On Monday, Open Primaries President, John Opdycke wrote an important opinion piece in The Fulcrum entitled The Independent Exodus. In the article, Opdycke lays out the increasing trend of Americans leaving the two parties and becoming independents.
On Monday, Open Primaries President, John Opdycke wrote an important opinion piece in The Fulcrum entitled The Independent Exodus. In the article, Opdycke lays out the increasing trend of Americans leaving the two parties and becoming independents.
You would think this would be front page news and there would be a lot of interest in why Americans have lost their confidence in the two parties and are becoming independent. But, as Opdycke points out in his article,
This is what we are up against, as we saw in the recent CNN article, See the five types of independents that have big implications for American politics. CNN creates five categories of independent voters: Democratic lookalikes, Republican Lookalikes, Checked Out Voters, the Disappointed Middle, and the Upbeat Outsiders. Commenting on this taxonomy, Opdycke says “… when you dig into the numbers, the authors assert that 63% of independents are either partisan clones or don’t care about politics at all. Presto! While CNN gives lip service to the “big implications” of independents, they simultaneously atomize and diminish their existence. Harry Houdini would call that misdirection.”
Who are America’s independents? Opdycke asserts that we are as diverse as America. While the political scientists and media and pundits use that diversity to say we are not a real community of voters, Opdycke offers a fresh take on the importance of millions of Americans leaving the two parties.
The final paragraph of Opdycke’s article encapsulates the mission of Let Us Vote.
Want to help change the narrative that tries to deny that independent voters are the fastest growing, most consequential community of voters in the US today?
Join the Let Us Vote Power Hour on Monday, October 20th from 6-7:30 pm ET.
Help launch the Let Us Vote National Poll!
Spend an hour and a half with fellow independents; hear updates on how independents are impacting across the country; share your story of why you are an independent; and help launch the first Let Us Vote National Poll.
Let Us Vote is hosting a monthly virtual workshop series called the Power Hour to give voice to Independents’ expression of the many reasons we have declared our independence from party politics and the electoral reforms that will give all Americans the democracy we deserve. In the inaugural session September 22, we were invited to complete a survey of our political sentiments in real time and to write a letter to the editor. Expert guidance from Cathy Stewart and the opportunity to take immediate action felt empowering. I encourage all to join us on October 20 to see what else we can create together!
– Steve Richardson, Falls Church, VA
