Author Topic: Independents Now Outnumber Republicans and Democrats  (Read 1695 times)

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Offline libertybele

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Independents Now Outnumber Republicans and Democrats
« on: January 31, 2015, 06:02:30 am »
Independents now outnumber Republicans, Democrats; Americans awaken to the two-party system scam

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/048424_independent_voters_Democratic_Party_Republicans.html#ixzz3QNNxNUN7


(NaturalNews) For years, they have been sought after by both major parties as the one political demographic that could swing national elections in their favor, and going forward into 2016 and beyond, voters who identify themselves as neither Republican nor Democrat, but as "independent," will become even more important.

That's because the number of independents has grown dramatically in recent years -- so much so that now they outnumber voters who describe themselves as belonging to one of the two primary parties. It's a sign, say political scientists, that more voters are becoming frustrated with a "two-party system" in which they see little difference between choices.

As reported by The Washington Times:

Republican, Democrat -- and Maverick? We already know that Americans are weary of Congress, the White House, gridlock and government. Now that ire has inspired voter defections: The number of self-described 'independents" is at a record high level says substantive new Gallup research.

"An average 43 percent of Americans identified politically as independents in 2014," said analyst Jeffery M. Jones, who adds that that number is the highest since he began tracking party affiliation in 1988.

Both parties losing faithful

Otherwise, the breakdown is thus: 30 percent surveyed identified themselves as Democrats, while 26 percent said they were Republicans, based on a meta-analysis of 15 polls involving 16,500 people conducted throughout 2014.

"Dissatisfaction with government has emerged as one of the most important problems facing the country, according to Americans. This is likely due to the partisan gridlock that has come from divided party control of the federal government. Trust in the government to handle problems more generally is the lowest Gallup has measured to date, and Americans' favorable ratings of both parties are at or near historical lows," Jones said.

What's more, political analysts -- and political parties -- ought to prepare for even more defections.

"Given historical trends, 2015 could bring a new record, as the percentage identifying as independents typically increases in the year before a presidential election," said Jones.

In January 2014, Gallup published the results of a survey showing that nearly two-thirds of Americans -- 65 percent -- said they were "dissatisfied" with their government system and how it was working (or, more correctly they felt, not working).

The figure was the highest since 2001, and higher than the previous peak of 64 percent in 2012.

The discontent was also skewed towards Republicans and independents, while Democrats remained fairly consistent -- understandable, given President Obama's Democratic Party affiliation:

Republicans and independents are largely responsible for the overall decrease in satisfaction with government effectiveness in recent years. Satisfaction among Republicans and independents began to wane during President George W. Bush's final year in office. This may have reflected mounting public dissatisfaction with the Iraq war, coupled with the Democratic takeover of Congress after the 2006 midterm elections.

Declining popularity

Both groups' overall satisfaction rate dropped again between 2008 and 2011, as both party brands began to suffer amid a spate of bad economic news and passage of laws that were (and remain) politically unpopular, such as the Affordable Care Act.

"Republicans' satisfaction went from a peak of 79% in 2005 to a low of 28% in each of the past two years. Meanwhile, Democrats' satisfaction has been remarkably steady, generally hovering near 50%, and is essentially the same as it was in 2004 under a Republican president," said Gallup.

Voter dissatisfaction with Congress overall has been declining in recent years. In 2011, The New York Times reported that just 12 percent of Americans held a favorable view of the Legislative Branch.

The following year, CBS News reported a new low -- just 10 percent approval -- of Congress.

In November, during the midterm elections, CNN reported that eight in ten voters expressed dissatisfaction with Congress, while most were also dissatisfied with President Obama's job performance.

Sources:

http://www.washingtontimes.com

http://www.gallup.com

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com

http://www.cbsnews.com

http://www.cnn.com

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/048424_independent_voters_Democratic_Party_Republicans.html#ixzz3QNNYv6Pa



Romans 12:16-21

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly, do not claim to be wiser than you are.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all…do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Offline truth_seeker

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Re: Independents Now Outnumber Republicans and Democrats
« Reply #1 on: January 31, 2015, 06:10:15 am »
This must explain what??
"God must love the common man, he made so many of them.�  Abe Lincoln

Offline Formerly Once-Ler

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Re: Independents Now Outnumber Republicans and Democrats
« Reply #2 on: January 31, 2015, 08:23:23 am »
This must explain what??
It explains that despite historic GOP midterm election wins, Republicans are dissatisfied with President Obama.

