Editor’s Note: Joe Lieberman, an independent, is a former United States Senator who represented Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. He was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in the race. presidential election in 2000. The views expressed in this commentary are your own. See more comments on CNN.
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When Ralph Nader ran for president in 2000, he offered a simple reason for a bid that would ultimately help. “bad afternoon” election for the Democratic ticket that I had the honor of participating in with Al Gore. In Nader’s view, the two sides are ideologically indistinguishable.
That argument is baseless. had significant difference IN policy between tickets George W. Bush-Dick Cheney – won in the end, part thank you Nader – and ours. For Nader, this isn’t really about a “two-party monopoly,” as he put it. This is about him desire ARRIVE shove Gore and the Democratic Party on the left.
Of course, today, no one can reasonably argue that the two sides are not ideologically different. The core problem in Washington, DC is that they are too divided to get much done.
Although one majority of Americans yearning for an era when Republicans and Democrats worked together to find bipartisan solutions to major problems, many members of Congress refused to work together immigrationthe debt ceiling and other issues of national importance, even if bipartisanship is the way to restore our shared prosperity and security. Indeed, today, with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats controlling the Senate, bipartisanship is the only way to pass any legislation.
While it won’t be easy to undo the divisions that plague our political system, there is one step that can be taken — starting with giving voters an alternative. real position in the 2024 presidential election.
Normally, when Americans vote for president and vice president, their ballot has only two possible tickets: one nominated by the Democratic Party and the other by the Republican Party. But what if they had a third viable option?
The process of adding that third possible option is not only difficult and time consuming, but change from one state to another and in the District of Columbia.
Today, No branda nonprofit that I co-chair, is laying the groundwork for such a campaign in 2024. Since the beginning of 2022, our team has been working hard across the country to gain access to close the ballot for a potential Labelless ticket, usually by collecting some number of petition signatures from voters in each state.
If we succeed, a solidarity ticket – consisting of a Democrat and a Republican – could be given to voters right alongside the Republican and Democratic candidates.
We see this as an insurance policy for the country — an option that will be deployed if and only if both major party candidates fail to provide voters with a choice of the candidate they wish to drop. votes or a way to remove. Partisan divides now reign in the nation’s capital. We will continuously monitor American sentiment through our own research and polls, as well as opinion polls, to make that decision.
In one way and another, No Labels’ effort couldn’t be more different from the “spoiler” campaign that Nader attempted two decades ago.
First, if No Labels lent its voting lines to get the presidential ticket, then the presidential candidate would be a Democrat and the vice presidential candidate would be a Republican, or vice versa. . Thus, it will appeal to some voters who may have voted for the Democratic ticket and others who may have voted for the Republican ticket. And it will attract other voters who won’t vote for either.
These nominees will be selected by a diverse and elite group of citizens serving on a committee — and will be approved by delegates gathered at the planned National No Labels Convention. scheduled for April 2024. This convention will take place about six weeks after the March 5 “Super Tuesday primaries,” a date that has historically made clear who will be the nominees. of the main parties.
Second, No Labels’ 2024 effort is not designed to push Democratic candidates to the left or Republican candidates to the right. Instead, it aims to force one or both sides to appeal to a growing American common-sense majority. If they don’t, our line of voting gives the chance for a unanimous vote to be.
Based on CNN’s recent poll, the number of individuals who self-identify as independents is on the rise, now making up 41% of the electorate — compared with just 28% who identify themselves as a Democrat and 31% who identify as a Republican. These numbers are further proof that there may be a potential path to winning the independence ticket by 2024.
But if there is no such path in the coming months, No Labels will cease operations, focusing instead on the work we have done over the past decade to elect and organize members of the House of Representatives and Senate, who have shown courage. to cross the aisle – including members of both parties In-house Caucus problem solvers.
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It seems the Biden administration has begun to realize the importance of appealing to a common sense majority. President Joe Biden just signed into law a Republican measure to reject a crime bill in Washington, D.C., reducing penalties for violent offenders, and he announced tougher measures border control policy.
We hope that Republicans vying for their party’s nomination will also find the need to reach beyond their base instead of calling for share policy and politics.
Finally, No Labels of Hope Are not must provide our ballot line for an independent unanimous vote. We want the parties to sober up. But judging from the anger and the apocalypse react When it comes to No Labels coverage, it’s clear that party leaders now know that there can be political costs to ignoring the majority opinion. And that is reason to hope for a better future for our government and our country.
