It is easy to become disheartened, disenfranchised and cynical about our gridlocked political system. I was among those who believed Congress’ partisan culture was impossible to change until I learned of No Labels, a movement to change the culture and rules in Washington.
No Labels is exactly what its name implies; my desire for our country to move forward is unrelated to whether I am a Republican, Democrat or independent. Elected officials should represent the people and not their political party. I believe a shift from “I win, you lose,” to “let’s work together” is necessary. Disagreements need not prevent discussion and, perhaps, compromise.
No Labels is the means to make this a reality. We are a group of more than 3,000 Minnesotans who want our congressional representatives to “Stop Fighting and Start Fixing.” More than 500,000 citizens nationwide have joined No Labels with a desire to change Washington. We approached many of our congressional representatives, and sadly several did not respond to our requests for a meeting. I am very pleased that both Sens. Klobuchar and Franken met with us, discussed our vision, listened to our suggestions, and shared their efforts and frustrations.
We asked each of them to join the “Problem Solvers Caucus.” This caucus, created in part by No Labels, currently brings 69 senators and representatives together – including Minnesota Rep. Rick Nolan (District 8) – to discuss their vision, their goals, and work toward common-sense solutions to our nation’s challenges.
Though neither senator has yet committed to becoming a Problem Solver, we look forward to continuing the dialogue and eventually having them join the caucus. Thank you to both Klobuchar and Franken, and their staffs, for making us feel it is possible to get our country back on track. How refreshing to feel that I have a voice again.
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Ugh
I went to the website for this group and looked at the legislation it supports. A lot of it has nothing to do with problem solving, and is instead is the kind of divisive garbage that this group purports to oppose. Kudos to Franken and Klobuchar for not signing on.