A recent town hall in New Hampshire thrust the No Labels party — although No Labels doesn’t call itself a “party” — into the spotlight. The NH event was about the political partisanship that’s dividing the nation, and suggested a solution. No Labels announced it will run a third-party “centrist” 2024 candidate for president.
In the past, says Ali Velshi, such candidates don’t get elected. But they do siphon votes from the mainstream candidate, in this case, Joe Biden in favor of an extremist candidate, who would be Donald Trump.
Velshi traces No Labels’ founding to 2009, when the group formed as a “common sense” bipartisan response to the radicalism of the then-new Tea Party. No Labels advertises itself a “voice for moderation in this polarized world.” And they have accomplished nonpartisan things. They created the House Problem Solvers caucus that pushed through the Covid relief bill and Biden’s infrastructure framework. And yet … it’s unclear who’s funding them.
Recently, Mother Jones unearthed a partial list of No Labels funders, including Clarence Thomas billionaire benefactor Harlan Crow, a private equity baron, and a natural gas magnate who’s donated to Mitch McConnell’s super PAC and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. Manchin also spoke in NH on behalf of the group.
Could Manchin be their candidate? We’ll find out by Super Tuesday, when the non-party party has promised to announce their slate for the country’s top jobs.
LISTEN: ALI VELSHI ON THE NO LABELS PARTY
WATCH: ALI ON NO LABELS
MORE FROM MSNBC’S ALI VELSHI
