The Sunday Los Angeles Times has an article on the rise of moderate political movements, including “No Labels,” a group advocating for bipartisan governance that was the subject of a Clinton School panel last week. The article points to moderate efforts to combat the success of the conservative Tea Party.
Mark McKinnon, a former top strategist to President George W. Bush and one of the leaders of “No Labels,” is quoted in the story. McKinnon joined Daily Beast columnist John Avlon and political consultant Kiki McLean for a panel on Thursday at the Clinton School. Below is an excerpt from the Times article.
“Middle America is being ignored by Washington and the media. Centrists are desperate for a voice today; they feel entirely unrepresented,” said Mark McKinnon, a political strategist and former advisor to President George W. Bush.
“The tea party has tapped into voter frustration and anger,” he said, “but does not represent millions of Americans in the vast middle.”
The moves reflect political divisions that have only grown deeper as tea-party-backed insurgents have toppled candidates supported by the GOP establishment around the country.
Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor of New York and possible future presidential candidate, has labeled the tea party movement a “fad” and a “boomlet.” He has vowed to use his personal popularity, his reputation as a pragmatic voice, and his wealth to promote Democratic and Republican moderates as candidates this fall.
At the same time, once-solid Republicans left behind as their party tacked rightward have launched independent bids in several states — including Alaska, Florida, Rhode Island and Minnesota — appealing to moderate voters.
Underscoring those efforts is a newfound drive by advocacy groups to give moderate voters a louder voice. In Washington, a nonprofit group called No Labels is forming with the goal of bringing Republicans and Democrats together; echoing tea party rhetoric, it terms itself a “citizens movement” and decries “the tyranny of hyperpartisanship.”