You knew it was going to be different when we got the “Marianne Williamson for President” buttons featuring New Hampshire’s state bird, the purple finch, proudly displayed before a pink heart.  Amid all the campaign trail mud slinging, now that’s refreshing.   Remember, this is the woman who won acclaim for her 1992 book Return to Love and the dozen others that call for a spiritual shift in our collective consciousness.  

The venue was Manchester Community College, an unprepossessing cement-block classroom in an equally unprepossessing building. But, oh dear, with 15 minutes to showtime, besides me there are only two older ladies with red Marianne t-shirts in the audience! A worried young volunteer hands us a summary of her priorities. Lady A looks at it incredulously: “universal healthcare, free child dare, cancel student loans…that’s a lot of money she’s going to spend!” Lady B tells her that  other countries do it by taxing the rich, up to 50%. Lady A looks doubtful, but they quickly move on to the safer topic of disparaging the Republicans they’ve seen.  “That Vivek. He’s as nutty as Trump!”

            15 minutes later our numbers had increased by two and one of the ladies asked the volunteer if this hadn’t been publicized.  He told us there had been a lot of “oppression” from Manchester’s Democratic establishment. The College was apparently in on it, having originally said they could have this room for free, but then reneging and demanding payment. Dirty tricks to meet the Party’s agenda of getting Biden re-elected?  Williamson tells us later that last election CNN and MSNBC gave her some air time, though they treated her as a joke. This time it’s “erasure” from the media even though she’s higher in polls than some of the Republicans who made the debates. Now you’ve got to admit, folks, that’s infuriating.  There shouldn’t be these thumbs on the scale. 

            In the end there were only 4 campaign volunteers and 7 other people in the room. Zero students and only one young person, a guy from Rhode Island who drove up because he’d been impressed by something she wrote. Williamson got there late, with apologies, and was unfazed by the low turnout, plowing into her stump speech with alacrity. Every politician has to be an actor, playing a role for an audience even when the house is nearly empty and she delivered a great performance, with the intimacy of the setting making it even more effective.  She’s 71, but has a youthful air and after decades in the public eye has honed her speaking skills to a fine edge.  

            This is a crazy year for the Democrats because NH law says our state has to go first in the primaries, but the national committee has forbidden NH to jump ahead of South Carolina.   That means that if NH does hold its primary first, Biden’s name will not appear except by write-in and as punishment to NH for jumping the line, no delegates will be awarded from that vote.  The DNC will only allow some delegates from a later election that they approve of, and Biden will appear on that one.  So, since the DNC has effectively stripped her of any delegates, her goal now is to win the first vote, shake things up, and show the country she’s got the people behind her.  

            She echoed much of what she, Sanders and Warren said last time around: the US has “gone awry”.  So many people are not doing well while for decades the government has favored corporations over workers.  Like the Republicans who warn of the “swamp” in the Beltway, she warns that our national government is broken. The difference is that the Republicans see the swamp snakes in the bureaucracy, while Williamson tells us that Washington has become a “system of legalized bribery” as corporations bankroll candidates who vote their way.  Go to her website for details on all her positions.

            She has some proposals that stand out. She wants a Dept. of Peace.  She wants to end the War on Drugs–it’s only made it worse.  So much money wasted, so much incarceration. We should be getting people into recovery and off drugs and it would help our border problem because so many are fleeing the cartels. Reduce the demand for drugs here, and it will disempower the suppliers.

            She tells us this is no ordinary time. We’re heading for the iceberg and need to turn the ship around.  We need a big change, and in the past big changes did not come from political parties, they came from people outside politics—the abolitionists, the suffragists. Today the RNC and DNC are just another part of the tyranny of the corporate machines.  Something is going to break.  Either there will be a radical redirection or dystopia and war.  The DNC has decreed that thou shalt not challenge an incumbent, but the danger is, if Biden runs, Gen Z won’t vote and Trump is re-elected.

             She’s as quick as any other candidate. She’s got charisma.  She’s got ideas that any Sandernista would find attractive. She’s got an adoring crowd largely made up of women who have found her books inspirational.  What she doesn’t have is experience in government, but if you wanted an outsider, she would fit the bill. I just wonder if the under-40s would look at her as anything but some woman as old as Biden with little in common with their concerns, especially because the younger generations don’t read very much.  In her books she talks about her 20s as the wasted years.  Is it any different for the Gen Zs who weren’t even curious enough to show up when she’s right on your own campus? 

