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PeepinGoodArgs ,

“The American people don’t like what the two parties are doing,” Lieberman responded. “And they particularly don’t like the two candidates that they seem set on nominating.”

Sure, but this misunderstands voters. Both Democrats and Republicans seem to want someone more extreme and effective, less concerned with political grandstanding and more concerned with doing what the American people voted them in to do. DeSantis got it right…until he kept focusing on bullshit the general population didn’t want. Young Democrats pine after Sanders because he too gets it right, except that most older people don’t want that either.

No Labels talks like it can somehow smooth over the contradiction about abortion between Democrats and Republicans, but everyone knows it can’t. No Labels lauds unifying rhetoric over actual bipartisan policies. It’s one thing that say that everyone wants more done about gun control and gun crime, and it’s another to implement a policy that recognizes both views as legitimate because the two are largely contradictory.

In short, it’ll absolutely be a spoiler.

wildncrazyguy ,

There certainly is middle ground on those policies. The US had the Brady Act but still allowed people to own firearms. Most people favor access to abortion with some term restrictions. It's disingenuous to say there isn't a middle ground, particularly when most things in life are a compromise. Moreover, we disenfranchise a lot of people when we say that something is either black or white.

Regardless of what you may think of Lieberman, McCain, Murkowski, Sinema or Manchin, these are the folks that are willing to cross over to the other side of the aisle and make those compromises. They are the big tent people. Why do you think they are villainized in the media? Particularly because they don't fit neatly into one pigeonhole or the other, and more particularly because it's a great ad seller.

We have got to stop thinking we're Republican or Democrat, we shouldn't be aligned to one party at all. We should be voting on the issues of the day, the candidate's platforms and our representatives voting records. Aligning to one party is a poor proxy and it's a cop-out of civic responsibility.

HandsHurtLoL ,

Yes, there is middle ground for these policies, but it wasn't acceptable to people on the right. Safe, regulated abortion on demand for any reason at any point prior to labor is the farthest left; no abortion access even in the event of miscarriages, rape, or incest is the furthest right. We had safe, regulated abortions almost on demand until the end of the second trimester. That was the middle ground and conservatives pushed and pushed to either completely remove access through nonessential bureaucratic hurdles such as how Texas passed a law in 2013 that all abortion clinics have admitting privileges at local hospitals and all hallways and doors in the center had to be wide enough to wheel gurneys through in the event of an emergency - ostensibly solutions in search of a problem, just to shut down the large majority of abortion providers - or have engaged in a decades long push to manipulate the right type of Manchurian president into attacking the Supreme Court into overturning Roe v Wade.

In the years following that 2013 law, Texas dropped from 41 abortion centers to 10. The law was overturned in 2016, but the damage had been done. Leases for centers had changed terms, funding streams dried up, staff had scattered to the winds... If what we already had in place wasn't an acceptable middle ground, then we as a country would have been able to codify Roe v Wade.

To put it a different way: I'm not saying there is no middle ground. They have said there is no middle ground. To use your own words, it's disingenuous to act as though both sides are being intractable in the policymaking process.

takeda ,

Also, I can't believe that Joe Biden out of all people is currently labeled as far left.

In Europe his position would be considered as a right wing politician.

But anyway even within US, he was known to be moderate and actually a politician who had talent to struck deals with both sides. More so that the examples GP gave.

takeda ,

From those you listed, the only person that was willing to cross party lines was John McCain.

Manchin, Sinema basically are Republicans that just run as Democrats, their voting record shows that (especially Sinema outraged her voters, because she changed after being elected, Manchin doesn't hide who he is, so I have less problem with him). Lieberman is just spiteful and was willing torpedo single payer that he himself was pushing, because he lost primaries). Murkowski only says that she is moderate, but she still votes with the party when her vote would actually made any difference.

McCain was a Republican and believed that is the right way, but unlike those rest you listed he put country first. If you would have discussion with him and convince him that specific bill actually benefits Americans he had no problem to vote against his party (last example was where he actually stopped repeal of ACA).

wildncrazyguy , (edited )

Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins also blocked the repeal of ACA, McCain was just the last vote needed, and his vote was so dramatic due to his circumstances.

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