REAL - Responsible Effective American Leadership

We are Democrats who believe our party has lost its way and urgently needs a new direction. Our coalition has been shrinking for two decades as non-college Americans, white and non-white, leave the party. This political realignment along educational lines is making our party uncompetitive outside big metropolitan centers.

Consequently, Democrats now lack the electoral clout to temper President Trump's retrograde policies and check the partisan weaponization of government in Washington and 23 Republican-controlled states. Our party's electoral weakness has effectively disenfranchised half the country. This must change, and soon.

The first step toward recovery is an honest reckoning with how we've lost touch with Middle America — people without college degrees, suburban moderates and independents who live in small cities, towns and rural communities. Step two is making our party the force for the economic and social changes working Americans want to see. Too many people believe we are so focused on fighting Trump that we've lost sight of their hardships and hopes.

Real Analysis

Real Solutions

Real Leadership

REAL is here to change that. Our mission is to elevate a rising generation of new Democratic leaders who can win— and keep—governing majorities by delivering real solutions for working Americans who are the beating heart of our nation.

We are Responsible Effective American Leaders: a 501(c)4 organization built to support leaders who can speak to the whole country. We leverage deep analysis of policy outcomes, public opinion, and election results to arm these leaders with new policy ideas and messaging guidance that are grounded in political reality.

REAL is building a permanent infrastructure of political, intellectual, and financial support for our party's majority makers — Democrats who can win in swing states and districts and eventually make our party competitive anywhere. We aren't here just to eke out the next win—we're here to build the long-haul infrastructure for a new Democratic majority that offers Americans a hopeful and radically pragmatic alternative to today's angry and divisive populism.

Our founding members are united by a simple belief: Democrats must be the party of getting things done for working people again.

Where We Stand

Working Americans First

Deindustrialization has taken a harsh toll on working families, who lost factory jobs that propelled them into the middle class. We must reorient our governing priorities around their economic and social aspirations, rather than those of highly educated professionals. If you work hard, play by the rules, and hold up your end of the bargain, you should be able to get ahead—period. Government should have a relentless focus on making life better for the people who keep the country running, without being hamstrung by elite preoccupations or ideological purity tests.

Economic Freedom & Shared Prosperity

Tariffs and government ownership of private companies won't bring back yesterday's economy. Free and open economic competition is the best way to reward effort, fuel innovation, and encourage entrepreneurship. We believe policies that are pro-worker and pro-business are the key to unlocking abundant growth and opportunity for all — not just a few at the top.

An American Dream We Can Afford

Families can't get ahead if everything costs more every year. Fiscal discipline and trade keep prices down and opportunities up. Today's toxic combination of uncontrolled deficit spending and protectionism are leading America into a box canyon of economic stagnation and falling living standards.

One American Identity

What unites us matters more than what divides us. Our shared civic values — derived from our country's founding principles — should be taught in every school and lived in every community—so we see each other as Americans first.

World-Class Public Schools

Universal public education has always been Americans' preferred route to equalizing opportunity. Democrats must step up and lead a national campaign to instill rigor and excellence in all of our public schools, while opposing the right- wing push to give even affluent families public subsidies to send their kids to private schools.

Upward Mobility for All

The American Dream shouldn't be a lottery. Every child, whether headed to college or a skilled trade4deserves a fair shot at success. That means access to strong schools, practical training, and robust alternatives to college — more earn and learn opportunities and apprenticeships and career pathways to good, middle-class jobs.

Government That Works

Government today is too rule- bound, too bureaucratic and too slow. Rather than defending broken public sector systems, Democrats must reinvent government for the digital age. That means freeing public officials from the quicksand of process and equipping citizens with the tools they need to solve their own problems. It's not about big government or small government — it's about government that works. We fix what's broken, scrap what fails, and scale up what delivers. Results, not rhetoric.

Energy Abundance & Climate Leadership

Our party needs a smarter approach to energy and climate protection. Climate doom-crying has failed to enlist working families in the green crusade to abolish fossil fuels prematurely. The fastest way to build support for climate action is a realistic clean energy transition plan that harnesses all fuels and technologies to make energy abundant and affordable while steadily reducing carbon emissions.

Affordable, Personal Health Care

Americans shouldn9t have to move to other countries to find affordable medical care. U.S. health care costs are unsustainable for patients, providers, and taxpayers. We believe it is time to move beyond the antiquated fee-for-service model of care to coordinated care that emphasizes prevention and primary care, injects more competition into health care markets, and continues to invest in medical innovation and research.

Orderly, Lawful Immigration

Secure borders underpin our national identity and the rule of law. Our party lost sight of that truth and paid dearly for it. We are a nation of immigrants but we are also a nation of laws. We believe in a fair immigration system that curbs illegal border-crossing, enforces our laws in the workplace, and legally admits the workers we need to keep our economy strong.

Safe Streets and Neighborhoods

Public safety is non-negotiable. Police, prosecutors and mental health professionals are our frontline troops in the fight against crime and anti-social behavior. We have their backs while showing zero tolerance for any who abuse citizens. Now is the time to strengthen, not defund, local police departments and to stand resolutely against the Trump administration's dangerous politicization of federal enforcement agencies and the U.S. military.

Strength for Freedom

America should remain the world's leading force for freedom—not to intimidate, but to inspire others and protect the ideals we live by. Resolve earns respect; weakness invites trouble. Appeasing dictators betrays our values and undercuts our influence. We favor strengthening ties with America's democratic allies and active international diplomacy backed by the world's most capable defense forces.

The Call to Action

We can be the party that gets things done for everyone, everywhere. But it will take leaders who can speak to the whole country, not just their corner of it. It will take believers willing to build for the long haul, not just the next news cycle.

REAL is here to build that movement—the one that wins the next election, and the next generation. We need leaders. We need builders. We need you.