You have to shake your head in wonder at the candidates who are down in the polls, fighting the established politicians and the systems that support them.  They’re pouring their own money in with (historically) little chance of getting anywhere. A cynic might say she’s trying to sell her books, but she didn’t mention them and I doubt any bump in sales would offset what she’s losing on the campaign trail.  Maybe we should drop the cynicism and accept that these men and women are genuinely concerned about the country. 

 A nice encapsulation of who she is came in the final moments as that young guy from Rhode Island admitted he was new to politics, and that hearing her he had so many questions.  In a sleeveless shirt on this hot day with tattoos galore and a fade haircut, he seemed a bit star struck and, exhibiting the inability to differentiate normal language from obscenity that seems to be a hallmark of youth these days  (and please allow some editing in case my elderly relatives are reading this) told her, “I’m amazed to be talking to you like this, you’re pretty frigging high up.” She responded sans expletive that he was higher up than her, because as a voter, he would be choosing her and she would be working for him.  He went on to say he was bothered by the fact that “young voters don’t frigging care.” Her response was simply, “Many people don’t care. Bless them and walk on by.”   

It was once again off to the New Hampshire Institute for Politics, this time to see Vivek Ramaswami, the multimillionaire running as an outsider in the Republican primary. He’s third in the polls now, and has tapped into that productive vein of GOP anger that has launched many a conservative.  Probably none of his positions will surprise those who are familiar with the right wing of the spectrum, still, delivered all in a big dose it can make your head spin.

Baseball caps, t-shirts, roadsigns all sporting his slogan, Truth, were available in the lobby, which was covered with posters of old campaigns.  A lady squinted at one: “Bill Bradley? Who’s that?”  “A flash-in-the-pan Democrat,” her husband snorted. Ouch! This for an NBA star and a candidate too intelligent for an age of mediocrity. 

As we stood in line looking around we were told our guy was running late.  A boy scout and a girl boy scout set up a popcorn sale, a woman held a baby in a red-white-and-blue onesie.  I found myself studying the shaved and shining Republican head of the gentleman in front of me, a phrenologist’s paradise of grooves and bumps, dents and knobs, decorated with liver spots and, yes, in fact, a sun-burned red neck.

Then finally we were in! Pop music played as the auditorium filled to overflowing.  A pastor from a NH church led us in a prayer reminding us that it’s the Creator who gave us individual rights and (buzzword alert!) “personhood”. He recited Proverbs 29:2 and 4: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” The audience did not groan, but nodded approvingly. “The king establishes the land by justice, but he who receives bribes overthrows it” (appreciative murmurs, and hint: bribes=Hunter and Joe Biden). The pastor wisely skipped verse one in case any Trumpists were present:  “He  who is often rebuked and hardens his neck will be destroyed without remedy” and verse 3 that inveighs against “a companion of harlots.”  

The prayer ended with an entreaty that the Lord might give Vivek the wisdom to overcome the “evil that is present” in Washington and the crowd supplied a resounding Amen to that. Note to non-Republicans: it’s not just a question of political differences anymore, it’s the righteous vs. the wicked.  Gird up your loins!

 Our girl boy scout led us in the pledge to the flag and then the candidate appeared as the music soared, cameras clicked, and hands were shaken. He got right to the point, telling us he was 37 years old and his generation is starved for a cause. “Faith, patriotism, hard work, family values were supposed to get us the American Dream but it hasn’t worked.  Into the void comes a poison: words like wokism, race, gender, sexuality, climate. I want to get us back to talking about the individual, God, the nation, the ideals of meritocracy, rule of law, character.”

And then out comes the bogeyman that keeps him and his supporters up at night: the Deep State, AKA the federal administrative state. It became clear that the wicked we’re talking about are the civil servants “sucking the life blood from the nation.”  He promised when elected to set an 8-year term limit on bureaucrats.  Yes, eight, and then you’re out. But that’s just the beginning of his Truth:  We need more fossil fuels, more fracking and coal (applause), parents should be the ones to determine their children’s education (big applause), it’s capitalism that keeps things humming (no socialism on my watch!), and he’ll make sure that our economy is not dependent on China and Russia, that the GDP grows at 4% every year and that young Americans are proud of their country again.   Let’s celebrate diversity but get away from victimhood, get back to e pluribus unum, one people and (wait for it…) two genders (huge applause).  

