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Bridge Michigan
Michigan’s nonpartisan, nonprofit news source

‘No Labels’ movement, an antidote to congressional gridlock

This election season has been the most contentious and partisan in memory, and the past eight years have essentially produced very little progress in Congress toward solving the major problems facing this country.
Calls for cooperation across party lines have fallen on deaf Washington ears, and voter frustration is evident in today’s news. Is there any hope? Yes, there is!

In 2010, a group of individuals -- Democrats, Republicans and Independents -- formed No Labels, an organization dedicated to making our government work again after years of gridlock. Now chaired by former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, No Labels has more than one million supporters and 83 “Problem Solver” members of Congress from both sides of the aisle who have signed a resolution to come together after the November election to address the pressing issues of our country by seeking common ground without partisan labels.

Michigan is already well‐represented among the Problem Solvers by U.S. Reps Dan Benishek and David Trott, Republicans, and Debbie Dingell and Brenda Lawrence, Democrats. The entire congressional group is equally divided between the parties.

Over the past two years, No Labels has painstakingly developed a Policy Playbook for presentation to the newly‐elected president that defines four strategic goals for a National Strategic Agenda:

  • create 25 million jobs over the next 10 years
  • secure Social Security and Medicare for the next 75 years
  • balance the federal budget by 2030, and
  • make America energy secure by 2024.

The Playbook also spells out 60 concrete ideas designed to progress toward these four goals, all of which have been vetted in polls for support across the political spectrum. Most importantly, the Playbook comes with a caucus of 83 who are pledged to begin work on pursuing the strategic goals without partisan labels.

This year’s brutal election process has demonstrated clearly that continuation of divisive partisan politics will be catastrophic for our country, and the No Labels’ Problem Solver caucus and the Policy Playbook represent a wonderful opportunity to move Congress toward solving the critical issues we face.

On December 5 in Washington, No Labels is hosting an event called 1787: Constructing the Peace After the War, to enable leaders to seize the post‐election moment and jumpstart a long overdue national conversation focused on bipartisan problem solving.

The first‐of‐its‐kind meeting will bring together House and Senate leadership, members of Congress and thought leaders from across the country to discuss key issues and help set a new tone for the country as a new president prepares to take office.

To get involved in the No Labels movement, Michigan’s citizens can go to nolabels.org to read more about the Policy Playbook; learn the history and accomplishments of No Labels to date; volunteer to become a leader in your congressional district to help recruit your own representative to be a Problem Solver; join an existing No Labels group in your area, or provide financial support to the organization.

The candidates have stressed over and over that this is a crucial election that will likely determine the direction of our country for many years. No Labels is committed to beginning the next four years of this presidential term with a Congress that is already moving toward problem solving and positive legislative outcomes.

Please, join the No Labels movement and let’s get moving forward again.

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