This alliance is about democracy before all other concerns.  We provide support for any leader who is willing to commit to our pro-democracy principles - regardless of party.  We also stand ready to oppose any leader who attempts to disempower the voters - again, regardless of party.  

We require these pro-democracy commitments from everyone we support. We hold everyone accountable to those commitments - including, and perhaps especially, from our own political “sides.” By steadfastly defending each other’s voting power, we protect both each other and our democracy itself.  

Apart from things that bear on our core democratic framework, LWD does not take a position on policy issues.   Our members are free to fight for whatever causes they believe in, even when other members disagree with them.  Those disagreements, however, take second place to our commitment to protect everyone’s right to participate in our democracy.  As we fight for policy wins, we will fight to win against those who disagree with us - but we will not fight to exclude them from the decision-making process itself.  We recognize that our democracy, and the right we all share to be part of it, is more valuable to us than any policy win could be, and will endure only if it is protected against those who would sacrifice it in the name of power.

For voters who wish to see something better from our government than unmitigated tribalism, our alliance offers a path to that something better.  By watching out for each other’s rights as well as our own, we can restore our democracy and focus once again on the common good.  And for candidates who commit to be pro-democracy, we can be the key to victory. 

Our alliance also makes a critical distinction between those who actually stand for our democracy, and those who only claim to do so while undermining its core principles.  In the current world of alternative facts, selective realities, and willful blindness, nearly all politicians, even the most toxic, claim to be supporting American democracy.  All such claims are not created equal.  Sound decision making - especially in the political realm - must be grounded in reality. We therefore include a mechanism to review candidates, ensuring that they earn our support not just with a pledge, but with action.  Each candidate who seeks our support must both sign on to our principles, and be (and remain) qualified for our support, based on ongoing review of their votes, statements, and positions relative to our explicit pro-democracy criteria.  We clear away the noise - enabling our members to act with confidence that they are on the right side of the pro democracy fight.    

The foundation of this coalition is that politics works best when voters are empowered to do more than just vote; LWD creates a multiplier effect by empowering pro-democracy voters to actively help pro-democracy candidates win.  LWD serves as not just a petition but a mechanism for action. Members don’t just express their views - they join with allies to leverage their collective voting power.  We can therefore add not just votes, but help with voter lists, targeting and persuasive outreach.  

We’ll also make crossover voting more feasible; those who cross over can do so not as lone voters, but as part of our bipartisan power bloc that will stand ready to vote out any candidates who renege on their pro-democracy commitments.  We can help pull the candidates and parties back toward the middle, no longer able to take voters for granted and no longer able to abuse the other side’s voters with impunity. 

We do all of this within the system. We do not attempt to create a third party, or ask either voters or candidates to cease being loyal members of their respective parties.  

Taken together, the new votes, activism, and energy we make available to pro-democracy candidates can be a game changer.