How are we going to do this?  “Trump tried to reform the swamp, drain it, that didn’t work—the swamp drained him. We don’t need a reform we need a revolution, like in 1776.”  And what is the source of the swamp?  The first bastion we need to raze?  The FBI (enthusiastic cheers). “This scares people,” he said with a chuckle, but the Truth is the FBI has been “weaponized” and is full of “corruption” and “rot”.  35,000 people work there, and only 15,000 are investigators. If they are doing valuable work they will be moved into other departments of the federal government.   The other 20,000 (should we call them evildoers? parasites?) will have to get a real job.

The second agency in line for annihilation is the Department of Education (tumultuous applause, war whoops, etc.).  Here’s the source of wokism and genderism.  Once this Department is gone, the money that the feds gave to schools will be given directly to states instead, who will not be allowed to fund individual schools unless they do away with union contracts that keep teachers from being fired. The money saved will go to pay for three guards in every school to protect our children.

The axe will fall next on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, characterized as a “wet blanket on innovation.”  The reason there has not been a new nuclear plant built in 30 years is because of the outlandish number of steps the NRC requires for approval. It became clear that it’s the innumerable regulations in all federal agencies that pushes his buttons. “They are creating rules Congress would never allow if a vote on them came up one by one.” Evidently Mr. Ramaswamy, with his desire to deregulate, drill, and dig will not be inviting Greta Thunberg to his inauguration.  

Not all of his plans are so extreme. He would also do away with incentivizing kids to go to 4-year colleges and instead help them get shorter training in trades. And I’ll say this about him, he’s a smart guy with a big smile, seems pleasant, and boy, can he talk.  He’s a human dynamo. As he gets fired up, he goes faster, his eyes glow, his gestures get bigger–he’s almost acrobatic in his enthusiasm. His dynamism would destroy Trump on a debate stage if he would ever confront him, and his youthful energy would make Biden look like a Paleozoic fossil. For some he might come off as too glib, too slick, but the crowd was with him in a reserved, New England sort of way.  Two ladies next to me formed a little amen corner,nodding and mumbling “That’s right!” to everything he said.

But would any of these policies work? He is confident that current laws allow a president to obliterate agencies en masse, and is expecting court challenges, but is he ready for the inevitable teacher strikes if union contracts are not allowed? We’ll be a nation of homeschoolers.  Is he just pushing things around from agency to agency, and from federal to state?  Does he think state bureaucracies are less swampy than the feds?  Would these shifts really save any money? “We’ve done the math” he says and you believe him or you don’t. This crowd seemed eager to believe it. Watch for him to climb.

Exciting times!   Those of my fellow New Hampshirites who have been puzzled by the mailers from something called “No Labels” assuring us that Americans don’t want Trump or Biden, but not telling us who to support instead, can now get some clarity. This is a movement of centrist politicians who want to get things done in the face of extremism.  They’re not a party, but they want one of the two major parties to get in line with their centrist proposals or they might support a third-party candidate.  Their pitch was on tap at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics featuring Senator Joe Manchin (D) of West Virginia and Governor Jon Huntsman (R) of Utah.

 The parking lot was packed. Evidently lots of people are curious about centrism.  But why was that group of women holding that enormous banner?  “Manchin is a fossil-fuel pusher!!!”  one gray-haired lady with a good set of lungs chanted. “I agree, but I’m going in anyway,” another lady said on her way in.  Yeah, really, come on, folks! Let’s at least give them a chance!

We were greeted by bright-eyed young campaign workers clad in No Labels T-shirts, passing out the group’s pamphlet Common Sense.   I also scored a Common Sense baseball cap, perhaps meant as a consolation prize for the sad news that the main room was full and we would be ushered into the dreaded “overflow rooms” to watch on screen. Drat! And I had RSVP’d!  There were several of these rooms as it turned out and my fellow-citizens were mostly older folks dressed casually with the odd gentleman in suit and tie (speaking of common sense:  90 degrees out—why is the business class still wearing suits and ties?).

 I’ll say one thing for No Labels—they are punctual, unlike all of the candidates I saw in 2020.  But curses, foiled again! As the three warm-up-act politicians ascended the stage we realized there was no sound! Civil rights leader Ben Chavis began to move his lips but nary a whisper we heard.  Campaign workers dashed around flinging apologies, and we all began to wish we had taken a course in lip reading.  The mike was passed to Joe Lieberman who spoke even more earnestly as his companions nodded in dumbshow.  We were getting tense, when suddenly an enterprising fellow-overflow-er found the audio on her smartphone and we breathed a sigh of relief. 

