No Labels ready to stand out at State of the Union

 

No Labels, a bipartisan group dedicated to ending the hyper-partisanship in Washington, seems to have shifted into a higher gear.

After many, many months of pushing their “No Budget, No Pay” proposal, No Labels scored its first major victory when the House and Senate adopted the plan and President Obama last week signed legislation into law.

Under the bill, if Congress does not have a budget in place by the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year, members of the House and Senate will see their pay cut off – placed into an escrow account -- until the budget gridlock is resolved.

Last month, No Labels held a conference in New York City that attracted thousands of supporters. At that forum, the group that shuns party labels introduced its “Problem Solvers” – 23 congressional Democrats and 17 Republicans who have pledged to work together to lessen partisanship and to move away from rigid ideology.

Next, this group of 40 lawmakers will wear their orange Problem Solver lapel buttons at Tuesday’s State of the Union address. The TV networks will be hard-pressed not to talk about and explain the story behind the buttons, which feature the adage: "Committed to fix, not fight."

For the past three SOTUs, a portion of House and Senate lawmakers shunned past protocol that separated the two parties to one side of the House chamber or the other. But the intent of sitting together, regardless of party labels, was dismissed as a bipartisan gimmick.

Now that Congress’ approval ratings have plummeted and gridlock is a major concern of voters, No Labels is hoping to grow its Problem Solvers to 75 members by the end of the year. The strategy relies upon the idea that a relatively small bloc of bipartisan lawmakers can greatly impact big issues on Capitol Hill.

No Labels shies away from the “centrist” label but it certainly preaches the benefits of pragmatism and compromise. They're appealing to moderate Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats – two coalitions that are facing near-extinction in Washington. Those ostracized Republicans and Democrats may be able to find shelter from the shrill ideologues at No Labels.

Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat and a No Labels leader, explained to The Miami Herald why he will wear his Problem Solvers lapel pin while listening to the president’s speech.

“It says that we are willing to sit down and put the good of the country and the good of the people ahead of the good of our party, our party affiliation or our political well-being,” Manchin said. “We were sent here to do a job, and it wasn’t just to make sure that we stay here.”