Twelve tenets ?

Ben Everidge for Thomas

if there was a consensus Independent platform …

Gallup conducted a recent poll in January 2024 asking, “Do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent?” [i]

The results from Gallup were that 25% consider themselves a Republican, 27% consider themselves a Democrat, and 45% consider themselves an Independent. [ii]

Asked by Gallup, “As of today, do you lean more toward the Democratic Party or the Republican Party?” 43% identified themselves as Republican or Republican leaners, while 46% of Democrats identified themselves as Democrat or Democratic leaners. [iii]

Formally, Democrats in the United States are the largest bloc of registered voters, representing 38 percent of the voting population today.  Republicans comprise approximately 30 percent.  Independents and voters who do not claim major party affiliation comprise 32 percent of the formal American voting population. 

Nevertheless, independent non-major political party presidential candidates have struggled to achieve any measurably significant number of electors when running. 

Why, might we ask?  The answer is relatively simple, it appears.  Independents have not traditionally been sufficiently organized politically as a group, nor do independent groups tend to be broad-based enough to be defined by the American electorate and thus able to generate a sizeable voting block on election day.

What does the No Labels Party stand for issue-wise that you can predict?  If current independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. does create a We the People Party, who would they be, and what issues would you be able to predict they would pursue if elected?  We know what the Green Party wants; surprise, it’s a single-category issue.  At least the Libertarians are a little broader in their appeal.

Many independent-thinking folks would prefer a blend of the two major political parties.  They like some things in each and reject several other things, especially the extremes.

A consensus Independent Party (if there was one) political platform might have twelve identifiable tenets based on a lot of very informal conversations I have had over the past four years with Independents and Independent-leaning voters who are fed up with the major two-party system in American politics today:

1. At the top of the list would be protecting American democracy with a heavy emphasis on “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” as our founding fathers aptly put it.  If you do not think so, then why are knowledgeable people calling the 2024 presidential election a referendum on American democracy versus autocracy or dictatorship?

2. Equal in importance to protecting American democracy, independent voters (and I would predict a lot of Democrats and Republicans alike) demand stronger jobs, safer homes, educating education, and affordable healthcare.

3. Next, they would prefer a wiser, more ethical federal government and more rightful state governments.

4. A balanced budget, an equitable and inclusive fair flat tax, and a productive economy.

5. Deregulated over-regulation.

6. Immigration reform and un-violated borders.

7. A sound and consistent foreign policy.

8. A stronger military and intelligent intelligence.

9. Pioneering manufacturing, innovation, and exploration.

10. Climate reality and unshackled American energy resources.

11. Justified justice and less, or better yet no, division between class, gender, ethnicity, religion, etc.

12. Last but not least, greater use of public-private-philanthropic partnerships to better fund programs and projects that benefit our communities.

Thomas invites you to read: Rise Up Independents?

Also read: Again?

With that said, how would a viable, broad-based, and inclusive Independent Party campaign for the White House?

I would advocate it do so as a modern Democratic-Republican Party focused on three concepts you can explore in greater detail by clicking on the links:

• Life,

• Liberty, and

• The Pursuit of Happiness

Why a modern Democratic-Republican Party? 

Because that was the political party Thomas Jefferson (who wrote the U.S. Declaration of Independence and served as our third president) and James Madison (who was the father of the United States Constitution and our fourth president) represented us as first when we had a blend of the better features of what became the two major political parties of recent lore.

The Democratic-Republican Party saw itself as a republic champion and denounced the monarchy’s and aristocracy’s supporters.  The Party, which existed from 1793 to 1824, campaigned for individual liberty, equal rights, decentralization, free markets, and free trade, among other issues.  Self-sufficiency, unalienable rights of the individual such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the right to due process, equality before the law, and the separation of church and state were of paramount importance and should be again.  The party recognized the people’s sovereignty as the trustworthy source of all authority in American law. 

Virtue was valued when practicing patriotism. 

It is time that America had a viable, organized, independent political party that put the U.S. Constitution front and center in our lives and made it work for all of us – not just some of us.

[i] The poll was found on February 12, 2024, at https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Ibid.