[lbo-talk] centrists gather: yuck

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Mon Dec 13 12:15:41 PST 2010


http://gawker.com/5713046/the-fierce-ideology-of-no-labels

The Fierce Ideology of 'No Labels'

A cabal of centrist Democrats and lapsed Republicans are gathering in New York today to launch "No Labels," a group that advocates ditching partisan politics for supposedly common sense solutions. Cute! But don't pretend that this isn't ideological.

The purpose of No Labels, according to the "Declaration" they ask you to sign, is this: "Sign the No Labels Declaration and join your neighbors who are asking their leaders to put the labels aside and do what's best for America." In other words, if you believe in what either party is saying, take your skin out of the game and let the following people supposedly reasonable people decide "what's best for America" for you:

Featured Speakers: Mayor Michael Bloomberg Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Congressman Bob Inglis Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Congressman Tom Davis David Brooks Joe Scarborough Mika Brzezinski Senator Joe Lieberman Senator Evan Bayh Senator Joe Manchin David Gergen Governor Charlie Crist Lt Governor Abel Maldonado Congressman Michael Castle Ellen Freidin

Pretty much everyone on this list of speakers at today's launch has a label: wishy-washy centrist who wants the rubes to stop their clamoring before it defeats them in an election (if it already hasn't — Inglis, Crist, Castle) or takes power away from the entrenched producers of conventional wisdom.

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