Time to Log Off is a weekly series documenting the many ways our political figures show their whole asses online.
If there is a perfect, pathetic encapsulation of the bad-faith opportunism that permeates so much of the self-proclaimed centrist bubble in politics today, it’s No Labels, a “national movement of Democrats, Republicans, and independents working to bring our leaders together to solve America’s toughest problems.” Incidentally, that so-called national movement just happens to a large degree to be funded by a suite of conservative donors pushing a lopsidedly Republican (and occasionally right-leaning Democratic) agenda under the guise of good ol’ fashioned, aw-shucks bipartisanism.
It’s noteworthy, then, to point out that while Arizona senator and ostensible Democrat Kyrsten Sinema’s allegedly ego-fueled compulsion to trash every one of her party’s major legislative priorities has resulted in a mass exodus of friends, advisers, and cash, No Labels has opted to take the opposite approach, backing the committed obstructionist as a “courageous” leader standing alone in the face of “cynical” opportunists.
Putting aside the migraine-inducing irony of No Labels’s conspicuous decision to start labeling people, the group’s conservative hypocrisy stands in even starker relief when you consider that their “cynical” poster child is U.S. Rep. Reuben Gallego, the Democratic congressman currently racking up support from many of Sinema’s former backers ahead of a potential primary challenge. That No Labels wouldn’t even name Gallego — a former Marine and member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — in its tweet, while at the same time claiming “courageous is better,” is all the more embarrassing.
Having said that, the adage that when you answer a fool, two fools are talking, applies in this instance. That’s thanks to No Labels’s fellow centrist opportunists, the Lincoln Project — itself widely considered a huge scam — which jumped into the fray to ... well, I’m not sure exactly? Establish itself as king of Mediocre Mountain, I suppose?
No Labels, your response?
Defending Sinema is, in and of itself, a pretty dumb move for anyone who isn’t a card-carrying member of the GOP — which, of course, many of No Labels’s donors are. But the Lincoln Project’s decision to get involved in a very public, very inconsequential way is equally baffling. Who is this fight for? What person on Earth is going to see a pair of well-funded, Republican-leaning groups staffed by conservative operatives having an incredibly stupid spat, and think, “Ah yes, this is a great use of everyone’s time and money”? Every single person involved here — from whomever made No Labels’s graphic to whoever runs the Lincoln Project’s Twitter account — needs to go outside, take a breath of fresh air, and log immediately off until further notice.
