On Morning Joe they are pushing the whole No Labels story but Ann Althouse was not impressed
Every couple of months we get something like this, don’t we? It’s the “Coffee Party” all over again — isn’t it? — an attempt by elite Democrats to create the impression of a grass-roots movement. It never works. [Remember “One Nation”?] And “No Labels” is such a silly… uh… label. It has a certain nostalgic 60s vibe: I ain’t lookin’ to… analyze you, categorize you, finalize you or advertise you…. But I came from the 60s, and I’m sick of that vibe when it’s used to advertise to me.
Well its a new moment I’m sure it is not unoriginal is it. Well Nice Deb says not so much:
NL: We are frustrated and concerned about the tone of politics.
CP: Critical policy discussions are subjected to a perpetual cacophony of misinformation designed to breed cultural resentment.
NL: We are passionate about addressing America’s challenges.
CP: We believe that by talking and learning together – we can take action to solve the problems facing our nation
NL: We are Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
CP: …we are non-partisan
NL: We believe hyper-partisanship is destroying our politics and paralyzing our ability to govern.
CP: The ugliness on television, on talk radio, and on blogs and conspiracy emails is alienating to the vast majority of Americans.
Hey it’s just a coincidence, I’m sure they aren’t stealing logos or anything from other organizations. Gateway Pundit:
The RINO-Leftist group “No Labels” completely stole their logo-design from a New York website “More Party Animals.”
Don’t worry Ben Smith has it covered:
No Labels designer Dave Warren, a Madison Avenue vet whose firm is FLY Communications, said the similarity is just a clip-art driven coincidence:
Well this is a new group and it is all about doing things the right way so I’m sure they are very public about their sources of funding…or maybe not Says Salon:
No Labels, the new centrist pro-“common sense” advocacy group that launched at a high-profile New York conference today, will not be revealing to the public who is putting up the money for the effort.
Salon asked No Labels spokesman Adam Segal if the nonprofit group, which has reportedly raised at least $1 million so far, would reveal the sources of its funding now or in the future. Segal declined to comment on the record. That $1 million has already paid for the big conference at Columbia today, a flashy website, a new logo, and a P.R. guy. The Wall Street Journal did report the names of three wealthy donors last month (more on this below), but it’s unknown how much they gave and who else is involved.
No Labels is organized as a 501(c)(4), which means that it is not legally required to release the identities of donors. You may remember that designation from the midterm elections, when similarly organized groups spent millions of anonymously donated dollars on campaign ads.
You mean the same folks who derided the hidden money in politics is hiding something? Amazing! Well politico mentions who is involved:
And its speakers—who ranged from Republican moderates like ex-Virginia Rep. Tom Davis to liberal Democrats like New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand—sang the praises of cooperation and compromise.
But the only Republicans present at Columbia University’s modern, square Alfred Lerner Hall seemed to be those who had recently lost primary races, such as South Carolina Rep. Bob Inglis and Delaware Rep. Mike Castle, or former Republicans like Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. No other senior elected Republican officials were in attendance,
All of these people are folks who lost and are part of the establishment, it’s as bi-partisan as I am (and I’m NOT), so what is it all about? Stacy McCain who writes for money and doesn’t pretend otherwise has the answer:
All of which is to say that this is an outright scam, and the only question you really need to ask about this kind of political hustle is: Cui bono?
Who benefits here? What’s the bottom line? Where’s the payoff, who’s paying and who’s getting paid? Before we identify the sow, let’s see which piglets are sucking the teats:
It’s something of an odd conceit, given the decentralized way powerful grass-roots movements generally come together these days. After all, MoveOn.org and the Tea Party groups sprang up organically and in a decentralized way, embraced by angry citizens circulating online petitions and holding rallies.
By contrast, No Labels was created by two Washington consultants, the Democratic fund-raiser Nancy Jacobson and the Republican image-shaper Mark McKinnon, and its slick opening event featured throngs of journalists, free boxed lunches and a song written for the occasion by the pop sensation Akon.
Ding! Ding! Ding! This scam is funded by Democratic money and scripted by the man whose name is a synonym for everything that’s wrong with the Republican Party.
So this No Labels operation is a stealth-Democrat ripoff perpetrated with the help of two-faced RINO backstabbers.
Or to put it another way, it is an attempt by consultants to stay relevant and keep making money and stay relevant because if the actual grass-roots are put in play, then their ability to suck money off of taxpayer dime is kaput!
I make my living selling myself and my radio show. When people buy from me they meet me and know exactly what they are getting. These people are selling a wisp of smoke that doesn’t really exist.
Will they be able to fool enough people to change elections? Likely not, but they might manage to keep themselves in other people’s money for a while, and that’s what it really is all about. It’s the time share media all over again.
Memeorandum thread here.
Update: Doug Powers at Michelle’s has a new logo for them. Somehow it looks familiar
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