No Labels

No Labels
No Labels
Motto Not Left. Not Right. Forward.
Formation December 13, 2010
Type Political
Legal status 501(c)(4)
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
Region served United States
Founder Nancy Jacobson
Website nolabels.org

No Labels is a political organization of Republicans, Democrats, and independents in the United States whose stated mission is to address the politics of problem solving. The group is registered as a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization[1][2].

Contents

Inception

"Although No Labels bills itself as a citizens' movement, its leaders are veterans of campaign politics."[3] No Labels was founded by veteran Democratic fundraiser[4] Nancy Jacobson, Republican political adviser Mark McKinnon, and former U.S. Comptroller David Walker. The inaugural meeting of No Labels was held at a home in Houston, Texas[2].

Core beliefs

Upon founding, No Labels wrote an introductory statement describing what they see as the problems in government and what No Labels intends to do.[5] It reads as follows:

We live in the time of the movement -- where views and opinions of our citizens can be aggregated and collected and heard as one voice through social media and online organizing technology.

There is a new movement afoot -- one that represents the majority of Americans left out of the current political debate--it's called No Labels. Organized around a single and simple idea, this movement encourages leaders to "put the labels aside" in an effort to seek common sense solutions to our nation's problems.

No Labels is not a centrist, conservative, or liberal movement. In fact, No Labels is not about ideology; it is about an attitude and new approach. We do not ask any political leader to ever give up their label - merely put it aside -- in order to work together and find practical solutions to our nation's problems.

If an idea has merit and is fact-based -- No labels pays no heed to whether it is a Republican or Democratic idea, the only concern is that it offers a practical solution for our nation’s many ills.

No Labels intends to unite Republicans, Democrats and Independents with a simple, single idea -- our leaders need to work together to do what government was intended to do: solve problems. No Labels is not a political party nor aspires to be one, our focus is on building a broad citizen movement, not running any one individual for office.

Too often in today’s world -- political gamesmanship gets in the way of solving problems and leads to gridlock. No Labels seeks to change the dynamics of our political culture and provide support for those politicians who will put their labels aside and work across the aisle to solve problems.

Ideological extremism and political litmus tests are toxic and destructive to creating a space where the best ideas can be found and enacted.

We need to change the culture in Washington so that government can work effectively to solve problems. The people's voice needs to be heard loud and clear if our leaders' behavior is to change. No Labels is about changing behavior and making it acceptable again to work across party lines and focus on practical solutions.

Only until our leaders put the labels aside can we have confidence in them to make the right decisions for our nation.

No Labels is a simple and clear unifying idea whose time has come. It is not a political party and does not have an issues platform. We represent a new voice for our citizens. As the movement expands there may be issues that the movement embraces and advocates but we will not prescribe what they will be in our formation and launch.

Mission

No Labels describes itself as an alliance of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. The group claims to have started a grass roots centrist movement made up citizens from across the political spectrum and plans to address attacks on liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats stemming from within their own parties[6]. Additionally, No Labels promises to reward people for bipartisan behavior[7][8].

The organization argues that in American politics today the far left and far right dominate the news cycle, debates, and town hall meetings. The general public only sees who's yelling the loudest, not who's accomplishing something. Their goal is to tackle this problem by mobilizing citizens to pressure the political parties to work together to address major issues[9][10].

No Labels maintains that it is not an attempt to start a third party[9][11].

Financing

As of November 24, 2010, No Labels had raised over $1 million[12]. As a 501(c)4 organization, No Labels is not required to publicly release the names of its contributors. However, the Wall Street Journal has reported that three of the group's donors are Andrew Tisch, Dave Morin, and Ron Shaich (founder and CEO of Panera Bread).

Road Shows

Road Show at a home in Potomac, MD. Democrat Kiki McLean speaking. Republican Dave Frum standing on right.

No Labels has hosted a series of "Road Shows" in which senior leaders travel to specific cities to have discussions about the No Labels movement with local citizens[13].

On November 16, 2010 a Road Show was held in Portsmouth, NH at the home of former mayor Steve Marchand. Over 100 people attended the event. Speakers at the gathering included Ron Shaich; John Avlon; Bill Galston; and Chris Shays, a former US Congressman[14][15].


Launch conference

The National Founders' Meeting was held on December 13, 2010 at Columbia University in New York City[2][16]. Over 1,000 people representing all 50 states gathered at the conference[17][18].

The event featured a lineup of speakers and panelists consisting of elected officials, journalists, and business leaders.[6][19][20]

Testimonials

Founding Leaders
Mark McKinnon (l) speaks as (l-r) John Avlon, Nancy Jacobson, and Bill Galston look on.

Michael Smerconish (talk radio and television host) moderated a series of short testimonials on the need for No Labels from the following attendees:

A second set of speakers gave their short testimonials in a later session. They were introduced by Amy Ricalde serving as the Voice of God.

