No Labels group’s ‘moderate’ claim is a ruse

Published 1:30 am Friday, February 16, 2024

Thank you for the valuable article on disinformation (“A guide to disinformation’s tropes and tactics,” The Herald, Feb. 3). Another type of disinformation we see in American politics is misrepresentation, and there may be no better example than No Labels.

No Labels presents itself as a centrist organization. However, one of No Labels’ co-founders, former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., stated to NBC News that the organization hopes to draw enough votes to throw the election to the U.S. House of Representatives, in which each state delegation gets one vote. Considering that Washington state has 7.8 million residents to Wyoming’s 580,000, this means that a resident of Cheyenne would have 13 times more influence over the choice of U.S. president than a resident of Everett will.

The winners of the 2024 House elections would be voting in this example. We do not know who those winners will be. However, the House currently has a Republican majority, and 26 of the 50 state delegations are controlled by Republicans, so it would seem likely that throwing the election to the House would result in the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, becoming President.

This would be a satisfactory result for No Labels’ donors, who are, as reported by Mother Jones and other news organizations, dominated by conservatives, and include Harlan Crow, benefactor of conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Presenting itself as a centrist organization, No Labels has gained a spot on the ballot in nine states, and is trying to get on the ballot in all 50. If No Labels does make it onto the ballot here, I hope Washington voters can see through the ruse.

Brent Butterworth

Everett