Democrats should start buying things from companies that support progressive policies and candidates. Buy Blue is a website devoted to letting you know what corporate executives give to whom and ask you to spend accordingly.
However, Jeff Milchen has a good point when he says, "Supporting chains—even those whose executives may share your political leanings—necessarily concentrates wealth and power. We need to prevent wealth from translating readily into political power, but for now, dispersing economic power among millions of small, independent businesses is one key to restraining corporate power and invigorating democracy."
This, I think is a better point. Even if you buy from monster chains that support Democrats, that doesn't necessarily mean that their interests are pure. They are still as concerned with the bottom line as a conservative executive. If our only choices were between blue chains and red chains then by all means support the blue chains. But we have local options and shopping locally is not just good for your conscience but it is a real investment in your community.
The best way to beat the beast is not to change the color of the beast from red to blue but to kill the beast altogether. It is true that all politics are local, and we can change the way our government works if we change the way we work with the government. (I have more circular cliches to toss out in a moment's notice. I must be in Zen mode.)