No Labels Has a Solution

Submitted by Kelsey McLaughlin on September 27, 2012
Tags: 
Problem-Solver's Daily
matt miller
Make Congress Work
filibuster
No Budget No Pay
Fiscal Cliff

FIXING THE FILIBUSTER: The abuse of the filibuster explains just why our leaders can't seem to solve any of the problems facing our nation. Fortunately, "the No Labels group has smartly called for a filibuster fix as part of a broader agenda to 'Make Congress Work,'" writes Matt Miller for The Washington Post. "The mere threat of a filibuster shuts down or waters down legislation (from health care to bank reform) every day. It’s no exaggeration to say you can’t get anything done in the Senate nowadays without 60 votes ... And today, the minority can bottle things up quietly without explaining themselves in public, as Jimmy Stewart did. The result is the tyranny of the minority that the founders warned against." Matt Miller for The Washington Post: It's the Filibuster, Stupid

ANOTHER DEFAULT: "For years, the Postal Service has been looking for action from a Congress that in some ways has been pretty lame in response," writes Joe Davidson for The Washington Post. The USPS is about to default on its required payments for the second time in history, only a few weeks after the first. While Congress had the opportunity to act in the interim, members instead went home and left the problem unsolved in Washington: Joe Davidson for The Washington Post: Postal Service to default on retiree health payment, again
 
GUESSING GAME: How is Washington going to handle the fiscal cliff? A number of different outcomes are possible based on what happens on Election Day, but regardless of who wins, Congress and the president have to decide whether to solve problems, or play political games. David Wessell notes that it may not solely be up to elected officials in Washington, as citizens and businesses could put enough pressure on Washington to drive action: David Wessell for The Wall Street Journal: Guessing the Fiscal Cliff's Fate
 
SEEING ACROSS-THE-AISLE WORK: While attending a dinner party last weekend, Gail Kerr saw something unusual: seven Tennessee Republicans and one Democrat on stage together talking about the No Budget, No Pay Act. Kerr believes that No Budget, No Pay is a common-sense solution and writes, "At at time when voters from all political specters feel free to post their inner ugly on the Internet, people are 'meaner than a junkyard dog,' and Congress can’t agree on what time it is, this is one to savor." Gail Kerr forThe Tennessean: Budget act is something we can all get behind
 
HIRING DOWN: Due to a lack of problem-solving on the fiscal cliff, top business leaders are not going to increase their hirings. "The Business Roundtable said Wednesday that only 29 percent of its member CEOs plan to increase hiring over the next six months. That’s down from 36 percent in June, when the group last released its quarterly survey. It’s also much lower than the 52 percent of CEOs in early 2011 who said they planned to boost hiring, which was the highest percentage since the survey began in 2002." The Associated Press in The Salt Lake City Tribune: CEOs see less hiring due to gridlock worries
 
LEAVING A LEGACY: Sen. Richard Lugar has been in Washington for 36 years. In his final months in office, Lugar is focused on ensuring all the across-the-aisle work he did is still there when he's gone, most notably the Nunn-Lugar weapons reduction program, which aims to dismantle nuclear weapons and was crafted with the help of his friend Democrat Sam Nunn. Lugar is also combating disease around the world as Scott Wong notes, "In October, when many of his congressional colleagues will be back in their home states, glad-handing voters and pointing fingers at the other party, Lugar hopes to be in Southeast Asia campaigning to combat deadly pathogens." Scott Wong for POLITICO: Dick Lugar burnishes legacy as Richard Mourdock struggles
 
FROM THE FIELD: Help to spread the No Labels message by handing out one of these fliers in your area.
 
THE DAILY BREAK: How would you feel if you stood in line all night to get the new iPhone 5 only to see it break before your eyes? Check out these reactions of fans: Christine Erickson for Mashable: Prankster Drops Boxes of iPhones in Front of Apple Fans [VIDEO]
 
ACTION OF THE DAY: Sick of Congress heading home when there's so much work to be done? Sign the petition to tell Congress to work a five-day week, just like you.
 
STAT OF THE DAY: A total of 73 percent of likely U.S. voters think that Congress should cut short campaigning and stay in session until it has found a way to avert the fiscal cliff of blind cuts and tax hikes at the end of the year: Research America: September 2012 National Poll