No Labels: A new politics of problem-solving. Northfielders, want to Meetup?

I had lunch with a colleague at the Edina Grill last week and happened to sit at a table next to Tom Horner. (I know Tom a little bit from a consulting gig I did a few years ago.) I asked him about his post-gubernatorial race plans and he indicated he was looking for a way to tackle the political polarization that prevents problem solving.

Perfect timing. I hope Tom read this commentary in Sunday’s Strib: Beyond parties, beyond planks by William Galston and David Frum, introducing No Labels (also on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Meetup).

A single concern brings them together: the hyperpolarization of our politics that thwarts an adult conversation about our common future. A single goal unites them: to expand the space within which citizens and elected officials can conduct that conversation without fear of social or political retribution…

Here’s what it isn’t: It is not a nascent third-party movement. It is not a stalking-horse for an independent candidacy. And it is not a front for anyone’s agenda. In an act as old as America, citizens are coming together out of frustration and patriotism to give their country a better future.

The No Labels site says:

No Labels is a group of American citizens from across the country – Republicans, Democrats, and Independents – who are concerned about the extreme polarization of our politics, and the resulting breakdown of effective governance in Washington, DC. 

 

Politics can be carried out more effectively and progress can be made if we come together. The end goal, our shared political destiny, is the same: a successful, prosperous, and safe America. Together, we can bridge old divides and move America not left or right, but forward.

My buddy Bruce Morlan commented here earlier this week:

Rational, calm and cooler heads must cease being wallflowers at the political dance, must seize the floor, and must work together to mainstream and make happen a better vision of the future…

No Labels just might be a way to do this.

Want to meet with other Northfielders who are likewise interested?  Sign up for the No Labels Meetup in Northfield and we’ll figure a time and place to meet F2F.