Tuesday, December 21, 2010

'No Labels' Political Movement Launches from The Takeaway: Early Edition by feedback@thetakeaway.org (Public Radio International and WNYC Radio)

Today a new political movement is launching in New York City called “No Labels.” It’s ambitious. It’s inclusive. The crème de la crème of analysts and strategists are on board, as are former and current politicians of both parties as well as independent. But what exactly is "No Labels?" Here to explain is founding leader John Avlon, a senior political columnist for The Daily Beast, and the author of "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America."
See the webpage for this show, here. Download the podcast here. See also: Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America. Last week, a Washington Post opinion was blogged: "No Labels = No Content", by Jennifer Rubin. Rubin said this: The group is comprised of a lot of midterm losers (oops, mustn't label) and retirees. And while they decry name-calling, Avalon immediately denounced partisan loyalty as "cowardly." (Do these non-labelers put a dollar in the jar every time they use a label?) It turns out it's hard to operate without labels. "We're going to call ourselves the radical center, the people who care about results, not rhetoric," said former congressman Tom Davis. "Radical" and "center," Mr. Davis? For shame. The group says it has raised $1 million already. That suggests that people will spend their money on anything, or rather nothing. Really, why is disbanding "labeling" a virtue? It's a con job, really to demean those who have strongly held beliefs for which they rigorously advocate. That is, after all, what small "d" democracy is all about. So as for me, I'll stick to candor, truth in advertising and robust debate.. View that WP post here. Below is the launch video for the movement, which can be found on YouTube.

No comments:

Post a Comment