Hyper-Partisanship in America panel

Panel
Mika Brzezinski (c) moderates a panel consisting of (l-r) David Gergen, Joe Manchin, Joe Scarborough, and Evan Bayh

Mika Brzezinski (Co-Host of Morning Joe) moderated a panel entitled Hyper-Partisanship in America featuring:

Electoral Reform in America panel

Dylan Ratigan (Host of The Dylan Ratigan Show) moderated a panel entitled Electoral Reform in America featuring:

Additionally, Joe Lieberman (U.S. Senator from Connecticut) and Debbie Stabenow (U.S. Senator from Michigan) were originally slated to speak at the event but had to drop out due to last-minute conflicts.

State of the Unity

Leading up to President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address, No Labels launched its State of the Unity initiative. Nearly 500 bipartisan watch parties were held in the homes of citizen leaders across the country.[21]

During the actual speech, on January 25, 2011, No Labels deployed a unity meter on its website which kept track of the number of times both parties in Congress gave the President a standing ovation.[22] This tabulation was compared to instances of bipartisan applause for Presidents during every State of the Union since 1978.

The day after the State of the Union, No Labels hosted a national conversation with 11 U.S. Senators who were interviewed in succession live on Capitol Hill. The following members participated in the event: Senators Ben Nelson, John McCain, Ron Wyden, Joe Lieberman, Mary Landrieu, Amy Klobuchar, Joe Manchin, Mark Warner, Maria Cantwell, Kay Hagan, and Debbie Stabenow.[23]


State Leadership Meeting

Press Conference
Lisa Borders addresses the crowd as (l-r) Jim Cooper, Sherwood Boehlert, Jonathan Miller, and John Castellaw look on.

On March 1, 2011, No Labels hosted a state leadership meeting in Washington, DC to discuss the future goals of the organization. Over 200 state leaders, representing tens of thousands of No Labels members from across the country, were in attendance. Speakers included former elected officials, congressional staffers, and business leaders.[24]

During the day, No Labels held a press conference on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol where they released a new rallying message: Everyone at the Table, Everything on the Table. Founding leader Lisa Borders announced that No Labels, along with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of Morning Joe, would like to host a civil discussion between the leaders of MoveOn and the Tea Party. Borders issued an open invitation to both organizations to join No Labels on Morning Joe anytime before March 18, 2011.[25]

Other speakers during the press conference included U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper, former U.S. Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, the Honorable Jonathan Miller, and Lt. General John Castellaw.


Anthem

Akon, the internationally known R&B artist, recorded a song for No Labels which is now used as the organization's anthem. The lyrics are as follows:[26]

We may not understand this whole process and how things go
I’m just an ordinary man tryin' to live free and God knows
See a man with a blue tie (blue tie)
See a man with a red tie (red tie)
So how 'bout we tie ourselves together and get it done (get it done)
Do what’s right for America (America)
All we ask from you is some honesty
And motivation. Give us somethin' to believe
I’m only one man with a voice to somethin' we got in common
Need a model, well then look at me


He’s a Democrat
He’s Republican
There’s a fight then a race, who’s gonna win
Put your differences aside man if you can
'Cause there’s way too many people sufferin'
I wish they didn’t have No Labels
There’d be more change with No Labels

My kids will grow up soon
Your kids will grow up too
Wouldn’t you like to see them raised up next to good hospitals and good schools
Don’t want 'em in a juvenile facilities
Or growing up with mental disabilities
When all this time you coulda made a difference
But you decided to roll with the party are you kidding me
'Cause all we ask from you is some honesty
And motivation. Give us somethin' to believe
I’m only one man with a voice to something we got in common
Need a model well than look at me


He’s a Democrat
He’s Republican
There’s a fight then a race, who’s gonna win
Put your differences aside man if you can
'Cause there’s way too many people sufferin'
I wish they didn’t have No Labels
There’d be more change with No Labels






Signage controversy

At the National Founders' Meeting on December 13, 2010, signage was displayed on stage featuring red and blue animal artwork. The same artwork was featured on the No Labels homepage and t-shirts offered for sale. All of the signage had been produced by the New York advertisement agency Fly Communications.

Later that day, it was noted that the artwork was nearly an identical copy of a design created by Thomas Porostocky in 2005 for the website MorePartyAnimals.com, an organization which intends to spread a similar message to that of No Labels. The design was also featured in the book The Design of Dissent by Milton Glaser.[27][28]

On December 14, Dave Warren (Creative Director of Fly Communications) stated that the similarities in designs stemmed from the fact that he and Porostocky has both utilized free clip-art animal shapes. A few hours later Warren revealed his agency had copied Porostocky's design entirely, apologized to Porostocky, and accepted responsibility for unauthorized use of his design. In an email to Porostocky, Warren wrote:[29]

"Late last night, after I got home and finally saw the nearly identical figures and arrangements between your designs and ours, I realized we could not have gotten our designs from clip art. I confirmed that fact later on last night with my staff. So I totally understand your anger — especially considering the quality of your work. There’s no excuse for this. I take full responsibility for it. And I’m sorry."

