We're not supposed to have these choices
The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal all agree: we the people should have to choose between candidates from the established parties. Good thing they weren't around in 1860 when the new Republican Party candidate Abe Lincoln had the effrontery to get elected. Actually the NYT was around then; they didn't like him.
Then as now the establishment parties had failed to deal with the pressing issues of the times and rampant corruption.
No Labels is an organization which is working to get on the ballot in every state so that they can run an alternative slate in case we're once again left with a dismal choice between Trump and Biden. I donated to this effort as well as to the campaigns of several Republican primary challengers. Democrats are particularly alarmed (with some reason) . Establishment Republicans are nervous, too. Tellingly, Dems don't say "No Labels will deny us four more years of Biden"; instead they say "No Labels might help give use four more years of Trump". If that's the only problem with No Labels, all the Democrats have to do is have a primary and come up with a better candidate and all the Republicans have to do is nominate someone else.
Last week No Labels published the chart below (available as a PDF here) showing where they stand on issues (green column) as opposed to Trump (pink) and Biden (blue). I don't agree with No Labels on every issue but I was blown away with how often I do agree with their common sense approach. It was impressive that their first row is refusing to pander on the necessity of Social Security reform. They agree with Biden on universal background checks for gun buyers and with Trump on school choice.
Please, before you let the failing traditional parties and mainstream media on both sides scare you away from more choices, take a look at this chart.
| Issue/Position | Common Sense | Idea | Trump | Biden |
| Social Security | Our leaders must act now to solve today’s economic challenges before they become impossible to solve tomorrow. | Fix Social Security now to protect beneficiaries from 24% cuts within a decade. |
“I will do everything within my power not to touch Social Security.” | “I guarantee you I will protect Social Security and Medicare without any change." |
| Debt | Washington must stop spending more than it takes in. | Congress must vote on a debt reduction plan from an independent bipartisan commission. |
National debt during term: $19 trillion -> $27 trillion. |
National debt during term: $28 trillion -> $32 trillion. |
| Immigration | America is a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. |
Secure the border. Attract hardworking taxpayers. Protect the Dreamers. |
“Why do we want all these people from s***hole countries coming here?” | 2022 saw the most illegal border crossings in U.S. history. |
| Energy | An all-of-the-above energy strategy is the best way to lower prices for American families | Don't inhibit oil and gas production; do expand reliable, carbon-free nuclear power. | “I’m not a believer in global warming.” | “No more drilling on federal lands. No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill. Period.” |
| Free Speech | The free flow of information is crucial for a democratic society. |
Ban social media companies, government institutions, and political parties from censoring information unfavorable to them. | The FAKE NEWS media ... is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!” | A federal judge said that under President Biden, “the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth” and is potentially guilty of “the most massive attack against free speech in United States history." |
| Voting | Every legal voter should have the ability to vote, every legal vote should be counted and every counted vote should be verified | Restore faith in elections by making it easier to vote by mail and requiring an ID to vote. | "Mail ballots are a very dangerous thing for this country." | Said voter ID requirements are "an attempt to repress minority voting." |
| Transgender | Every American deserves respect and freedom from discrimination | Three quarters of Americans support laws to protect transgender individuals from discrimination, but also don’t want sexuality and gender issues taught to young children. |
“We’re going to defeat the cult of gender ideology.” |
Says efforts by states to limit access to puberty blockers and hormones for minors is “immoral” and “outrageous. |
| Abortion | America must strike a balance between protecting women’s rights to control their own reproductive health and our society’s responsibility to protect human life. | Most Americans do not want bans on abortion, but most do want limits on it. | “There has to be some form of punishment” for women who get abortions. | Supports legislation that would overturn almost all state limits on abortion |
| Guns | Americans have a constitutional right to own guns but society also has a responsibility to keep dangerous weapons away from dangerous people. | Universal background checks. | Mass shootings are “not a gun problem." |
Supports universal background checks. |
| Education | No child should be forced to go to a failing school. | Open 10,000 public charter schools in the next decade. |
Says school choice is “the civil rights issue of all time.” |
"I am not a charter school fan.”
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