As the Trump-Biden rematch shifts into high gear, many Americans like me are left wondering whether this is really the best we can do in a country of 330 million people. The group No Labels sought to prove that it wasn’t, that we could find two extraordinary leaders–one Republican and one Democrat—to run for president on a unity ticket and offer a better path forward for America.
Against withering attacks from the two-party system, No Labels built the infrastructure and secured the ballot access necessary to launch such a ticket. They opened the door for candidates to run, but no one walked through it. Despite speaking with many high-profile names, both within the political and business world, No Labels was unable to find suitable leaders to take on this daring experiment in democracy.
So, there we have it: Trump and Biden are apparently the best we can do, at least for now. That’s a sad commentary on the status of leadership in America. Never in modern history have so many Americans been unsatisfied with their choices. According to Gallup, 63% of U.S. voters want another option for president. And yet no credible leaders were willing to answer the people’s call to put country before self.
The question is, why?
For one, the unity ticket required a Republican and a Democrat to run together. Not only does that necessitate a great leader to head the ticket, but it requires an extraordinary leader to join them from the opposite party as a vice presidential candidate. The latter half of the equation is the hard part, because it requires someone humble enough to be No. 2 and also brave enough to join forces with a leader of the opposing party.
No Labels ran up against the immovable reality of the two-party duopoly in America, which boxes our leaders into corners and keeps them separated at all costs. One needs to look no further than the gridlock of Congress to see how well that is working. Together these two parties control some 99.96% of elected offices in America, and they are reluctant to give up this power. When presented with a disruptive concept like the Unity ticket, the parties saw a threat and held their leaders back.
The Democratic Party was the most stubbornly opposed to the idea, claiming that the unity ticket would hurt Joe Biden by siphoning off the moderates he would need to win. But the polling doesn’t support that assertion, nor does basic common sense.
Many Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are desperate for an alternative to Donald Trump. Surveys of the first three Republican primary states found that anywhere from 20% to 33% of GOP voters would refuse to vote for Trump in the general election. It stands to reason that a unity ticket featuring a moderate Republican in the top spot could have attracted most of those voters and likely doomed Trump’s campaign.
Sadly, the accusation that the ticket would boost Trump was enough to scare Democratic candidates back into their corner, leaving voters back where we started: forced to choose between two undesired candidates, albeit with a third choice in the form of the unpredictable Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
So, what are we to do?
Many Americans are understandably exhausted by politics and tempted to simply stay home on election day. I get it. But this would be a terrible mistake. We cannot leave this choice up to the most die-hard partisan voters. As moderates, we need to participate and force these candidates to compete for our votes.
Only then can we influence their positions.
Beyond that, we need to play the long game. Rather than letting the poor choices deter us, we must let them motivate us to cultivate better leaders. We need to lean in and become an active part of the conversation. If the unity ticket succumbed to a lack of brave bipartisan champions, then we must elect a new crop of leaders, starting in state, local, and congressional elections.
No Labels has said that this will be its mission going forward. Sign me up.
The Trump-Biden rematch may be the best we can do as a country today, but it must not be the best we can do going forward. There is a better way, and it’s up to us to find it.
Roger Hutson is a co-chair of No Labels Colorado, a board member of Colorado Concern, and the CEO of HRM Resources IV, LLC
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