No Labels' good intentions will lead to election of Trump

Aug. 15 −To the Editor:

The goals of No Labels as outlined by Steve Borne all are worthy in my view. Return to cooperative government and retreat from the extremes. The Problem Solvers group in Congress is an effective path forward, I agree. That said, I heard a No Labels spokesperson interviewed on the radio, and he said that they are trying to get on the ballot in all 50 states so that if the race is close they can field a third party candidate. At the same time he said that they for sure want Donald Trump NOT to be president again. He also said that No Lablels has no intention of becoming a third party, they just want to be a tool to get the existing parties to behave better. Huh? The interviewer pointed out that all surveys, including their own, indicate that in a rematch with Biden a No Labels candidate would garner votes somewhere in the mid 20’s percent allowing Donald Trump to win the presidency with as little as 35 per cent of the vote. (Remember, the Electoral College structure gives Republican leaning states disproportional power.) But that landed on deaf ears.

For those of us not enmeshed in the MAGA cult, a Donald Trump victory would be a descent into authoritarianism. Rule of Law – out the window. What more evidence do we need than the scheme to substitute fake electors for the real ones? I cannot understand why third parties attempt to introduce themselves at the presidential level. Even if not enamored with Biden, this is not the time to torpedo him with a third party candidate. Better strategy to effect change would be to work hard to elect sensible people in either major party, not idealogues, at the Congressional level, and field third party candidates at the local level.

Jeffrey Cooper

Portsmouth