Monday, December 15, 2014

Question for MAYDAY.US and NoLabels.org

This MAYDAY activist would like some guidance relative to the differing agendas of MAYDAY.US and NoLabels.org. This is particularly motivated by a commonality of certain prime movers in those organizations.

The front page of MAYDAY.US states as its goal to "reduce the influence of money in politics by electing a Congress committed to fundamental reform by 2016."

The No Labels website says:
No Labels has a unique view on the root causes of dysfunction in our government and the required solutions.
Breaking gridlock is a preoccupation and priority of many reform organizations in D.C. and around the country. Often, these organizations are focused on bold systemic reform ideas to reduce the influence of hyperpartisanship, like getting money out of politics or putting an end to congressional gerrymandering.
These are certainly worthy and important endeavors — but they are tough, multi-year, state-by-state slogs. These ideas may never come to fruition – or only come in time. But America can’t afford to wait for the prospect of uncertain reform at some uncertain point in the future.
We need solutions to our most pressing problems now, and we need buy-in from both Democrats and Republicans to find them.
No Labels has embarked on the below specific plan, which targets the 2016 Presidential election.
No Labels is calling for America’s leaders to support a new governing process to build a National Strategic Agenda centered on four goals. These goals – chosen with input from a nationwide survey that No Labels conducted in the fall of 2013 – are:
Create 25 million new jobs over the next 10 years;
Balance the federal budget by 2030;
Secure Medicare and Social Security for another 75 years; and
Make America energy secure by 2024.
America urgently needs a National Strategic Agenda, and our leaders know it as evidenced by the fact that over 80 members of Congress have endorsed the process to create it.
When you look at Washington today, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that it is defined by all tactics, and no strategy.
Everything is about winning the next news cycle or the next election. What about winning the future for the country?
There needs to be a new paradigm for decision-making in our government. One that begins with agreement on big goals and progresses to agreement on key facts and the principles and policies that will be part of the solution.
That’s what the National Strategic Agenda is all about.
The National Strategic Agenda will be created with input from members of Congress, state and local leaders and regular citizens at No Labels sponsored Ideas meetings in Washington, DC, New Hampshire, Iowa and elsewhere. These meetings will enable No Labels to take the pulse of people nationwide and to ultimately forge agreement on a full policy plan to achieve the goals of the National Strategic Agenda.
No Labels is partnering with the global consulting firm Deloitte to help develop the agenda. Using the principles agreed to at the Ideas meetings, Deloitte will inform the creation of comprehensive policy and legislative solutions to the four goals in the National Strategic Agenda.
The completed National Strategic Agenda will be unveiled in New Hampshire and Iowa on October 5, 2015 just as the presidential election campaign season is ramping up.
No Labels will work to inject the agenda into the presidential debate by activating its network of citizens, members of Congress, and state and local leaders across America. No Labels’ ultimate goal is for the next president to call for a National Strategic Agenda, to work with Congress to implement it and to use No Labels’ agenda as the framework.
These are very ambitious agendas that MAYDAY and No Labels have. Their ultimate goal is largely a common one, to wit, to fix "dysfunctional" government. Their paths to trying to achieve that goal are different. Both paths (agendas) call for enormous efforts at both leadership and grassroots levels. The agendas are not working against each other, but they will involve different focus, and efforts prosecuting one agenda are not available for prosecuting the other agenda.

So, where does a grassroots "activist" such as myself decide to dedicate his efforts?

My efforts have been on behalf of the MAYDAY agenda.

I am interested in hearing comments by the leaderships of MAYDAY and No Labels about my choice.

I am particularly interested because Mark McKinnon was a co-founder of No Labels, and he recently joined with Lawrence Lessig to form MAYDAY. They are in a good position to discuss my question, and Mark McKinnon would seem to be an advocate of both agendas.

Other activists, either for MAYDAY or No Labels, may be interested in what the answer to my question is.

1 comment: