Weekend Economists Repent! The End Is Here! July 20-22, 2012

[Demeter]

19. Slick “No Labels” Plan to Duck Debate, Cut Social Security & Coddle 1% By Richard (RJ) Eskow

http://www.nationofchange.org/slick-no-labels-plan-duck-debate-cut-social-security-and-coddle-1-1342537940

The Jeff Daniels character from The Newsroom would know what to ask the operators of an allegedly “grass roots” group called “No Labels”:

“Why won't you publish your list of donors?”

“What's wrong with having legislators debate the issues publicly? Isn't that how representative democracy works?“

“How can you call yourself 'centrist' when so many of your ideas are unpopular, and in fact are too conservative for most Tea Party members?”

He might have another question, too:

“What's wrong with labels? Don't they let us know what we're buying?”

The Newsroom is fiction, of course. But then, so is “No Labels.” It's the creation of overpaid political insiders who work hand in glove with longtime opponents of Social Security and Medicare, pushing the agenda of the wealthiest among us by exploiting the public's understandable frustration with gridlocked government. I'm sure that some decent people are attracted to No Labels without realizing that a label is precisely what's needed. Labeling would tell them that the group was designed and created by and for political hacks from both parties, who scrupulously hide their funding sources but are associated with people like anti-Social Security billionaire Pete Peterson.

The No Labels website describes it as a “group of Republicans, Democrats and independents dedicated to a simple proposition: We want to help move America from the old politics of point-scoring toward a new politics of problem-solving.” The group claims to oppose the “powerful interest groups (who) work to push our leaders and our political parties apart,” adding: “They demand rigid commitment to far left or far right ideology, and they ruthlessly punish people who step out of line.”

No Labels has never caught on, despite massive publicity and lots of funding. So why is it even worth mentioning? Because it sheds light on a much larger plan, a richly funded sales blitz that's hyping far-right positions as mainstream opinion and pushing lobbyists and political operatives as the plain-spoken voices of Main Street America. We'll be seeing a lot more of this crowd right after the election, as the No Labels crowd tries to sell us a Grand Bargain which protects the wealthy while demanding ever deeper and greater sacrifices from the rest of us.

MORE SKULDUGGERY AT LINK