Independents At Largest Level In 70 Years

From Politics Daily ~ Much has been written about the anger and disillusionment of voters this year. Pollsters are predicting a "throw the bums out" wave that could sweep hundreds of new candidates into office on Tuesday.

The Tea Party has manifested much of this anger on the right but what is particularly striking and has been much less reported is the level of anger this year in the independent/swing voters, who represent a much bigger block of votes.

An estimated 37 percent of all American voters now call themselves independents or unaffiliated voters, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center. This is a bigger group than those who say they are Democrats (34 percent) or those who identify themselves as Republicans (28 percent). The percentage of voters who say the are independent is the largest in 70 years.

Disaffection with the American two-party political system is a big reason for the growing number of independent voters. Many of them say they have been driven from the Republican and Democratic parties by what they perceive as extremism and a failure to focus on the issues they consider most important. Others say they simply have lost faith in the two-party system and do not want to be affiliated with either party.

Share |