No Labels - A Hopeful Post 2010 Election Movement

Although I have not posted since the November 2nd election of 2010, my energy has been somewhat renewed by the invitation to join with a group of tri-partisans who are thoughtfully leading the No Labels movement against hyperpartisanship.

Indeed, I am discouraged by the short term memory loss of our American electorate who voted Democrats into power only two years ago, only to move many of them aside like yesterday's dinner leftovers in the November 2nd election.

In the No Labels movement (recently kicked off with a conference on December 13th in New York City) the Democrats, Republicans and Independent voters are side bars to political progress. A refreshing idea is taking hold with No Labels followers, like me, to educate voters about how politics really works.

Indeed, while we vote as political partisans, governing is an entirely different process from pre-election rhetoric.

Polls tell us the American people want politicians to govern from the political center, to compromise and work together. After all, isn't compromise how we function in our daily lives? How many of us get our way at work with our bos, in our families or even with the prices we pay at the grocery stores? We work within our means to find the best solutions to daily problems, including the cost of shopping.

Politicians need to work the same way - through reasonable discussion and by reaching compromise. Our US Constitution was written the same way - the document's authors made compromises without sacrificing their core principles of forming a "more perfect union".

To that end, No Labels needs more than poll numbers to educate people how politics works "in the middle". We're looking for people to sign on to the movement so the principles in the Declaration posted on the No Labels website:

http://nolabels.org/

We are not labels – we are people.

We care deeply about our country.

We are frustrated and concerned about the tone of politics.

We are passionate about addressing America’s challenges.

We are Democrats, Republicans and Independents.

Most importantly, we are Americans.

We believe hyper-partisanship is destroying our politics and paralyzing our ability to govern.

We may disagree on issues, but we do so with civility and mutual respect.

We believe in the vital civil center — a place where ideas are judged on their merits.

We believe that together we can make the future better and brighter — and give us what we all deserve — a government and a political system that works — one driven by shared purpose and common sense.

We believe our politics can change, so that government will work again and produce better results.

The consequences of inaction have never been greater, because the issues we face have never been more serious, more complicated, or more dangerous.

And yet, we have a crisis of governance – A crisis that compels us to work together to move America forward.

We must put our labels aside, and put the issues and what’s best for the nation first.

A promising future awaits us.

I'll write more about No Labels as the next US Congress convenes. Hopefully, the movement will be at least one way around the exhausting hyper-partisanship already re-surfacing in the US Congress after a reasonably bi-partisan lame duck session. Meanwhile, please sign on to No Labels - it's free!