Finding the fighters: Will your candidate show their colors?
Use this Grading Guide to see if your candidate is ready to unrig our system
It seems like everyone has gotten the message from Brad Lander that we need “fighters, not folders.” Everyone this year says they’re a fighter. But, fighting for what? And fighting for whom?
Run for Something’s Amanda Litman has told us, “The leaders who got us into this mess won’t be the ones to get us out of it.” So, what are the attributes of those who will?
Indivisible California’s primaries team developed the Grading Guide below to answer those questions and help you evaluate your Congressional and legislative candidates or representatives. The guide describes five key dimensions for assessing a candidate, then asks questions within each, which you can use as criteria to determine their performance along a scale from poor to excellent. Hover over the title in each box to read the description.
We definitely need not only to get out of this mess, but to build a better country that won’t fall prey to fascism again. Primary elections and pointed voter questions offer the chance to find the right people for the job. Let’s find the “excellent” candidates and get them elected.
Wealthy donors and corporations have rigged the system in their favor, in part by their corrupting influence on politicians. We need politicians who REJECT THEIR MONEY, seeking contributions instead from the people they are committed to serving: everyday Americans.
We need candidates with a CLEAR, COMPELLING VISION of the future, one that is grounded in the actions they will take now to materially improve peoples’ lives.
Defeating fascism requires CONFRONTATION & OPPOSITION – fighting despite the cost or obstacle, with intensity of purpose, and opposing without compromise. It also requires CONSEQUENCES – making criminals, regardless of their status, pay a severe price.
Our economic system is rigged in favor of the wealthy and the powerful. It’s a heads-I-win-tails-you-lose game; we see it daily. We need candidates committed to BOLD, STRUCTURAL CHANGE to fully UNRIG OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEM & CREATE NEW MODELS which serve the needs of our whole society.
Like our economic system, our political system is a heavily-tilted playing field designed to entrench power, not to share it. We need candidates committed to BOLD, STRUCTURAL CHANGE to fully UNRIG OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM & CREATE NEW MODELS which serve the needs of our whole society.
Freedom from Influence
Wealthy donors and corporations have rigged the system in their favor, in part by their corrupting influence on politicians. We need politicians who REJECT THEIR MONEY, seeking contributions instead from the people they are committed to serving: everyday Americans.
POOR
FAIR
GOOD
EXCELLENT
Under the Influence
Depends heavily on
corporate and
Super PACs
Trying
to Quit
Corporate and Super PAC donations are less than half of total donations raised
Mostly
Small $
Most funding
(80% or more) is
small dollar donations
Free to Work
for You
Publicly refuses to take donations from corporate or Super PACs
In
Thrall
Takes donations from AIPAC & related orgs, AI, crypto, oil and gas, Palantir, etc.
Spotty
Record
Has taken questionable donations in the past, but has discontinued.
Unwilling
to Commit
Takes no donations from fossil fuels firms, AIPAC, etc, but has not publicly pledged not to do so
Publicly
Pledged
Has made a public commitment to refuse donations from named entities, eg No Fossil Fuel pledge
Call Time Indentured
Spends hours each day calling donors. May also send incessant “hair on fire” texts and emails
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Making
an Effort
Still focused on call time & solicitation onslaughts, but moving towards small dollar donations
Focused on
Small Donors
Not innovative, but raises all/nearly all money from small donors. Does not send “hair on fire” texts/emails
Public-focused
Innovator
Uses innovative, community-focused fundraising approaches that engages donors in their campaign
Refuses donations from corporate PACs and Super PACs
Refuses donations from “Fascist Funders”
Innovates new fundraising approaches that center small $ donors/community
Grounded Vision
We need candidates with a CLEAR, COMPELLING VISION of the future, one that is grounded in the actions they will take now to materially improve peoples’ lives.
POOR
FAIR
GOOD
EXCELLENT
Technocrat
​
Uses position to maintain the status quo balance of power. Fond of insisting it’s not practical or possible to do more, faster.
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Bureaucrat
​
Manages dissatisfaction rather than working towards solutions. Adept at bureaucratic intricacies, but also a prisoner of them.
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Cautious Reformer
Names problems clearly and is willing to address them, but tends to prioritize issues that are less ambitious or prone to conflict. May not call out the villains in the story.
Happy
Warrior
Describes problems plainly, names a remedy and how to apply it. Focuses on actions that will affect the system as a whole, linking them to a vision of the future. Names villains.
