Drinking Liberally and Endorsements

Drinking Liberally is a welcoming social space where liberals can meet, form social bonds, talk politics, argue, trade news and build progressive community.

It is not, however, an endorsing organization. We do not urge the election or defeat of any candidate for public office or support or oppose any initiative, ballot measure, or referendum.

First off, we want everyone to feel welcome to join our gatherings, even if they do not agree with each other's views of a particular candidate or ballot initiative. Creating that space for dialogue (and even disagreement) is important for strengthening our democratic bonds. Inclusion is more important to DL's goals than endorsement.

Secondly, endorsements require things like votes, quorums, official membership rolls... all of which are antithetical to the informal environment that allows DL to thrive. Believe us, there are plenty of other places to visit if you're hungry for Robert's Rules of Order.

Therefore, it is important that your DL chapter does not endorse any candidates or political initiatives; and that you avoid urging members to donate or volunteer for a campaign or to vote for or against a candidate.

It's terrific when candidates, advocates and representatives of issue campaigns come to your DL chapter events to recruit for their causes. DL should be a place where those connections are formed. And it's fine for you to inform people about other opportunities for political action in person or on the email list... just "inform" rather than "urge." It is also, of course, appropriate to remind people of elections and encourage them to vote, in general.

But as a DL chapter leader, your voice — and your emails — carry a certain authority. In your role as facilitator and host, keep DL open for a range of perspectives. As an individual, you can voice any opinion you want, of course. But as a DL Leader — especially over the official email list — keep DL out of the endorsement business. It makes it more fun for everyone.

We like that individual chapters and chapter leaders have a lot of independence. DL doesn't want to speak for you... we're happy that you're out there speaking for yourself... and in return, you speak for yourself and not for DL. This way, we get everyone talking... and drinking... liberally.