And now comes a column (the fourth or fifth since Oct. 23, 2023) written by Joe Smyth (“It ain’t over ’til it’s over, so let voters decide”). Nothing new here — the same false equivalencies, the same statistics quoted with no attribution and a drumming advertisement for the No Labels group, all as before but notably stronger this time around.
Though his description of Donald Trump now includes some details, Mr. Smyth still whitewashes the rot at the heart of that candidacy by using euphemisms such as “tried to use the power of the presidency to illegally perpetuate himself into office,” instead of bald truths: Mr. Trump incited an insurrection and bloody riot in which five people died, scores were wounded, and hundreds were arrested, with ongoing prosecutions and imprisonments. Trump was sanguine about ready-made gallows for Mike Pence being set up in front of our Capitol! He has been indicted dozens of times for approving illegal schemes to intimidate nationwide election officials into “finding” more votes.
Mr. Smyth avoids mentioning that Mr. Trump has been adjudicated to have committed sexual assault, financial fraud and libel. His stated plans for domestic and foreign affairs are blatantly fascist, frightening our citizens and allies alike. This list is much longer and only worsening. However, tens of millions of voters believe Mr. Trump’s “big lie” of a stolen election. This group includes federal and state legislators pledging allegiance to it to curry his favor.
And yes, he is an elderly, overweight man wearing pancake makeup and dyed orange hair.
Every poll and oddsmaker in the nation have Trump leading in the race. No Labels’ own internal polling shows President Joe Biden losing the most votes because of their candidacy. Why Mr. Smyth writes exact opposites is puzzling until one reads the next few paragraphs. His disinformation and outright distortion of reality in this section is truly shocking.
Joe Biden did promise to work to unite the nation by governing from the center, and that, indeed, is what he has done.
Concerning domestic issues: Since the balance of power in the House of Representatives and Senate is so tight, it is amazing that President Biden has been able to pass major pieces of legislation by consensus and compromise, even in the face of GOP intransigence. Our economy is universally acknowledged (even by The Wall Street Journal) to have had the best recovery in the world.
The many decades’ crisis at our Southern border has long required a congressional solution. President Biden well remembers the Republicans’ 2013 last-minute trashing of the bipartisan Gang of Eight’s well-conceived, excellent plan. He endeavored to avoid that happening again this session with a sharper compromise (which most progressives disliked) but to no avail. Trump destroyed it all, again at the last minute, by openly declaring that he didn’t want the president to “look good” and needed border chaos as a campaign issue.
Concerning foreign affairs: This is more of a mixed bag. The U.S. needed to get away from the foolish, feckless 20-plus-year war in Afghanistan. The leaving was, unfortunately, a nightmarish wreck but nevertheless needed to be done, Robert Gates’ self-promoting comments notwithstanding. The Gaza situation is in wild flux. President Biden is working closely with all the area heads of state to push a safer and more fair solution neither side is so far willing to accept. Mr. Smyth failed to note that Joe Biden is well respected in Europe for having strengthened and expanding NATO, and for fighting to protect democracies from aggressors and terrorists.
And yes, he’s an elderly thin man with arthritis in his spine, prone to making rather harmless gaffes.
Then, follow the paragraphs that read as a professionally written commercial for No Labels. Strangely, Mr. Smyth seems to have forgotten that this country does indeed have other political parties, 20 at last count: Green, Libertarian, American Independent, Alliance, Working Families, Working Class, American Solidarity, Unity, Reform, etc. They are registered as political parties and, therefore, must work with all the requirements and disclosures that designation entails. Could this be why the No Labels group won’t bring its supposedly centrist ideals (and money) to any of them?
I wonder, too, about Mr. Smyth’s connection to this group or any person or entity associated with it.
No Labels is not registered as a political party. It is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit group, not permitted to spend any time on lobbying or political activities. Yet, within the last year or so, the group has sharply changed direction from working with the Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress to demanding a presence in this presidential election. It’s a dark-money group; the few donors known are billionaires and huge corporations. Other donors might be industry groups (maybe lobbyists?). The Intercept, an online nonprofit news organization, reported examples of the group working to block tax increases on the wealthiest Americans and corporations.
It has not proffered a candidate or a platform listing goals or any proposal for legislation reflecting values. The names most mentioned, like Joe Manchin, are well known not to be moderates at all, though they hide under that classification. The tough lesson here is that we all need to check voting and activities records before believing any person’s or group’s description of anyone.
No Labels is a smoke-and-mirrors group, and as such, its motives are rightfully suspect. That is why it does not belong on our ballot. Period. Full stop.
Janis Gaddis
Dover
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.