Is today a turning point for No Labels politics?

Today is a big day for political moderates and centrists as the “Make America Work” meeting is underway in New York City’s Times Square.

Organized by No Labels, the 2-day event that kicked off on Sunday is led by former Utah governor Jon Huntsman (Republican), Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia (Democrat) and the newly unveiled congressional problem solvers. They are addressing an audience of about 1,300. You can watch live at: nolabels.org/live.

No Labels’ new emphasis is on pragmatism and problem-solving, rather than a centrist label. To me, that’s a fine distinction. Whatever works.

Huntsman and Manchin, the new honorary co-chairs of No Labels, made the rounds on the Sunday morning news shows spreading the message of bipartisanship and pragmatisms.

"Despite the gloomy outlook in Washington, the United States has great potential and promise. The American people need their leaders in Washington to start supporting our economy and stop subtracting from it. We can begin tapping our potential the moment we stop taking score and begin taking steps to start solving problems. That’s the only realistic way forward for America," they write in a piece for The Washington Post headlined:  Turning Congress’s partisans into problem solvers .

After spending time in the Clinton administration, Bill Galston helped found No Labels because of the mission of the organization. "No Labels’ mission is not to reform a single political party. Its mission is to change the way our government does business and the way the leaders deal with each other. It stands for reform of Congress and the presidency, for new principles of political leadership, and (most important) for a new attitude among elected officials," he wrote in a piece for Politico, Why a veteran Clintonian helped found No Labels

On CNN’s “State of the Union” with Candy Crowley, Huntsman said: "We've got the politics of left, right and center, but we've forgot the politics of problem solving." Manchin added: "No Labels gives us that venue to sit down and have meaningful conversation." You can watch the entire segment here.            

The Huntsman-Manchin appearance on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulus can be seen here: Bipartisanship in Washington?

In advance of today’s Make America Work event, National Journal Editor Ron Fourier, one of the nation’s premier political reporters, wrote this: "With new leadership and focus, the group opened a 2-day conference Sunday with a refined mission: Drop the centrist label, work with frustrated voters of all political stripes, and pressure politicians in Washington to work better together while fixing the nation's problems." You can read his piece here: Talkin' About Revolution: 6 Reasons Why the Two-Party System May Become Obsolete

The 24 members of the No Labels congressional problem solvers are: Sens. Mark Begich (D), Dean Heller (R) and Joe Manchin (D), and Reps. John Barrow (D), Sanford Bishop (D), David Cicilline (D), Jim Cooper (D), Charlie Dent (R), Scott DesJarlais (R), Mike Fitzpatrick (R), Michael Grimm (R), Janice Hahn (D), Richard Hanna (R), Jim Himes (D), Lynn Jenkins (R), Jack Kingston (R), Adam Kinzinger (R), Dan Lipinski (D), Dave Loebsack (D), Jim Moran (D), Reid Ribble (R), Scott Rigell (R), Kurt Schrader (D) and Peter Welch (D).