Offline libertybele

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Re: Independents Now Outnumber Republicans and Democrats
« Reply #3 on: January 31, 2015, 01:53:21 pm »
??? Explains what ??? It indicates that the American public is dissatisfied with both parties.  The mid term election was a vote against Obama policy; it wasn't about Democrats or Independents jumping aboard the Republican bandwagon.
Romans 12:16-21

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly, do not claim to be wiser than you are.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all…do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Offline jmyrlefuller

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Re: Independents Now Outnumber Republicans and Democrats
« Reply #4 on: January 31, 2015, 01:55:27 pm »
This must explain what??
That the political system is broken but, because of Duverger's Law, there is no room for any way to fix it.
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Offline Luis Gonzalez

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Re: Independents Now Outnumber Republicans and Democrats
« Reply #5 on: January 31, 2015, 02:24:59 pm »
Quote
"Given historical trends, 2015 could bring a new record, as the percentage identifying as independents typically increases in the year before a presidential election," said Jones.

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the truest explanation.

Most people's desired level of political activism reaches no higher than voting. Water's World illustrates, over and over again, the fact that your average Joe citizen isn't as involved in day-to-day politics as people like us, who hang out in forums discussing politics ad nauseam. Most people detest politics, and the polling on government approval ratings reflects that quite well.

Put those two thoughts together and then you understand why while everyone seems to hate the government, every politician routinely gets re-elected.

To use my wife as an anecdotal example, she is now a registered Independent and she BEGS me to do the same. She votes Republican and detests the current administration, but what she hates most of all is the intensity and frequency of phone calls and mail that we get in the days leading up to major National elections. Younger people don't want to be bothered either.

That's probably one of the major reasons for the shift in registrations.

The other thing is that we now have a major third Party, one that decides elections, so national political campaigns must shift in nature to recognize that fact.

That's why Democrats and Republicans both will seek to run Moderates next Presidential election cycle, and the fight for conservative and progressive politics will be fought in Congressional and State elections.

All politics are (and will be more than ever before) local.
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Online Bigun

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Re: Independents Now Outnumber Republicans and Democrats
« Reply #6 on: January 31, 2015, 02:45:22 pm »
Quote
Most people's desired level of political activism reaches no higher than voting.

Most people's desired level of political activism reaches no higher than voting in the general election every four years.

Fixed it for you.
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"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
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Offline massadvj

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Re: Independents Now Outnumber Republicans and Democrats
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2015, 03:00:56 pm »
People's loyalty to everything is diminishing.  It's not just political parties.  Loyalty to religion is on the wane.  Loyalty to one's mate.  And the thing I study in my career: loyalty to brands.  We live in an "instant gratification" tech-driven society in which you can change the channel on the remote or click the mouse and whatever you don't like goes away.  People like that, and they want that same capability in the more permanent aspects of their lives, but they are finding real life is a lot more complicated than virtual life.

We should not make the serious mistake of thinking that independents are moderate.  In fact, the variance in political ideology among independents is much greater than it is among Democrats or Republicans.   

Offline Fishrrman

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Re: Independents Now Outnumber Republicans and Democrats
« Reply #8 on: February 01, 2015, 03:55:07 am »
[[ "An average 43 percent of Americans identified politically as independents in 2014," said analyst Jeffery M. Jones, who adds that that number is the highest since he began tracking party affiliation in 1988.
Both parties losing faithful
Otherwise, the breakdown is thus: 30 percent surveyed identified themselves as Democrats, while 26 percent said they were Republicans, based on a meta-analysis of 15 polls involving 16,500 people conducted throughout 2014. ]]


Thinking about the numbers here.

30% - democrats
26% - Republicans (gee, 1 in 4 voters ain't so good to begin with)
43% - "independent"

Don't know if these numbers are accurate, but...
... It looks like the "Republican majority" in Congress has as much (or more?) to do with independents as it has to do with registered "Republicans".

Obviously, the right-leaning cohort of independents who put the Republicans into Congress did so because of their frustration with, or dislike of, the democrats.
BUT -- this in itself doesn't mean they're committed to the Republicans as a party.

This is why the nation is ripe for a new party to emerge.
There are indeed many registered Republican voters, who are increasingly dissatisfied with the direction "their party" is headed.

I'm not saying the new party is the "Tea Party".
It might spring from the shoulders of the TP, wholly new.

If it could capture, say, 2/3 of the independents and 40% of the Republican voters off the bat, that would run up to roughly 39% of the total voters. That's 50% more than the sum of "registered Republicans" right now.

39% ain't quite a winning number, but it's a starting point.
And "39%" is what G.H.W. Bush won in 1992...
« Last Edit: February 01, 2015, 03:55:23 am by Fishrrman »

Offline evadR

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Re: Independents Now Outnumber Republicans and Democrats
« Reply #9 on: February 01, 2015, 02:16:03 pm »
30% - democrats
26% - Republicans (gee, 1 in 4 voters ain't so good to begin with)
43% - "independent"

I'd say the dem number of 30% is too low and the pubbie number of 26% is too high.

IMHO the 43% real independent is a bit high, more like 40%, because they are disgusted with both parties.  Count me in that group.
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