Independents are the largest political group in America

[Eko]

So why cant they get their act together?

[Eko]

1. I mean for the most part

they don't want to have anything to do with politics, hence why they are the largest political party but have no power whatsoever. They are loud and large, and tend to stay at home and criticize the whole political process while not doing a thing other than sharing on facebook how disgusted they are with politics. Might as well name them as the "do nothing but complain party".

[msongs]

2. most likely there are few real independents, mostly lean R or D and end up voting for one or the

other. I doubt there are that many really independent types compared to sort-of-independent types

[stopbush]

3. Exactly. Only 5% of people who call themselves Independent give equal weight

to a liberal or a conservative candidate when choosing who they will support.

95% of Indies are little more than "don't bother me" Rs and Ds. They vote consistently for one side or other, just as surely as do people who call themselves Ds or Rs. They use their party preference designation as a protest gesture against the major parties, though at the end of the day, they vote their political leaning every time. Bill Maher is an Indy and so is George Will. Any question which way those two vote 99% of the time?

That's why Indies never decide elections in this country and never will. They can't really field an Independent candidate, because half of Indies are conservative, the other half are liberal. They would need to field TWO candidates, thereby disapating their vote by half. And there's no real reason to field an "Independent" candidate in the first place, because most people who call themselves Indies are going to agree with 75-90% of the positions held by one of the major party candidates. They're IINOs.

[Else You Are Mad]

4. Exactly.

Well put.

[NurseJackie]

6. Good post! (And much more courteous about it than I'd have been.)

PS: "IINOs" ... love it!

[randome]

7. I would say they're not even a 'group', but a 'category'.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]"If you're bored then you're boring." -Harvey Danger[/center][/font][hr]

[obamanut2012]

5. Exactly

[JSup]

8. Because they're independent...

...they're not part of a group.

Think of it like someone asking "Do you want lasagna, pizza or other?". Independent would be the 'other'.

[stopbush]

11. The Independent would answer, "No, I'll have Italian."

[NCTraveler]

9. I feel I have my act together.

Outside of most primaries I stay registered NPA.

[Skinner]

10. Because they are not an ideologically consistent group.

Most independents lean toward one major party or the other, and they vote like people who self-identify as party members.