Brand Manager
Manages and diffuses movement/community demands. Responsive instead to donors and corporations, while paying lip service to constituent priorities.​
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Inside Operator
Occasionally takes public positions that align with community interests but primarily operates within insider channels and existing norms. Uses institutional power cautiously and reactively, avoiding confrontation.
Mover
Frequently aligns with and is responsive to community and other movement organizations. Actively engages with constituents and communities; will use power on their behalf.​
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Shaker
Helps build a movement, collaborating with social movement organizations and other community groups to build pressure for solutions that benefit working families; supports the appointment of allies to positions of power.
Status Quo Defender
Trying to manage dissatisfaction with a broken system, not to fix it.
Pretender
Supports some movement on an issue, but favors market-based or incremental approaches. Solutions fall short of addressing the problem.
Reformer
Supports ambitious goals but still lacks the courage to take solutions to scale.
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Champion
Fully committed to achieving the goal; willing to take on entrenched interests. Persistent; doesn’t give up.
​
Exercises power to solve problems: finds power and uses it on peoples’ behalf
Helps build a
movement for change
Champions essential reforms (such as the Green New Deal, universal health care in a robust system, comprehensive and humane immigration reform)
Supports strong anti-trust legislation and enforcement
Champion for government’s role in healthy markets
Uncompromising Opposition
Defeating fascism requires CONFRONTATION & OPPOSITION – fighting despite the cost or obstacle, with intensity of purpose, and opposing without compromise. It also requires CONSEQUENCES – making criminals, regardless of their status, pay a severe price.
POOR
FAIR
GOOD
EXCELLENT
“Old Game” Player
Keeps their head down, focusing on process and policy. Avoids fights, treating the moment as normal politics rather than an existential struggle. Waiting for the fever to break.
Reactive
Critic
May condemn MAGA actions when prompted, but does not proactively or consistently challenge them publicly. Focuses on policy work rather than visible confrontation. May fight if polls show a win is likely.​​
Consistent Opponent
Regularly speaks out against MAGA abuses, using public platform to draw clear contrasts. Willing to engage in rhetorical and political fights, but not leading or shaping the broader narrative.​​​
Freedom
Fighter
Opposes fascists consistently, without compromise or apology, in actions as well as words. Makes clear that we are not in "normal political times”, shaping public opinion rather than following it.​​​​​
"Turn the Page” Delulu
Makes excuses for authority being limited, prosecution being low priority/time-consuming; amnesty needed to "heal" or "unite”; emphasizes the need to "not look back, but move forward."
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“Concerned” Dodger
Expresses concern about abuses of power, but avoids aggressive oversight or confrontation. Prefers investigations led by others (DOJ, inspectors general). Sees accountability as secondary to legislative productivity or political stability.
Stops
Short
Supports investigations, hearings, and consequences for misconduct. May hesitate to escalate to institutional confrontation. Prefers easy targets for prosecution; won't go after the big fish. Accountability is important, but not a high priority.
Accountability Leader
Will use the full power of Congress to investigate MAGA regime actors. Committed to full prosecution, at every status level, of all perpetrators. Insists not only on punishment, but restitution. Can't be deterred.
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Unquestioning Follower
Provides leadership with unwavering support, refusing to publicly criticize them or vote contrary to their wishes. Prioritizes own career.
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Head Down
Focused only what's possible without antagonizing leadership. Wants to make improvements, but not to jeopardize their prospects. Might become bolder if it was less risky to them personally.
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Critic​
Advocates for stronger actions than leadership is pushing, but stops short at criticizing leadership itself. Will ruffle some feathers, but won't take bold actions. Not building an intra-party movement for change.
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Reformer
In Congress to remake the party, not build their career. Will publicly criticize leadership or vote against their wishes, as needed. Joins with other reformers to shape the caucus's direction.
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Displays uncompromising opposition to fascists/MAGA
Promises unrelenting prosecution of crimes and full accountability
Building a better Democratic Party
Unrigging the Economy
Our economic system is rigged in favor of the wealthy and the powerful. It’s a heads-I-win-tails-you-lose game. We need candidates committed to BOLD, STRUCTURAL CHANGE to fully UNRIG OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEM & CREATE NEW MODELS which serve the needs of our whole society.
POOR
FAIR
GOOD
EXCELLENT
Billionaire’s Buddy
Avoids taking on billionaires. Frames tax policy primarily around growth, middle-class relief, or deficit management. Opposes or dismisses major structural redistribution measures.​​
Modest
Re-distributor
Supports raising taxes on high earners and corporations incrementally. Frames reforms as fairness adjustments rather than structural efforts to rebalance wealth and power. Avoids endorsing wealth taxes or measures targeting assets.
