In Colorado, nearly half the voters are independents, but that’s less dramatic than it seems.
New voters are automatically registered as independents, and have to opt into a party affiliation. Many don’t bother, even though most lean toward one of the parties.
Still, Politico says here, the general public feels a “profound sense of alienation about our political system,” and many Americans “hate” the two major parties. So it’s ot surprising they’re distancing themselves from the parties.
The causes are plain enough: Frustration with politics, increasing extremism, and a feeling that no one represents them.
Political parties perform essential functions that independent candidates and movements can’t replicate: Recruiting candidates, training political workers, raising money for campaigns, and providing a process to thrash out policy positions. The parties also provide much of the manpower for the grunt work of elections and politics.
But as both parties slough off moderates and become both smaller and more “right” or “left,” they’re failing to come up with candidates and positions that average voters find palatable. And the trend is against the parties, because young people are “tired” of them, and less likely to identify with a party.
The alienation is deepest among Gen Z voters. “Their entire life, people have been lying to them and not coming through,” a Democratic leader told Politico. But people can’t realistically expect candidates to keep all the promises they make, because they’re often blocked by opposition.
The question raised by the Politico article is whether the American political system is in a downward spiral. There are many signs beyond alienated voters that it is. Today, we’re seeing candidates that never would’ve been nominated in the past. Public discourse has gotten nasty, and veered away from discussion of substantive issues. The threat of political violence is new.
Most people lack the time or inclination to immerse themselves in politics and political news; they’re too busy earning a living, raising families, and trying to get some enjoyment from life in their limited spare time.
In the past, they often relied on the parties to guide their voting. But as the parties are increasingly shaped by activists rather than voters, that’s largely gone, setting the stage for voter alienation to feed on itself.
Houston, I think we have a problem.