This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

No Labels, a Washington-based nonprofit founded by Jon Huntsman Jr. and Sen. Joe Lieberman is dedicated to ending partisan gridlock.

Lieberman recently wrote an op-ed for CNN. I agree with Sen. Lieberman's theme of enough of Washington dysfunction. Our elected officials have descended into frenzies of partisanship while ignoring the concerns of voters.

People are angry and frightened. Elected officials are unresponsive. Citizens' kitchen table concerns are ignored.

Lieberman pointed out that every major political reform in this country since the 1930s (except for the Affordable Care Act) has been enacted with the votes from Democrats and Republicans willing to compromise and work for the common good — the Civil Rights Act, Medicare and welfare reform. President Ronald Reagan worked with Speaker Tip O'Neill, President Bill Clinton worked with Speaker Newt Gingrich. Eighty-nine percent of the American people believe the two parties should work to find compromise, the right path forward for America.

Lieberman says the Constitution's blueprint for balanced government has been lost in a political fog because of partisan media, internet trolling and polarization. American democracy centers on the expectation that the two parties will resolve their differences to move the country forward.

There is a glimmer of hope. A group of 40 members of the House of Representatives, split evenly among Democratic and Republican parties, organized and led by Reps. Tom Reed, R-New York, and Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey, formed the Problem Solvers Caucus because, like ordinary Americans, they've had enough.

Our Utah representatives are part of the problem, voting straight party lines. The people of Utah and Utah's 4th District need and deserve elected officials who will work to resolve the partisanship and gridlock that has seized our country. Enough! Let's work together to move forward.

Marla Mott-Smith

Candidate, Utah's 4th District in 2018

South Jordan