In the last year or so, moderates and centrists may have felt our cause to be a little bit futile. In many ways the last year or so has been a sort of confirmation that the inmates are indeed running the asylum. The debt ceiling debacle was a sort of Ipecac icing on a cow patty cake. Many of us, who have not tuned out completely, see wingnuts smile at the camera, spin a yarn about some alternate reality and threaten to blow up the political system if we don’t do things exactly their way. One of the problems is that many moderates and independents are so busy getting through life they don’t have time to change the clearly dysfunctional politicians who seem to be running our nation. Those politicians moderates support are dismissed as wishy washy fence sitters who can’t pass a party purity test. Therefore those in charge of our two party system tell us they deserve no organized party support.
Times, they might be a changing.
For some reason or other I continue to watch the Sunday morning news shows hoping I will see a ray of light in the darkness that is our political system. Today I was surprised to find a ray of sunlight in the form of Mark McKinnon. Well, to be sure, McKinnon is a great guy but, his ideas were the ray of light. Being a former “Bushy” I was surprised McKinnon might suggest we could move forward with a few ideas from the left. He mentioned a website I would recommend for all moderates and centrists, http://nolabels.org .
Let me preface my remarks about the No Labels organization by saying the staff and management of TMV may or may not agree with my endorsement of this group. I think of myself as a pretty well informed political person. So, when I found the website I was both angry and relieved. Apparently, there is finally an organized home for moderates, independents and centrists. For that matter, there is a home for even the most rabid wingnut, if of course; the wingnut might accept only part of what he wants. From their website statement of purpose:
I believe this is the mindset which presumably attracted you to TMV in the beginning. No matter your political leaning, you had a cooperation streak in you. I believe you felt everyone, even the wildest wingnut, had a good idea from time to time. Many of you said if like your ideology and principle, fine, get SOME of it passed in the next bill before Congress. No Labels agrees and asks that politicians allow a little of the other guy’s ideology and principle to pass also. They ask people who think they have all the answers to acknowledge the other guy thinks he or she does too.
I think you will find the No Labels stand is only more of what you learned on the playground while you were in kindergarten.
You remember, don’t you? You had friends who didn’t agree with you all the time. You may have liked the merry-go-round while your friends like the swings. Instead of sitting on a bench with your arms crossed, you did a little of both. This is not a new foreign concept. Some might even say the No Labels ideals are what this country is built on. No Labels asks the politicians they support to merely compromise a little. They ask that we see the patriotism and humanity of all Americans no matter their party. They demand all politicians get a portion of what they want and the country moves forward.
So instead of paying ransom to politicians, with the right organization and execution, we may have a choice in 2012. No Labels may have come just in the nick of time. This election may be different than any other to the extent rivers of money will flow. Now that first amendment rights have been extended to any entity with a wallet, voices from the middle will become that much harder to hear. No Labels may not be the answer but, it sounds like a good start.
I think the readers of especially this website owe it to themselves to go to the No Labels website. Maybe you will find yourself excited about this country again. Maybe you will find a new focus for your political energy. Perhaps you will feel inclined to speak to a few friends about this new phenomenon. You might ask them to talk to their friends. Who knows, you may even find No Labels a good investment.