Candidates from both parties come together, and spar, at ‘No Labels’ event
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Version 0 of 1. MANCHESTER, N.H. — This was not a typical political convention. Before lunch, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump defended himself against an accusation that he’s not “a friend to women.” In the afternoon, following a panel discussion with Hollywood activists, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) gave a lecture so long there was no time for audience questions. Both presidential candidates raised questions about the role of super PACs in the presidential election, said the unemployment rate is probably much higher than reported and complained about jobs being shipped overseas. Neither seemed to notice running over the allotted time. Meanwhile, their campaigns awkwardly staffed side-by-side booths; Trump’s workers dressed in blazers and khakis while Sanders’s wore jeans and T-shirts. The goal of the “Problem Solver Convention” on Monday, hosted by the No Labels bipartisan advocacy organization, was to get eight presidential candidates — five Republicans and three Democrats — to shed their political labels for the day and openly discuss how to work across the aisle to create jobs, secure the futures of Medicare and Social Security, balance the federal budget, and use more reliable energy sources. Democrats diplomatically introduced Republican speakers and vice versa. “This is an unbelievable experiment in political science,” said Jon Huntsman Jr., the former Republican governor of Utah who founded No Labels with Joe Lieberman, a former senator from Connecticut and a Democrat turned independent. “Today is all about the parties coming together.” [In GOP, ‘The pattern of crowning the nominee has been broken’] The two highest-polling presidential candidates at the convention — Trump and Sanders, who is running as a Democrat — absorbed most of the attention, though audience members also jockeyed to get a selfie with some of the actors who showed up, including Dean Norris of “Breaking Bad” and Wayne Knight of “Seinfeld.” Missing was actress Rose McGowan, who exploded at a private dinner the night before the convention, saying the crowd was “very, very white” and didn’t represent the United States. Norris, who plays a Drug Enforcement Administration agent named Hank Schrader on the AMC show, warned the audience to be careful with labels, noting that gang members in L.A. sometimes kill one another based on labels and clothing color choices “Those labels, they don’t help us, they don’t empower us,” Norris said. “They weaken us.” The politicians who spoke during the 10-hour event seemed to engage in a one-upping contest for who supported problem-solving and bipartisanship the most — or just blew off the theme of the day. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) gushed about working with Democrats in his state — a characterization they might challenge. Former New York governor George Pataki (R) invited a Democrat onto the stage to grill him on climate change. Fomer Virginia senator Jim Webb (D) listed Republicans who co-sponsored legislation with him. Sanders praised bipartisanship then stuck to his regular talking points, not seeming to know that audience members wanted to ask him questions remotely. “Let’s sit down and analyze what the most important problems are that we face as a country and figure out together how we go forward,” Sanders said via the video feed. “Let’s treat each other civilly. Let’s treat each other respectfully. And let’s not try to demonize people who may have disagreements with us.” [Democrats see a more substantive, if sleepy, debate than rowdy GOP show] Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley (D) listed liberal reforms achieved in his state, where Democrats are the majority.O’Malley received one of the oddest questions of the day from a spandex-wearing “Problem Solver Man” who wanted to know which “bipartisan restaurant” O’Malley would frequent with Republican leaders. “I didn’t know that restaurants were partisan,” O’Malley said, adding that as governor he would sometimes host bipartisan pizza nights at the governor’s mansion. “It’s not that simple, but sometimes it does come down to just treating people like human beings and picking up the phone and calling members and asking them their perspective, knowing what their wives’ names are. . . . We have to treat people like people.” Meanwhile, New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairwoman Jennifer Horn declared that “Republican is a label I wear proudly.” Trump started by boasting about his poll numbers and later bashed President Obama for being too negative. And nearly everyone unloaded at some point on Congress, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): “In many ways, it’s easier to go to Afghanistan than it is Washington,” he said. “At least you know who the enemy is.” Halfway through the day, Huntsman and Lieberman stopped to reflect on how things were going. “We didn’t expect tones to change immediately,” Huntsman said in an interview. “So we’re seeding the terrain.” Huntsman and Lieberman — who have both unsuccessfully run for president — founded No Labels to confront what they call an “all-or-nothing attitude” that has divided the country and gridlocked Washington. They assembled an audience of local residents and college students participating in a training program. Activists pushing for wider access to AIDS treatment got a couple candidates to a commit to their cause. And a bearded protester known for handing out flowers at campaign events was escorted out by police following a disturbance. Huntsman and Lieberman were both amused and impressed that Trump agreed to attend, given that this was a tougher crowd than he usually gets at rallies. Trump was confronted by several questions about women, including his stances on abortion and pay equity. Each time, he answered the questions curtly and quickly before moving on, sometimes jumping in before the whole question was asked. One audience member asked Trump whether his “divisive language” on the campaign trail would make it difficult for him to solve problems as president. Trump said that as the field narrows, he will probably spend less time attacking his opponents — or, as he likes to say, counterpunching them. But, he added, “I don’t think anybody in this room wants somebody who is not going to fight back.” There was one moment in Trump’s appearance that struck Huntsman and Lieberman as a small victory for their cause: As Trump rattled off his usual talking points on reducing the national debt, promising that he would take care of it, some in the crowd started shouting: How? How? “That was fascinating,” Lieberman said afterward. Huntsman agreed: “I’ve never seen anything like that.” |