Demonstration for Debt Ceiling Solution

No Labels supporters gather before the Capitol building

During the summer of 2011, Republicans and Democrats could not agree to raise the debt ceiling and prevent a sovereign default. On July 18, No Labels organized a demonstration in front of the Capitol building in support of a bipartisan solution to the debt crisis of 2011. Over 150 No Labels supporters from across the US turned out, along with several No Labels co-founders.[30] The purpose of the demonstration was to encourage members of Congress to look beyond partisan lines in order to come up with a solution to the problem that would prevent default and put America on a track to solve the long-term debt issues.

Report on Town Hall Meetings

On August 22, 2011, No Labels issued a report which detailed the members of Congress that would be holding a town hall during the August recess.[31] The initial report concluded that only 44% of all Congresspeople would be holding such meetings during the recess. The report was picked up by a variety of news sources and was featured on the front pages of Yahoo and the Drudge Report, as well as through the national press syndicate UPI. Subsequent to the report's release, No Labels called on Congress to skip their recess and remain in Washington to complete the yearly federal budget. [32] They also called on the Super Committee to begin their work immediately. [33] Several members of Congress criticized the report as inaccurate. No Labels stood by their reporting, but adjusted the results to include meetings that had been scheduled after their research had been completed. [34]

Telephone Town Hall with Howard Schultz

On Tuesday, September 6th, 2011, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz held a national town hall meeting over the phone and internet with the support of No Labels. Schultz appeared with No Labels co-founders John Avlon, Robert S. Kaplan, and Lisa Borders, along with the President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Maya MacGuineas.[35]The call lasted for 90 minutes and featured questions and comments from citizens around the country regarding the country's fiscal, social, and political issues. Schultz used the call as part of his Upward Spiral campaign, which attempts to have CEOs and Business leader pledge to withhold political contributions until the Washington gridlock has ceased and hire more workers.
 More than 100,000 people joined in the Town Hall, during which Schultz asked Americans to demand their lawmakers end the partisan gridlock that he said was paralyzing Washington.[35]

