Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Electing Independents is a Path to Powerlessness

The editors at Bloomberg, who should know better, have just written and published an editorial called, "Washington Deserves More Independents." A great many people sympathize with this viewpoint; indeed, declared independent voters represent the fastest growing bloc in the nation. The truth is, however, that electing an independent to office, especially in the legislature, is ineffective. It neither shatters the system nor provides optimum governance.

The first thing to understand about the American political system is its duopolistic nature, a characteristic that goes back to the founding of the Republic, to the Federalists and anti-Federalists (Democratic-Republicans). While the nation has had major parties rise and fall (e.g., the Whigs), there has never been a period in American history in which more than two major parties existed for more than a single election cycle. There's Coke and Pepsi, and there's Democrats and Republicans. That's it.

And that is frustrating when neither party seems to be able to deliver (thanks in large part to a constitutional system built on the premise of consensus and compromise in a political climate of polarization and hostility). No one is doing anything constructive, and so the average voter feels the appropriate attitude is a plague on both their houses. Neither side is the good-guy in the white hat. They are just two different collections of gangsters.

One cannot quibble with this perspective. The American political system is broken, and it does not work for We the People. A desire to sweep away the debris of the Constitution is anathema to most (this journal would happily ditch the articles in place now for a federal parliamentary system), and so the next option is to clean house by selecting leaders who are free of the shackles that have made the two dominant parties pointless.

The first thing to note about independent candidates is that they almost always lose. Ross Perot and George Wallace were very successful independent candidates for President, and both finished third when they ran. The ballot papers of elections past are littered with failed attempts to win by running against the main parties.

Even when an independent wins, not much changes. An independent governor, such as Jesse Ventura in Minnesota some years ago, is not beholden to a party machinery, but he remains reliant on a legislature to pass laws and budgets. That legislature is almost totally composed of Democrats and Republicans. All the governor can do is assemble a coalition from among those legislators to enact whatever program he might want. The important thing to remember is both parties have an incentive not to help. If the governor fails, he's probably out next election, to the benefit of both.

In legislatures, and especially in Congress, being an independent sounds wonderful. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine both are free from party considerations, able to vote as they deem best. Yet, they both caucus with the Democrats. Why? Because that's how they get committee assignments and chairmanships, without which, they have almost no influence in Washington. One would never say that the Democrats have co-opted Bernie Sanders, but just how independent can he be?

As unpalatable as it is, the Tea Party has shown how to alter the trajectory of politics. One does not work outside, but rather inside, the party. It is easier to take over the board of Coke or Pepsi than it is to create a brand new cola producing powerhouse to supplant one of them. In the same way, it is easier (hence more likely to be effective) to take over the party machinery than it is to create a movement in support of an independent. Politics is the art of the possible, and the worst thing one can be is ineffective. Independence sounds good, but it offers little, if anything.

© Copyright 2014 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.



Kensington Review Home