“No Labels” finally has its presidential candidate — and he’s running on the Republican ticket.
The scolding centrist non-partisan nonprofit hasn’t officially endorsed Donald Trump, but its founding co-chairman Jon Huntsman has. And Trump, in many ways, is the perfect fit for the group, and for the mindset and attitude behind it: the condescending, self-styled non-ideological pragmatism that speaks as if obvious and easy policy answers are at hand to fix all of our problems, if only partisans and ideologues would “stop fighting and start fixing.”
Huntsman on Monday brought his “stop fighting” message to Republican voters. Get in line behind the GOP frontrunner, Huntsman argues. Quit the talk of contesting the convention, running third-party, or staying home. Vote Trump.
A “moderate” like Huntsman endorsing Trump shocked some commentators, but it’s actually a great fit. Trump embodies the No Labels approach to politics.
Non-partisan and bipartisan? Trump is the pinnacle of this. He was a registered Democrat until a few years ago. Trump has donated to Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Rahm Emanuel the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. On the federal level, Trump has reportedly given about 30 percent of his money to Democrats. In New York state, he’s reportedly given about 60 percent to Dems.
Trump brags about his ability to win crossover voters, and his bragging proved true — the most reliable Trump demographic has been the registered Democrat who votes in the Republican primary. Huntsman praised Trump’s “ability to cut across traditional party boundaries.”
Non-ideological? You couldn’t get less ideological than Donald Trump. He calls himself a “common-sense conservative,” which means he occasionally adopts conservative views, but feels totally unbound by principles or any coherent philosophy of government.
Trump is clearly not wedded to any idea of smaller government, or frankly any limits on government. And that’s the key. The real obstacle to the Pragmatic Centrist Agenda — as presented by not only No Labels, but also pundits and politicians of many stripes — is probably the Constitution: its irritating checks and balances, and its curbs on the power of the majority. So archaic!
This is the mantra, and the true belief of this odd slice of the American political class: that we could all solve problems if we set aside ideology and just stopped bickering. Just below the surface here are condescension and and a whiff of fascism, two Trumpian traits.
Trump says Washington can’t solve problems because “the stupid people” run the show. Under President Trump, “We’ll have all the smartest people.” The smartest people will solve the problems.
This echoes Chris Christie’s disdain for deliberation. The New Jersey governor, during his presidential run, would tout his bold leadership and mock Washington’s “subcommittees.” (Christie hates subcommittees. Under President Trump, one expects Secretary Christie will outlaw subcommittees.) Folks like Christie made it clear what they wanted: a strong leader, unbeholden to ideology or party who would simply get things done.
This includes calls to end “bickering” when Congress debates an issue like taxes, or spending and the national debt. But here’s the thing: Liberals, conservatives, moderates, libertarians and populists all actually disagree on things. Debating and fighting is how a democracy resolves these issues. Trump and the No Labels crowd think that debate is dumb and a waste of time.
Trump’s fascistic strains are fairly obvious. He objects that preacher Rafael Cruz “is allowed to say” certain things, he calls for press crackdowns, killing innocents who are related to terrorists, and forcing military officers to break the law. The Pragmatic Centrists have a more hidden fascistic streak.
“Exploit the fear factor,” Politico alumnus Jim Vandehei wrote in his recent manifesto for a centrist Innovation Party. A third-party presidential “candidate should be from the military,” Vandehei writes. “A third-party candidate could build on death-by-drones …” Vandehei calls for a “National App” whereby Washington can coordinate labor flows.
“Who is to blame for Trump?” is a popular game in Washington these. In the wake of Huntsman’s endorsement, allow me to suggest a new culprit: No Labels, and the gang scolding Pragmatic Centrists. They have spent years telling voters that common-sense solutions to our nation’s problems are at hand, but only the perfidy and stupidity of our leaders stand in the way.
If you wonder why millions of Americans believe Trump can solve our problems, even though he has no understanding of policy, blame these No Labels types and preachy pragmatists.
Policy is tricky in real life. Different people have different views on what makes good policy. Solving our problems is hard. Donald Trump denies these truths, and so does the No Labels ideology.
This mindset is dangerous and condescending. That’s something on which I think Left and Right can agree.
Timothy P. Carney, the Washington Examiner’s senior political columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]. His column appears Tuesday and Thursday nights on washingtonexaminer.com.
