It is about 500 miles and one right turn from Washington, D.C., to where I live in South Carolina, but it might as well be a million miles. My daily life, like that of my neighbors and most of you, is so far removed from what goes on in our Nation’s Capital. In good times and during hard struggles for our communities, we generally do not have Congress or the White House top of mind. Still, as I have the pleasure and honor of talking to members of the No Labels community from around the nation on a daily basis, I know that we all agree on two points: * First, there are some issues that really do uniquely require the attention of our federal government to put our collective house in order. * And second, we the people need to foster and demand national unity, both at home and in Washington, in order to empower government to do its darn job. The conventional wisdom among politicians of both major parties is that very little legislative work can get done in an election year, especially as we get closer to November. It is both tempting and easy to give in to that point of view, especially during these polarized times and with a narrowly divided Congress, which make breaking gridlock even more of a challenge. But look at where we are: There are three major areas in which Capitol Hill should be able to get its act together and get something done with two-party solutions. Dealing with gun safety; ensuring our ability to compete with China and manufacture in areas critical to our economy and national security; and fixing the Electoral Count Act to ensure confidence in our presidential election process – on all three of these matters, there is support from the White House and leaders of both parties to get something done before November’s election. Given the opposition from the extremes on both sides, it is actually sort of amazing that legislative momentum still exists on these three matters. I think that forward energy is fueled in part because the needs in all three areas are so obvious, and because the American people are powerfully united in wanting progress and change, pushing back against the loud voices in politics and media who benefit from the status quo. But getting bills on any of this important trio to the president’s desk for his signature is going to be a challenge. Nothing saps congressional momentum more than a long, hot summer recess, leading us to the homestretch of the midterm campaign season. So please use your voices to join us in this mission. Encourage our allies in Congress working on all three pieces of legislation to stay at it. Tell your friends about No Labels and urge them to become members by telling them to sign up here. And remember that no matter how far you live from the Nation’s Capital, those public servants work for us. If we do our jobs, they are more likely to do theirs. Have a great weekend.
Margaret White
Co-Executive Director | 
