Letter to the editor: No Labels plan is praiseworthy

To the Editor:

I don’t read Fortune magazine often, as I have neither a fortune nor the means to obtain one, but earlier this week I was reading the May 1 edition at my wife’s doctor’s office and was intrigued to find information on a bi-partisan group bent on influencing the next president’s agenda, and Congress’s reaction to it. 

The group was formed by Joe Lieberman, former senator from Connecticut, and John Huntsman, Jr., former governor of Utah – both former presidential candidates from different political parties. They organized a non-profit think-tank that has developed a plan for significantly changing the priorities in Washington, including four major goals with 60 policy recommendations, a petition for citizens to sign, as well as a pledge for Congress members to agree to, about 80 of whom already have. Joni Ernst has signed the group’s Problem Solver Pledge; David Young and Charles Grassley have not.

While I don’t necessarily agree with everything they propose, it is a huge step in the right direction, guaranteed to make lobbyists’ heads explode and challenge each party’s core commitments – results that are, in themselves, praise-worthy. You can learn more at http://fortune.com/no-labels-campaign, or at nolabels.org.

Steve Turman, Red Oak