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Hi Friend,

The word of the week is “renaissance.” 

That is the name of the new Beyoncé album, which dropped to nearly universal rave reviews Thursday night.  

But it also describes what is happening in Washington regarding two-party solutions, where people are noticing that both our regular allies – and some legislators making surprising cameos – are proving once again the power of sensible policy and public opinion to make real change. 

As No Labels stalwart Bill Galston wrote in a must-read column in The Wall Street Journal this week, “There is still an appetite for common-sense responses to widely recognized problems.” 

There are few current American problems more “widely recognized” by the citizens of this nation than the national security threat posed by China, supply chain challenges, and the need to position our economy for the jobs and industries of the future. 

Which is why it should not come as a surprise that this week both the Senate and House gave broad bipartisan support to the so-called “CHIPS and Science” bill that addresses all three of those areas. 

Given the extreme polarization currently still too baked into our system, however, there were some pleasant twists in how the bill got to final passage. 

It started with the long-running partnership between a liberal Democratic senator from Brooklyn – Chuck Schumer – and a conservative Republican senator from Indiana – Todd Young.  Striking up ideas in the Senate gym more than a year ago, these two determined bedfellows stayed in sync on the vital importance of passing a robust version of a package that would address all three challenges.  In terms of policy substance, legislative tactics and strategy, and pure determination, this bipartisan duo deserves a very large percentage of the credit.  Senator Young in particular had to stand up to many voices within his own party raising doubts about the measure. 

Please send a tweet or an email (if they are your elected official) of thanks and encouragement to Senator Young and Senator Schumer for getting the job done for America’s security, supply chain, and economy. 

Please don’t assume these members won’t appreciate hearing positive messages from you. In today’s culture, too much of the public feedback consists of criticism. Part of the job of our movement is to change the incentives for and signals to our public officials about the work they do. 

This week’s small but significant renaissance of two-party solutions is another sign that our theory of the case is the right one.  More solid, innovative policy pushed forward with bipartisan cooperation will lead to a far larger renaissance for all of this great land. 

Enjoy the weekend. 

Margaret White  
Executive Director  
No Labels