It's not hard to understand the Democratic Party's ire over the non-partisan, No Labels organization's determination to field a so-called unity ticket in the 2024 presidential election if the alternative served up by the GOP and the Democrats is simply another contest between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Few Americans (relatively speaking) desire such a contest.
The spoiler argument holds water for the Nader-influenced 2000 election, where it's likely that Florida and New Hampshire would have gone to Gore, flipping the total from 271-267 Bush to 296-242 Gore. But that's the only one. Perot, despite amassing 19 million votes in 1992, only influenced Ohio (which went for Clinton, but might have gone to Bush I); nevertheless, Clinton still would have won easily - take away Ohio from him and it would have been 349-190, instead of the actual result of 370-168. Hillary-dead-enders notwithstanding, Jill Stein was not a factor in the 2016 outcome. People forget that Gary Johnson had more than three times the votes of Jill Stein in 2016, but no one seems interested in claiming that any of Johnson's 4.4 million votes came out of Trump's hide. The 2020 election would have ended in a 269-269 deadlock without Libertarian Jo Jorgensen arguably costing Trump the combined 37 electoral votes of Arizona (11), Georgia (16), and Wisconsin (10). You can look up the razor-thin vote margins for those states and see that Jorgensen's votes greatly exceeded Biden's margin in all three.
The electoral elephant in the room is the percentage of non-voters. Since 1980, the turnout in presidential elections expressed as a percentage of voting-eligible population has ranged from a low of 51.7% in 1996 to a high of 66% in 2020. When 70 or 80 million people would prefer to stay home than to vote for "the lesser of two evils," it's an indicator of how broken our democracy is.
As for third parties in general, the deck is terribly stacked against them in terms of ballot access laws (decided by - guess who? - the democratic and republican state legislators), fund-raising hurdles, media blackouts, no chance to get into the debates, and, perhaps most important, "the wasted vote syndrome." Ranked voting might help. Multiple-member legislative districts at all levels could create some momentum for a very-well organized third party (i.e., when there's no prize for second place - which is the case in single-member legislative districts - there's no room for three contestants). Barring either of those potential approaches, expect 3rd party politics to be little more than a political parlor game.
Of course, whosever ox is most likely to be gored will determine the level of mainstream support or opposition to any third party, including the No Labels party.
No presidential election is “simply” a contest between two candidates. Biden has achieved nearly as much as Roosevelt while avoiding the recession Wall St has been fearing (in part because it would make Biden’s taxation policies look good). Reductionist stupidity that claims Biden and Mr. Bluster will both be remembered for achievements is purely nonsense. Policy after policy from the former administration has been exposed as grift disguised as policy. Federal agencies were fiddled with to punish enemies and score political points (e.g. farm subsidies) and by the end of Biden’s term, Mr Bluster could be in jail. Media insistence on Biden being age-compromised and attempts to consider them somehow equal in are media masturbation aimed at creating the same old dualisms that make writing stories easy and conceal truths that require serious debate. No Labels cleverly disguises it’s vividly partisan posture with the pretense of objectivity in it’s name.
If No Labels is going to field candidates in a Presidential Race they should first field Senatorial and Congressional candidates and follow with a Presidential ticket in 2028. To do so now is putting an untried and unknown party on the plank where we know it will siphon off Democratic votes and some moderate Republican votes.
Let’s face it; if Biden had a different vice president now this all would not be such a big deal. We don’t know what Kamala Harris has been doing and what her achievements have been. So we feel Biden must make it 4 more years to save us from an untried VP.
Democrats need a way better messaging program! Why doesn’t no-labels offer help with that and let Biden finish what he started. The changes he has made must be carried through in order for the country to understand that ultimately progress in the green initiative will provide thousands of new higher wage jobs. Infrastructure jobs will continue to flourish and new money can be set aside for Infrastructure part 2.
If Trump is elected he will roll back everything Biden has done and plunge us back into a dirty country, ”retribution” on his political enemies and a self serving agenda again.
Let the senate finish the job they have started with analysis of how the capitalist vision has gone awry. Building the country bottom up and out has worked before and gave us a middle class. Trickle down has ruined this country many times right back to the 1920’s.
Please don’t give us Trump. He will destroy this country.
