My must read of the day "No Labels’ humiliating secret: Rich people who don’t understand politics," in Salon:
Here, according to the Associated Press, are No Labels’ big policy goals that apparently required a day’s worth of conferencing to nail down:
—Create 25 million new jobs over a decade. —Secure Social Security and Medicare for another 75 years. —Make the United States "energy secure" by 2024. —Balance the federal budget by 2030. […]
No Labels settled on these goals "based on 90 town hall-style meetings in early nominating states." One town hall, or simply a light scanning of common sense, would’ve done the trick — they’re all goals that people across the spectrum don’t object to. The reason they don’t happen isn’t (just) because politicians enjoy "bickering." It’s that people have different theories of how to approach them, based on their own priorities and theories of politics.
If No Labels wants politicians to "get things done," it would be better off looking at reforming the structures of governance — making the legislature more or a parliamentary body so that leaders are able to enact the reforms on which they were elected, for example. But it’s easier to just claim that all of Washington’s problems are because politicians are weird.
The title of this article is ridiculous. The criticism of big donors in this article is nonsensical (every political faction and every politician or candidate has them as well … like them or not they’re a part of the game and they are on every side)—in fact there are more than a few generalizations made throughout this piece that I would gripe with, but the initial point about the group is spot on—No Labels, in its current form, is a "faddish political sensation" that ultimately is little more than an "exercise in vanity."
The relevant point here is what "No Labels" purports to stand for: it’s a whole lot of nothing.
I’ll admit, when I first heard of the group a couple of years ago I was intrigued. I lean right, on most issues, but I’ve never been a member of a political party and on the whole I think politicians are horrible and most of them lie. The idea of rejecting the norm, in favor of a something policy-centric sounded appealing, but that’s not what’s happening here.
What No Labels is advocating for is vague politician speak. They’re general ideas everyone supports. It’s the political equivalent of "we want happiness." Great, everyone does, but those kinds of promises rarely lead to meaningful action, and good luck building a winning coalition behind it. For a group that claims to be different, and above, the other guys—they seem worse, because this is useless. There’s nothing brave or innovative about their platform.
But the good news is their t-shirt looks awesome.