No Labels Trying to Give Americans Another Choice For President in 2024
By Dan Murphy
As one of the 49% of Americans who identify as a political independent (not registered to either major party), I was interested in, and decided to join a group call No Labels.
No Labels is a national movement of commonsense Americans pushing our leaders together to solve our country’s biggest problems. “Political leaders need to listen more to the majority of Americans and less to extremists on the far left and right.”
After working since 2009 to bring members of Congress from both parties together, No Labels is now “working to shape the debate around the 2024 presidential election. We are developing a Commonsense Policy Agenda that we know most Americans will rally around. And we have launched our 2024 presidential insurance project, where we’re gaining ballot access in states across America to lay the groundwork for a potential independent unity presidential ticket. Most Americans today do not want a rematch of the 2020 presidential election. If they continue to feel that way in 2024, and there is a viable path to victory for a unity ticket, No Labels’ ballot line will give America’s commonsense majority the option to propel that ticket to the White House.
The initial concept of a No Labels Presidential “fusion-ticket” of one democrat and one republican for President and Vice-President in 2024 is appealing to independent voters like me, who have not voted for Trump, or Hillary, or Biden in the last two Presidential cycles, and who certainly will not vote for any of them again next year.
Recent polls also find a majority of democrats in support of having another Presidential candidate in 2024 other than President Biden.
While No Labels is not even close to reaching their goal (they will have to get on the ballot in all 50 states, a tough task in places like my home state of New York), they have already been met with stiff opposition, coming from democrats and ‘never Trumpers’, who falsely claim that a third party, No Labels candidate will take away votes from the democratic presidential candidate in 24’ and hand the Presidency back to Donald Trump.
The Washington Post reported that 40 senior democrats met with “never Trump” republicans met in DC to find ways to put roadblocks into No Labels efforts. “The broad show of force at the off-the-record gathering…was just the latest sign of a growing concern in some political circles about the No Labels effort to get ballot access to challenge the major-party candidates next year.
“I see a group, under a catchy slogan that is misleading at best, saying that they have the country’s best interest at heart when the exercise will do nothing but elect Donald Trump. I am encouraged that a lot of people share the concern that this effort is dangerous,” said Democratic National Committee senior adviser Cedric L. Richmond ( https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/14/biden-no-labels-opposition/).
No Labels is aggressively pushing back on this false narrative. Benjamin Chavis Jr., No Labels National Co-Chair and a former executive director of the NAACP said, “No Labels will not spoil this election for Trump. What we will do is continue working resolutely to give millions of Americans a choice they so clearly want.”
Ryan Clancy, Chief Strategist for No Labels, emailed members about the attacks, writing,
“Now the attack has begun, and you should know what it looks like. It reveals the depths that some in Washington will go to protect their power, and the hollowness of their claims that they are “protecting democracy.”
“No Labels staffers and vendors got calls this week from senior Democrats implying or saying directly they will never find work in Washington again if they don’t abandon this effort.
“We learned anonymous donors have pledged millions to a campaign that will fund legal challenges and investigations into No Labels.
“Several non-profits – which are legally prohibited from advocating for specific political candidates – are now explicitly working to support a specific candidate: President Biden.
“In several instances, unethical journalists or our detractors simply made things up. They linked us to donors who have never supported us. They claimed we have already chosen candidates for a No Labels ticket (we haven’t) or that we are working to harm President Biden or help former President Trump (we never have and never will work to help or hurt either).
“Let’s be really clear about what is happening here.
“No Labels may never nominate a presidential ticket. If we do, it will only be because Americans have an overwhelming desire for it when we have our convention in April 2024.
“We don’t support or stand against any candidate.
“The one thing we are doing is getting ballot access in states across the country to create the possibility Americans may have another choice for president if they don’t like what our two major parties offer up.
“And this is intolerable to the powers that be in Washington. This they say is “dangerous” to democracy. But what they really mean is they think it’s dangerous for Americans to think for themselves. They think it’s dangerous that we might break free from the brain-dead tribalism that grips our politics and demands we hate and fear our neighbors.
“In the process of trying to destroy us, No Labels’ detractors are showing the country exactly why we’re needed. Talk to almost any person you know and ask them if they think America would be better off if we had more voices, choices and ideas in our politics. Most everyone would say yes. The absence of real competition is why our political system is stuck in such a rut.
“Thus far, much of the opposition to No Labels’ 2024 insurance project has come from the Democratic side, although we will no doubt get more opposition from Republican special interests as we get on the ballot in more red states.
“If the power brokers in the Democratic or Republican party don’t want No Labels to nominate a presidential ticket in 2024, they have an easy way to get us to stand down: Put forward candidates and ideas that America’s common-sense majority like and support.
In the meantime, we’ll continue working to get ballot access and put out ideas we know Americans can rally around (be on the lookout for our Common Sense policy agenda, coming out this summer). We’ll continue working to ensure America’s common-sense majority has a voice,” writes Clancy.
I am ready and willing to consider what No Labels has to offer, if they decide to nominate a candidate for President next year, and I believe millions of Americans share my view.