 Then the stars of the show appeared:  Manchin and Huntsman, billed as the original co-chairmen of this movement that began 12 years ago.   There was a moderator who sat up on stage with them who immediately demanded to know if this meant Joe and Jon were going to run as president and vice-president. They ducked the question—”let’s talk about policies”– but the moderator, bulldog-like, kept returning to speculation of the ticket and wouldn’t a third-party candidate spoil the election? until Huntsman pointed out that this very question illustrated one of the big problems with politics in America: it’s all about the horse race, not about the policies. Questions like that are meant to deter people from running, deter choice, which is what happens in Russia and China.  So, come on! let’s talk policies.   (He practically got my vote right there).

 Their pitch had much in it that was attractive and their pamphlet Common Sense is piled chock-a-bloc with centrist ideas organized into 30 areas of concern.  I will say one thing: whoever put this pamphlet together should get a prize for clarity.  It’s a model for an easy-to-read, no-nonsense guide to what these guys stand for.  If only every politician running for office would pass out a similar statement of their positions, maybe we could have cheaper campaigns, less sloganeering, less worthless advertising, and more substance in voter decision-making.  

The first question from the audience was on climate change and fossil fuel to Mr. Manchin.  His answer was a flood of figures that I’m sure few people could follow.  His main point was that 90% of air pollution comes from China and India whereas the US is already cleaning up the air.   Both men emphasized that their polling showed that Americans want “all of the above” when it comes to energy: fossil fuels, renewables, and nuclear power.  That’s not going to make the environmentalists happy, but their point is undoubtedly correct: renewables can’t do it all anytime soon.

 Other key points:  Rein in government spending. The national debt which has skyrocketed in the past decade will soon destroy the country.  Washington is ignoring this. 

People don’t feel connected to the country We need a year of national service for all 18-year olds–it could be the military, community service, teaching–to instill the idea that we need to give to the country, not just take. 

  A psychologist in the audience demonstrated the perils of the town-hall format, as her moment in the spotlight morphed into a lengthy peroration on the mental-health crisis that left us eying the exit. 

 I found Jon Huntsman impressive when he ran for president in 2012 and he does not disappoint 11 years later.   He’s smart, affable, articulate, easy to like.  As for Joe Manchin, I came away with a newfound respect.   The left likes to paint him as a fly in the Democratic ointment, but he too came off as amiable, reasonable, and also forceful.  I thought one of his most impressive answer was in response to the mention of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s antics: “I believe everyone in Congress has the best interests of the country at heart, they just see things differently, but you can’t reward bad behavior.“ He also said whichever way he votes he listens to all sides, and then makes the best decision he can. He sticks to his guns because he’s not afraid of losing an election. For anyone tired of “Party über Alles” he’s appealing.   When asked if he’d ever run as an Independent he replied with a grin:  “I’m the most independent Democrat you’ll ever find.”

Now the fun begins.  Their proposals are out there, but alas, the devil is in the details and the potshots are already flying at them. The Washington Post ran an article saying centrism never gets anywhere, warning us not to “fall for vague rhetoric suggesting that political conflicts are easy to solve.”  The New York Times gave a similar warning last week. But come on, guys!  Give these people a break! They know it won’t be easy, but they see political disfunction in the face of looming national disasters and want to do something about it. 

As I drove away I saw two box trucks with screens on the backside projecting in huge letters:  “No Labels Elects Trump!”  On a side screen they accused No Labels of stacking their staff with Republicans.  The image of these two black trucks following the No Labels organizers from campaign stop to campaign stop was disturbing.  The driver of one of the trucks, a burly man with shaved head, reminded me of Yevgeny Prigozhin. Huntsman’s comment about Russia suppressing choice came to mind.  Was there a platoon of jack-booted brownshirts in the back of the trucks ready to break up the meetings?  Clearly the Democrats are scared witless that this movement is going to do some damage, and it’s not out of the question that the objective of No Labels might be to get Biden to withdraw.  Time will tell. 

In the meantime, I can’t help wishing that they had a different name.  “No Labels”  reminds me of the anti-Catholic Know Nothing Party of antebellum America.  Austria’s centrists are the Neos—the New Austrians. Think about it. 

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