OPINION:
There seem to be two basic approaches to political persuasion: inspiration and fear. Historical figures like Presidents John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan embody the inspirational approach. The use of fear is perhaps best exemplified by the anti-communist Sen. Joe McCarthy in the 1950s — and too often by both major parties today.
Former President Donald Trump uses fear by telling voters that the America they love is being destroyed. His vindictive personal style is also intended to instill fear in his opponents. The left likes to pretend it doesn’t stoop to these tactics, but it has begun using the specter of a second Trump term as a scare tactic to block competition and crush dissent.
This is evident in the Democratic establishment’s treatment of No Labels, which is gaining ballot access for a potential independent unity ticket in 2024. This unity ticket would break the partisan stranglehold on our government and answer the call of the majority of American voters — at least 63% in recent polls — who want a third-party alternative to President Biden and Mr. Trump this year.
The partisan Democratic campaign against No Labels was recently documented by the media outlet Semafor, which described a secret call of “anti-Trump” political operatives who are “organizing an aggressive, multi-front campaign” to stop No Labels. They falsely claim that No Labels will help elect Mr. Trump, and they leave no doubt that their preferred strategy is to intimidate and frighten our supporters into submission.
As Matt Bennett of the Democratic think tank Third Way said on this secret call, “What we want to do with [No Labels donors] is continue to build the idea … that if you get involved with this, you are throwing, you’re really risking your entire reputation and your legacy.”
Another call participant described the strategy as to send the message to No Labels supporters: “If you have one fingernail clipping of a skeleton in your closet, we will find it. … We are going to come at you with every gun we can possibly find.”
This is how McCarthyism grew: by creating a climate of fear in which people were afraid to speak their mind. It didn’t matter if someone wasn’t actually a communist. They would be targeted if they dared to oppose McCarthy and his self-anointed “anti-communists.” Many people were terrified, so they either supported McCarthy or stayed silent.
We see similar tactics from the far left today. The self-anointed “saviors of democracy” don’t care if you aren’t a Trump supporter; they will come after you for daring to oppose them. In their minds, No Labels is as bad as Mr. Trump because it refuses to surrender to their narrative and accept the two unpopular candidates who look like they will be nominated by the two even more unpopular political parties.
Just as the anti-communists became as authoritarian as communists, these anti-Trump operatives are now every bit as fearmongering as Mr. Trump. In their quest to save democracy, they are undermining democracy by trying to limit choices for voters and impose an intellectual orthodoxy on the country.
Just as capitalism depends on the free market of goods and services to survive, a democracy depends on a free marketplace of ideas. Yet how can anyone who opposes both Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump — which is now a majority of the country — have a voice or a third choice when they are treated as if they, too, are a threat to democracy?
There is no difference between the attack-and-destroy strategy of Mr. Trump and the strategy of those quoted on this anti-No Labels call. If Mr. Trump had threatened, as they did, to “come at” an opponent “with every gun we can possibly find,” he would be rightly pilloried in the media.
The rabid partisan critics of No Labels should concentrate on inspiring the most voters, not on spreading fear. Is it any wonder the public is desperate for another choice?
The American people have a good sense for bad-faith actors. They want to believe in something better. They want to be inspired by a vision of politics where we aren’t constantly battling each other but instead working together to solve our problems.
We need leaders who will nurture that traditional American sense of hope, not inflame our sense of fear. We at No Labels believe such leaders may be right around the corner in a bipartisan unity ticket for president and vice president in 2024.
• Joe Lieberman is founding chairman of No Labels. A Democrat and independent, he served as a U.S. senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013.
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