Progressive Tax Advocate
Supports substantial tax increases on the ultra-wealthy and corporations. May express openness to wealth taxes, but does not center tax reform as a strategy to reduce concentrated political power.
Wealth Gap Reformer
Working to revise the tax system to dramatically reduce wealth disparity. Helps to frame the public narrative around the dangers of concentrated wealth. Supports wealth taxes.
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Market-Deferential
Defends large corporate consolidation as efficient or inevitable. Frames anti-trust enforcement as outdated or harmful to economic growth. Opposes aggressive enforcement, resisting efforts to break up monopolies or block mergers.
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Concerned but Cautious
Expresses concern about corporate concentration and its harms but favors modest enforcement within existing frameworks. Supports oversight hearings or incremental reforms but avoids endorsing breakups or structural remedies.
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Inconsistent Enforcer
Recognizes monopoly power as a systemic threat to workers, consumers, and democracy. Supports stronger enforcement and expanded authority for regulators. Does not consistently prioritize anti-trust as a core economic governance strategy.
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Anti-
Monopolist
Centers anti-trust enforcement as essential to protecting workers, consumers, small businesses, and democratic governance. Supports blocking anti-competitive mergers, breaking up firms when necessary, strengthening regulatory authority and budgets, and modernizing anti-trust law.
Corporate Defender
Believes in the status quo "free market". Sees little need for change. Does not see reforms, such as building public options, public equity, etc, as appropriate or feasible.
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Regulator
​
May back subsidies or incentives to shape private-sector behavior but does not advocate for creating public entities to directly compete in failing markets, demand public equity in exchange for back-stopping ventures, etc.
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Toe-in-the-Water
Supports creating public options or publicly backed competitors where market failure is clear. Willing to demand public equity in exchange for risk mitigation in some cases. But views neither as core governing strategies.
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Crusader
​
Supports a strong role for the government as a market actor in failing markets. Advocates for the government receiving an equity stake in ventures where it has supplied intellectual capital or is the insurer of last resort.
​
Will change the tax system to dramatically reduce the wealth and power gap
Unrigging our Political System
Like our economic system, our political system is a heavily-tilted playing field designed to entrench power, not to share it. We need candidates committed to BOLD, STRUCTURAL CHANGE to fully UNRIG OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM & CREATE NEW MODELS which serve the needs of our whole society.
POOR
FAIR
GOOD
EXCELLENT
Delay
Addict
Wants to empower a commission to study Court reform indefinitely. Frames structural reform as premature, divisive, or unnecessary. Emphasizes process over action. May defer to leadership, if they are delay addicts, too.
Falling
Short
Acknowledges problems with the Court and expresses openness to reform discussions. May support ethics rules, term limits, or further study, but avoids committing to expansion or other structural remedies.
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Reform
Supporter
Recognizes the Court as imbalanced and supports reform, including possible expansion. May advocate for term limits and ethics reform as part of a broader package, but does not center expansion as a necessary commitment.
Clear Expansion Advocate
Pursuing a solid plan to get to 12 Justices. Building public support for the critical need to rebalance the Court.
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Senior-in-Waiting
Just playing the game and waiting their turn for committee assignments (which may take decades). Will claim they deserve to be re-elected because they're finally going to have seniority. Or just because.
Careerist
​
May support modest improvements, but largely focused on their own advancement – which they are not willing to risk.
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Critic
​
Willing to criticize centralized power structure, but not to attack it head-on.
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Reformer
​
Seeks to change caucus rules to decentralize power and return agency to representatives. Building a caucus movement for that purpose.
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Status Quo Believer
Does not view congressional stock trading, revolving-door employment, influence-peddling, or ethical breaches as urgent problems; maybe not as problems at all. Opposes or minimizes the need for structural reform.
Incrementalist​
Acknowledges ethical concerns and may support reforms, such as stronger disclosure requirements or modest guardrails. Expresses discomfort with stock trading or revolving-door practices but stops short of endorsing outright bans or structural restrictions.
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Reform-Willing
Supports banning individual stock trading by members of Congress and strengthening ethics rules. Favors meaningful limits on the revolving door. Treats corruption as a serious institutional problem but as a central agenda item.
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Anti-Corruption Evangelist
Supports banning congressional stock trading, strict revolving-door restrictions, strengthening enforcement and transparency mechanisms, and pursuing structural reforms to reduce the influence of money and self-dealing in Congress. Shapes public opinion to drive reform.
Advocates for expanding the Supreme Court
Supports House chamber rules reform
Working to end congressional corruption and ethical breaches
