With an eight-page Department of Justice complaint in its back pocket, the No Labels organization came out swinging at a National Press Club event yesterday, Jan. 18, alleging conspiracy, criminal behavior, and voter intimidation by several activist political groups it says are hindering the nascent party's 2024 ballot access initiative.
An august group of political heavyweights, anchored by former Senator Joe Lieberman, now a co-founder of the 501(c)(4) non-profit, laid out a disturbing list of actions against those involved in No Labels – from staff to donors to vendors and pretty much everyone in between.
The question is whether the anti-No Labels groups have crossed the line from typical hardball politics into criminal behavior. "The activists, operatives, and party officials behind this conspiracy," the organization contends in the DOJ letter, "claim to be protecting American democracy, but they are in fact actively subverting it …"
No Labels Making the Left Nervous
Without citing the Democratic Party explicitly in its letter to the DOJ, the names of the organizations mentioned in the complaint demonstrate a leftist or anti-Trump bias. These include Move on Political Action, American Bridge, End Citizens United, Public Citizen, Reproductive Freedom for All, and the Lincoln Project. No Labels put forward the following evidence they say makes their case:
Third Way co-founder Matt Bennett said in a call he coordinated with the other organizations: “What we want to do with [No Labels'] donors is continue to build the idea in the minds of the political elites and the people that they talk to . . . [is] that if you get involved with this, you are throwing, you're really risking your entire reputation and your legacy."
Another attendee of the call reportedly said: "Through every channel we have, to their donors, their friends, the press, everyone — everyone — should send the message: If you have one fingernail clipping of a skeleton in your closet, we will find it. If you think you were vetted when you ran for governor, you're insane. That was nothing. We are going to come at you with every gun we can possibly find."
"Rick Wilson, cofounder of the Lincoln Project, another organization actively working to prevent No Labels from exercising its constitutional rights, posted a tweet with an accompanying video on April 6, 2023, urging that No Labels and its leaders 'need to be burned to the fu****** ground politically.'"
"On June 23, 2023, Melissa Moss, former finance director for the Democratic Party and representative of the Lincoln Project, asked to meet with Holly Page, a No Labels cofounder, and Board of Advisors member, for breakfast in Washington … During the breakfast, Ms. Moss explicitly threatened Ms. Page's financial future based on her affiliation with No Labels. In particular, Ms. Moss stated, 'You have no idea of the forces aligned against you. You will never be able to work in Democratic politics again.' She later added, 'You are going to get it with both barrels.'"
The No Labels complaint also alleges several top Biden administration officials – including former Chief of Staff Ron Klain – attended yet another "Stop No Labels" meeting.
In exposing the grimy underbelly of the behind-the-scenes push to halt the No Label movement in its tracks, it becomes crystal clear that those who fear the third-party's ballot initiative emanate from the progressive/leftist/anti-Trump factions. As Senior Political Analyst Tim Donner recently wrote for Liberty Nation:
“Already, spoiler candidates represent something of a recurring nightmare for the Democratic party. The small slice of votes drawn by Green Party candidate Jill Stein in 2016 essentially cost Hillary Clinton Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania – and the election. And Democrats still have not forgiven consumer activist Ralph Nader for his candidacy in 2000 that almost certainly lost Florida – and the election – for Al Gore.”
The No Labels strategy appears to be to let the sun shine on these intimidation tactics and see if either the light or the Department of Justice will come to its rescue. Thirty-two states permit ballot access without the restriction of naming a candidate. Currently, No Labels is on the ballot in 14. Should it get on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, it plans to "offer its ballot line to a Unity presidential ticket," according to the frequently asked questions document handed out at the National Press Club.
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