Pelosi brings the hammer down on No Labels
I noted in an earlier post the new Q Poll which included RFK Jr and Cornel West in the presidential survey. It’s not at all decisive and I have a feeling those numbers will not hold once the campaign begins in earnest anyway. But No Labels is also a threat if they succeed in carrying out their plan to get on the ballot in the battleground states. They cannot win but they seem determined to do it anyway.
The worst case scenario is that there will be a tie in the electoral college, which is very possible with their ballot strategy, throwing the decision to the House. I think we know how that’s going to pan out.
Nancy Pelosi doesn’t mince words on this subject:
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi on Thursday became one of the highest-profile elected Democrats to go public with her concerns about the centrist group No Labels’ third-party presidential bid.
“No Labels is perilous to our democracy,” she told reporters. “I hesitate to say No Labels because they do have labels. They’re called no taxes for the rich. No child tax credit for children. They’re called let’s undo the Affordable Care Act.”
Pelosi delivered her remarks at a breakfast event organized by the Democratic-centrist group Third Way, which has taken on the role of one of No Labels’ chief antagonists this cycle.
Pelosi said she has ignored No Labels, even when she was a target of the group as speaker of the House, but 2024’s election is a different case.
“When they jeopardize the reelection of Joe Biden as president of the United States, I can no longer remain silent on that,” she said.
No Labels national co-chair, former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-Md.), said in a statement it was “disheartening to see Nancy Pelosi literally make things up about No Labels to score political points. She ascribes positions to No Labels that they never took.”
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The nonprofit is seeking access to the ballot across the country with the idea of putting together a unity ticket that would be led by one Republican and one Democrat. The group, which is currently formulated as a nonprofit that does not have to disclose its donors, has not yet announced who would lead such a ticket.
The latest memo from No Labels states that there’s an unprecedented appetite for a third-party or independent candidate this election cycle, partly because President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the likely candidates for both major parties, have low favorability ratings.
Pelosi disputed the premise of the group’s bid and said that once Biden is more frequently on the campaign trail voters will return to the fold.
Third Way President Jonathan Cowan added that early interest in third-party candidates is a way for people to express their discontent. But he said he suspected interest in No Labels and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent, would drop in popularity as next year’s general election campaign gets underway.
At the heart of Third Way and Pelosi’s concern about No Labels is that a moderately successful third-party candidate could win enough electoral college votes so that neither major party nominee wins the majority required to secure the presidency. Under this scenario, the outcome of the presidential election would be determined by congressional delegations voting for the president, of which Republicans control more than Democrats.
It is unlikely for a third-party candidate to win electoral college votes, but they fear if the election is forced onto the congressional delegations, No Labels could hand the White House to the Republican candidate.
There is no reason for No Labels to do this except to somehow enrich those who are involved in it. People like Larry Hogan know very well that they have no chance to win the election. They have made it clear that while they don’t much care for Donald Trump, their real issue is with Biden for passing big legislation they don’t approve of. It’s not a secret.
Those of you who’ve been around a while know this is a Joe Lieberman special. I don’t think any more needs to be said.