I was on the No Labels blogger conference call yesterday mostly out of curiosity, wanting to see what they’re doing which, as it turns out, is quite a lot.
Four senators and two members of the House were at their press conference yesterday lending support to their 12 point plan. It’s simple, makes sense, and can be implemented by Congress today without passing laws. It would reduce gridlock hugely. No Labels say quite a few members of Congress agree something needs to be done, and fast as the current gridlock is the worst since the 1890’s.
Highlights of the No Labels plan:
- No budget, no pay. California did this. It works.
- Fix the filibuster. No filibusters on motions to proceed and make them real. You want a filibuster, you must physically occupy the podium.
- Presidential nominations must be voted on in 90 days or the confirmation is automatically approved.
- Three weeks in DC then one week home for all members of Congress. It’s a job.Everyone works the same hours.
- Allow a bipartisan majority to force bills out of recalcitrant committees and onto the floor.
There’s more. I encourage you to read them. They are easily understandable and most anyone, I think, will agree with most of them. And they have support from members of Congress too. Let’s make them happen.
Most of these aren’t necessarily bad ideas, but they generally seem like a bunch of band aid fixes trying to appeal to “centrists” rather than going to the root of the problems. No Labels is similar to, and connected to, Americans Elect – and they’re both funded and run by the rich and people with political power (and yeah there’s A LOT of overlap there). These are nice reforms but won’t do much to fix the mess that is our dysfunctional government…although they probably would do a good deal, if this effort takes off, to funnel energy away from efforts demanding more fundamental change.
So, I’m skeptical.
I hear you. But No Budget No Pay did work in California this year. After a bit of trying to wiggle through the law and failing, lawmakers sat down and passed the budget fast.
They said, and I should have mentioned, that the 12 points are procedural and were chosen because Congress could do them now. They aren’t radical or structural, but still, they could help.