On the surface it sounds pretty good. No Labels is an organization dedicated to promoting bipartisan pragmatic solutions to our problems.
Part of the No Labels strategy is to unite the country with four big goals:
- create 25 million new jobs over the next 10 years
- balance the federal budget by 2030
- secure Social Security and Medicare for another 75 years
- and make America energy secure by 2024
These are nice goals - to a point. But ...
- the quality of jobs created is just as important as the number of jobs.
- balancing the federal budget by 2030 is relatively meaningless if our infrastructure is crumbling, and people are floundering, and we should be considering the long term financial implications of everything we do.
- Securing Social Security and Medicare is important, but the goal should be to secure a functional safety net for everyone.
- Energy security is important, but it has to be in the context of taking care of our environment and reversing climate change.
It's almost as if No Labels is a right wing republican organization with an economic focus. And maybe agreeing to not talk about social issues is the bipartisan part!
In any case there are a couple reasons to participate.
1. They shouldn't get away with calling themselves bipartisan and suckering in people who don't know any better.
2. Maybe some of the No Labels folks really want to be bipartisan, and giving them another perspective will make a difference.
The No Labels Problem Solving Convention is online Here:
But please check in below if you're thinking about participating ...
The upcoming event will be led by Jon Huntsman and Joe Lieberman. Jon Huntsman comes across as a moderate, but his positions have historically been designed to benefit the wealthy while pandering to millionaire wanna-bees.
No Labels published a poll taken after the republican debate:
On one hand it's hard to see this as bipartisan, but there's some hope in the big green "None of the above" bar at the bottom.
No Labels is probably a dead end for a Progressive, as the implication is that participation starts with accepting the 4 No Label goals above. But maybe there will be some room for discussion. Or maybe it's important to speak up - even if is a dead end.