Former Connecticut Senator and Democrat Vice Presidential candidate, Joe Lieberman, and former Republican Governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman joined Chris Ryan and Dean Spiliotes for Pints and Politics at the Barley House. Currently, Lieberman and Huntsman are working together as the co-chairs of an organization called No Labels. Both politicians had a reputation for working with members of the other party and now they are supporting an organization which promotes bi-partisan solutions to America’s problems–nolabels.org. In the course of the interview, they discussed their fond memories of campaigning in New Hampshire, the angst and excitement of the national debate stage, and the goals of their No Labels Organization. Joe Lieberman was the Senator from Connecticut from 1989-2013. In 2000, Joe Lieberman ran for Vice President as Al Gore’s running mate. He was a candidate for president in 2004. Jon Huntsman was the Governor of Utah from 2005-2009 and US Ambassador to Singapore from 1992-1993 and China from 2009-2011.
Huntsman and Lieberman enjoyed their interactions with New Hampshire voters when they were campaigning. Both men gave an insiders take on what is involved in surviving the pressures of national debates. Lieberman shared some of the techniques used by candidates to stay calm and how his preparation for his debate with Vice President Dick Cheney was like getting ready for a boxing match. Jon Huntsman related how difficult it was for him to have a break through moment in the debates because it didn’t fit his personality or his approach to politics. He would prefer a substantive discussion of issues. Despite it’s pitfalls and shortcomings, Lieberman and Huntsman feel that our current process does help to prepare the eventual winner for the job of president.
The current political scene which seems to be so polarized gives the No Labels Movement both a challenge and an opportunity. Governor Huntsman pointed out that 42% of the electorate is unaffiliated. They admit that it’s difficult to get excited about moderation, but so many voters see the political system as dysfunctional. Their goal is not to form a third party or to endorse candidates. They want voters to pressure elected representatives to pledge to work together to solve America’s problems. They have used polling to identify four major goals: 1) create more jobs; 2) develop energy security; 3) keep Social Security and Medicare solvent for the next 75 years; and 4) balance the federal budget. They wouldn’t say which of the current crop of candidates from either party would be representative of their ideals, but they been able to get a broad spectrum of legislators on Capitol Hill to join their Problem Solvers Caucus which promises to work toward resolving the 4 problems/goals of No Labels.
