'No Labels' Needs A Warning Label by Rep. Mark Pocan
I was duped.
When I was elected to Congress in 2012, I attended the Bipartisan Program for Newly Elected Members of Congress at Harvard University. I was so excited to be a member of a branch of government for the most awesome country on the planet.
At the program, one of the presentations was from a group named No Labels. The organization put forward a proposal for governing that meant working across the aisle to solve problems and stopping the gridlock in Washington. I was excited! While I was a strong progressive in the Wisconsin Legislature, that was my governing approach. By working with people who do not always agree with you, you find out what you have in common and you can get good things done.
The moment we were sworn in, we were given lapel pins to brand us as the Problem Solvers Caucus, which was sponsored by No Labels.However, things quickly went south. I attended a few meetings at the outset, but the rhetoric wasn’t about finding ways to get things done and breaking gridlock ― rather it was more about finding more centrist, more corporate and more special interest-focused things to do.
Soon thereafter, No Labels became involved in elections with a closely contested U.S. Senate race in Colorado, backing Republican Cory Gardner over Democrat Mark Udall.That didn’t seem right. A group that wasn’t supposed to pick labels was doing exactly that: picking a label. When asked to join the Problem Solvers Caucus, members were never told that this would be part of the program.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-no-labels-mark-pocan_us_5c06b110e4b0cd916fb0b042?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004
Pocan went on to relate that when he inquired about where No Labels funding came from , they wouldn't tell him and said "we can just take you off our list".
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