The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office released voter registration numbers last week, which reflected the makeup of state’s electorate at the time of the Aug. 26 primary election — the number of independent voters now outnumbers those registered with the major political parties.
The number of independent voters surpassed Democratic voters in 2010. This March, the secretary of state revealed that independents narrowly outnumbered Republicans, but that number has now grown to more than 30,000. At 35.5 percent, independents comprise the largest percentage of the state’s electorate, larger than Republicans at 34.6 percent, Democrats at 29.1 percent and Libertarians at 0.83 percent.
Part of the growth is due in no small part to the perceived gridlock in Congress, which has paralyzed the country for the last two presidential administrations. Democrats first took advantage of public dissatisfaction with President George W. Bush, then Republicans followed suit, taking advantage of public dissatisfaction of President Barack Obama.
The nonstop cable news cycle perpetuates these “forever wars” of politics as elected officials on the left and right criticize each other’s every misstep or gaffe and call for resignations of officials and their staffers with such ferocity and regularity that legitimate scandals or betrayals of the public trust are hard to differentiate from the humdrum.
As voters, we are bombarded with cable television news that positively reinforces that “our side” is made up of noble public servants fighting the good fight while the “others” are as corrupt as Willie Stark from “All the King’s Men.”
Given this environment of distrust, Americans tend to believe our elected officials are more like Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood character from “House of Cards” — a duplicitous, Machiavellian, Richard III-esque anti-hero who stoops to murder to further his political machinations — rather than Jimmy Stewart’s character Jefferson Smith from “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” who selflessly filibusters to protect his constituents and illuminate his fellow senators on America’s ideals.
We voters now find ourselves still deeply invested in our democracy, but fed up with the bickering and thus move away from the two factions, leaving the parties to temper their rhetoric to appeal to the middle rather than just their bases.
In Arizona, some candidates, too, are sensing the changing political winds and moving toward the center, with a small handful opting to run as independents and bucking the radicals and reactionaries that seem to control more and more of the major parties.
The independent movement will continue to grow until the parties take notice and shed their fringe elements or face obscurity. At the end of the day, American voters agree on 95 percent of political issues: Good schools, assistance for children, the elderly, the poor and veterans, quality roads and public infrastructure. Politicians can squabble over the last 5 percent, but if that sliver becomes 100 percent of the noise, voters will tune out and vote for moderates willing to make our government function as the founders intended.