References

  1. ^ a b Oliphant, James (September 26, 2010). "Tired of 'tea party' sniping, moderates organize". Los Angeles Times. Washington, DC. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/26/nation/la-na-moderates-20100926. 
  2. ^ a b c d Hodge, Shelby (June 2, 2010). "Houston ground zero for a radical political movement reaching both Democrats and Republicans". Culture Map Houston. http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/06-02-10-houston-ground-zero-for-a-radical-political-movement-reaching-both-democrats-and-republicans/. 
  3. ^ Rucker, Philip (2010-12-13) No Labels movement launches in N.Y., pledges to fight partisanship, Washington Post
  4. ^ a b "Democratic Georgetowner Supports Republican-turned-Independent Crist". The Georgetown Dish. June 30, 2010. http://www.thegeorgetowndish.com/the-latest/democratic-georgetowner-supports-republican-turned-independent-crist. 
  5. ^ a b "Talking Points". No Labels. http://nolabels.org/about-us/talking-points/. Retrieved November 22, 2010. 
  6. ^ a b c Langley, Monica (November 24, 2010). "Aiming for the Political Middle". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704369304575632903048810256.html. 
  7. ^ a b Usborne, David (November 25, 2010). "Bloomberg's 'No Label' movement takes on the Tea Party". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bloombergs-no-label-movement-takes-on-the-tea-party-2143119.html. 
  8. ^ a b Matthews, Chris (September 27, 2010). "No Labels on MSNBC Hardball with Chris Matthews". MSNBC. http://www.criticalmention.com/report/11698x170115.htm. 
  9. ^ a b c "No Labels on KVUE (ABC) in Austin, TX". KVUE (ABC). Austin, TX. November 25, 2010. http://www.criticalmention.com/report/11698x183487.htm. 
  10. ^ a b "No Labels". Brian Todd. The Situation Room. CNN, Washington, DC. November 24, 2010.
  11. ^ a b "No Labels on KJTV (FOX) Lubbock, TX". KJTV (FOX). Lubbock, TX. November 26, 2010. http://www.criticalmention.com/report/11698x183507.htm. 
  12. ^ a b Parker, Kathleen (November 28, 2010). "Can a centrist movement succeed?". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/26/AR2010112603573.html. 
  13. ^ a b "No Labels". http://www.facebook.com/nolabels. Retrieved November 20, 2010. 
  14. ^ a b Choate, Dave (November 17, 2010). "Former city mayor hosts 'No Labels' event". Seacoastonline. Portsmouth, NH. http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101117/NEWS/11170364/-1/NEWSMAP. 
  15. ^ a b DiStaso, John (November 16, 2010). "The Vital Center". Union Leader. http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=John+DiStaso%27s+Granite+Status%3A+AJS+back+on+the+attack%3B+state+GOP+elections+set&articleId=28a8c6ee-acef-4e62-a65c-473835191f91. 
  16. ^ a b Allen, Mike (November 24, 2010). "Mark McKinnon helps form 'No Labels'". Politico. http://www.politico.com/playbook/1110/playbook1246.html. 
  17. ^ a b McKenzie, William (November 1, 2010). "Point Person: Mark McKinnon of Public Strategies in Austin". The Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-mckinnon_31edi.ART.State.Edition1.3377b77.html. 
  18. ^ a b Hall, Mimi; Wolf, Richard (November 19, 2010). "Search for civility grows in Washington after midterms". USA Today. Washington, DC. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2010-11-19-1Acivility19_CV_N.htm. 
  19. ^ a b Goldberg, Elyssa (November 24, 2010). "Famous politicians are coming to Columbia for ‘No Labels’". Columbia Spectator. http://spectrum.columbiaspectator.com/spectrum/famous-people-are-coming-to-columbia-for-no-labels. 
  20. ^ a b No Labels (December 13, 2010). "National Founders' Meeting". New York, NY: No Labels. 
  21. ^ a b Frost, Riordan (January 26, 2011). "State of the Unity: No Labels at this Watch Party". Minnesota 2020. http://mn2020hindsight.org/view/state-of-the-unity-no-labels-at-this-watch-party. 
  22. ^ a b "State of the Unity Meter". No Labels. http://nolabels.org/sotu/. Retrieved January 31, 2011. 
  23. ^ a b "No Labels Interviews 11 U.S. Senators for our "State of the Unity" National Conversation". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj_GgPgzdS8. Retrieved January 31, 2011. 
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  26. ^ a b "Akon's No Labels Anthem". No Labels. http://nolabels.org/thinking-no-labels/akon-song/. Retrieved January 25, 2011. 
  27. ^ a b Newman, Andy (December 13, 2010). "In ‘a New Way of Looking,’ Something Familiar". The New York Times. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/a-label-perhaps-poorly-chosen/. 
  28. ^ a b Del Signore, John (December 13, 2010). "Did No Labels Rip Off Design From More Party Animals?". Gothamist. http://gothamist.com/2010/12/13/did_no_labels_steal_design_from_mor.php. 
  29. ^ a b Newman, Andy (December 14, 2010). "Oh, That’s Why It Seemed Familiar". The New York Times. http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/oh-thats-why-it-seemed-familiar/. 
  30. ^ a b "No Labels' Group Wants A Debt Deal, Any Deal". Huffington Post. July 18, 2011. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/18/no-labels-group-debt-deal_n_902125.html. Retrieved October 25, 2011. 
  31. ^ a b "Congress Not Holding Town Halls". No Labels. August 22, 2011. http://nolabels.org/blog/60-congress-not-holding-town-halls). Retrieved October 25, 2011. 
  32. ^ a b "Washington, Are You Listening?". No Labels. September 7, 2011. http://nolabels.org/press-releases/no-labels-press-release-washington-are-you-listening. Retrieved October 25, 2011. 
  33. ^ a b "Super Committee Members Must Begin Work Immediately". No Labels. August 14, 2011. http://nolabels.org/press-releases/super-committee-members-must-begin-work-immediately. Retrieved October 25, 2011. 
  34. ^ a b "Most of House passes on town halls". Politico. August 22, 2011. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/61875.html. Retrieved October 25, 2011. 
  35. ^ a b c "Starbucks CEO campaigns to end Washington gridlock". Reuters. September 6, 2011. http://us.mobile.reuters.com/article/Deals/idUSTRE7860I520110907?irpc=932. Retrieved October 25, 2011. 
  36. ^ "Founding Leaders". No Labels. http://nolabels.org/about-us/founding-leaders/. Retrieved November 22, 2010. 
  37. ^ "WSJ labels Georgetowner's "No Labels" a real brand". The Georgetown Dish. November 23, 2010. http://thegeorgetowndish.com/thelatest/wsj-labels-georgetowners-no-labels-real-brand. 
  38. ^ Marsh, Steve (August 2007). "Q&A with Nate Garvis". Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine. http://www.mspmag.com/features/features/73298.asp. 
  39. ^ Elliott, Justin (December 13, 2010). "New centrist group keeps mum on funding sources". Salon. http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/12/13/no_labels_financing/index.html. 
  40. ^ "Andrew Tisch: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg Businessweek. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=228893&ticker=L:US. Retrieved December 20, 2010. 
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