NEITHER Biden or Trump should be the next President. One is old and considered crooked by many; the other is old and considered well past his prime by many. It is time for another generation to take the reins as their decisions will directly impact them and their heirs. Those opposing NO Labels are standing for the status quo. I find that unacceptable.
The spoiler argument holds water for the Nader-influenced 2000 election, where it's likely that Florida and New Hampshire would have gone to Gore, flipping the total from 271-267 Bush to 296-242 Gore. But that's the only one. Perot, despite amassing 19 million votes in 1992, only influenced Ohio (which went for Clinton, but might have gone to Bush I); nevertheless, Clinton still would have won easily - take away Ohio from him and it would have been 349-190, instead of the actual result of 370-168. Hillary-dead-enders notwithstanding, Jill Stein was not a factor in the 2016 outcome. People forget that Gary Johnson had more than three times the votes of Jill Stein in 2016, but no one seems interested in claiming that any of Johnson's 4.4 million votes came out of Trump's hide. The 2020 election would have ended in a 269-269 deadlock without Libertarian Jo Jorgensen arguably costing Trump the combined 37 electoral votes of Arizona (11), Georgia (16), and Wisconsin (10). You can look up the razor-thin vote margins for those states and see that Jorgensen's votes greatly exceeded Biden's margin in all three.
The electoral elephant in the room is the percentage of non-voters. Since 1980, the turnout in presidential elections expressed as a percentage of voting-eligible population has ranged from a low of 51.7% in 1996 to a high of 66% in 2020. When 70 or 80 million people would prefer to stay home than to vote for "the lesser of two evils," it's an indicator of how broken our democracy is.
As for third parties in general, the deck is terribly stacked against them in terms of ballot access laws (decided by - guess who? - the democratic and republican state legislators), fund-raising hurdles, media blackouts, no chance to get into the debates, and, perhaps most important, "the wasted vote syndrome." Ranked voting might help. Multiple-member legislative districts at all levels could create some momentum for a very-well organized third party (i.e., when there's no prize for second place - which is the case in single-member legislative districts - there's no room for three contestants). Barring either of those potential approaches, expect 3rd party politics to be little more than a political parlor game.
Of course, whosever ox is most likely to be gored will determine the level of mainstream support or opposition to any third party, including the No Labels party.
No presidential election is “simply” a contest between two candidates. Biden has achieved nearly as much as Roosevelt while avoiding the recession Wall St has been fearing (in part because it would make Biden’s taxation policies look good). Reductionist stupidity that claims Biden and Mr. Bluster will both be remembered for achievements is purely nonsense. Policy after policy from the former administration has been exposed as grift disguised as policy. Federal agencies were fiddled with to punish enemies and score political points (e.g. farm subsidies) and by the end of Biden’s term, Mr Bluster could be in jail. Media insistence on Biden being age-compromised and attempts to consider them somehow equal in are media masturbation aimed at creating the same old dualisms that make writing stories easy and conceal truths that require serious debate. No Labels cleverly disguises it’s vividly partisan posture with the pretense of objectivity in it’s name.
If No Labels is going to field candidates in a Presidential Race they should first field Senatorial and Congressional candidates and follow with a Presidential ticket in 2028. To do so now is putting an untried and unknown party on the plank where we know it will siphon off Democratic votes and some moderate Republican votes.
Let’s face it; if Biden had a different vice president now this all would not be such a big deal. We don’t know what Kamala Harris has been doing and what her achievements have been. So we feel Biden must make it 4 more years to save us from an untried VP.
Democrats need a way better messaging program! Why doesn’t no-labels offer help with that and let Biden finish what he started. The changes he has made must be carried through in order for the country to understand that ultimately progress in the green initiative will provide thousands of new higher wage jobs. Infrastructure jobs will continue to flourish and new money can be set aside for Infrastructure part 2.
If Trump is elected he will roll back everything Biden has done and plunge us back into a dirty country, ”retribution” on his political enemies and a self serving agenda again.
Let the senate finish the job they have started with analysis of how the capitalist vision has gone awry. Building the country bottom up and out has worked before and gave us a middle class. Trickle down has ruined this country many times right back to the 1920’s.
Please don’t give us Trump. He will destroy this country.
NEITHER Biden or Trump should be the next President. One is old and considered crooked by many; the other is old and considered well past his prime by many. It is time for another generation to take the reins as their decisions will directly impact them and their heirs. Those opposing NO Labels are standing for the status quo. I find that unacceptable.