Independents....

[rambot]

I'll be the first to say this is an old poll and I am more than welcome to see new contradictory evidence if it can be presented but....
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/14/politics/independents-pew

I have never really met a self identified "Independent" who has had a truly centrist position (or; who argues "both sides" with equal vigor)

What do you all think of Independents? IF you are one, do you believe that you are an exception to that rule?

 

[Richard T]

I'll be the first to say this is an old poll and I am more than welcome to see new contradictory evidence if it can be presented but....
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/14/politics/independents-pew

I have never really met a self identified "Independent" who has had a truly centrist position (or; who argues "both sides" with equal vigor)

What do you all think of Independents? IF you are one, do you believe that you are an exception to that rule?

I don't really buy their definition of a true independent. Some are not middling but instead take every issue and examine it through their own lens to support or oppose. Senator Rand is like that and so is Senator Sanders. These are the kind of people the government needs because otherwise it is just a herd all running their direction, well two herds actually. To solve America's problems we need more choices. Both parties seem quite stagnant. Many too are too defensive about their views and preferences. Who really knows the answer to some really hard questions like how much government do we want and how should that be divided up? It is not a right and wrong answer, it is just a personal preference in many cases.

 

[Oompa Loompa]

I'll be the first to say this is an old poll and I am more than welcome to see new contradictory evidence if it can be presented but....
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/14/politics/independents-pew

I have never really met a self identified "Independent" who has had a truly centrist position (or; who argues "both sides" with equal vigor)

What do you all think of Independents? IF you are one, do you believe that you are an exception to that rule?

I think that at this point, people who call themselves "independent" are either uninformed or think that claiming to be independent gives them more street cred.

 

[Yttrium]

I have never really met a self identified "Independent" who has had a truly centrist position (or; who argues "both sides" with equal vigor)

Well... I used to have a truly centrist position before Trump first became president. Now that MAGA has replaced the conservatives, I'm in a position of being anti-MAGA. So, if we now defined liberal as being opposed to Trump, I would count as a liberal.

I'd prefer to go back to being a true centrist again.

 

[rambot]

I think that at this point, people who call themselves "independent" are either uninformed or think that claiming to be independent gives them more street cred.

I DEFINITELY lean into the 2nd one. I feel like there tends to be an air of "I'm impartial because I'm in the middle".

 

[Yttrium]

I DEFINITELY lean into the 2nd one. I feel like there tends to be an air of "I'm impartial because I'm in the middle".

Sure, sure, keep insulting us like we're not here.

 

[rambot]

Sure, sure, keep insulting us like we're not here.

I don't think I'm alone in that I've got that feeling in reading posts by some centrists.

The left gets shot at; the right gets shot at. Can centrists not take a bit of heat?

 

[essentialsaltes]

It would be difficult to be independent (or centrist) on every. single. issue.

 

[MarkSB]

I'll be the first to say this is an old poll and I am more than welcome to see new contradictory evidence if it can be presented but....
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/14/politics/independents-pew

I have never really met a self identified "Independent" who has had a truly centrist position (or; who argues "both sides" with equal vigor)

What do you all think of Independents? IF you are one, do you believe that you are an exception to that rule?

I definitely don't think that independents are unbiased, if that is what you are asking. They have their own life experiences which have contributed to their viewpoint, just like everyone else. And I think that comes with a tendency to lean one way or another on certain things.

I considered myself to be a conservative/Republican until Trumpism became a thing, and now consider myself to be an independent. I still have my leanings on certain issues, but I like to think that I look at the evidence and make a decision based on that as much as possible. But again, that's not to say that I don't have my personal leanings. Everyone does.

But... with all that being said - hasn't the Independent voting bloc swung in both directions during the last few presidential elections? I tried digging up some numbers, but was not able to easily find any. If they have voted in both directions, that would lend some credibility to the non-partisan claims.

 

[chevyontheriver]

It would be difficult to be independent (or centrist) on every. single. issue.

I don't think that is the point of being independent of the two big parties. I think one party is dead wrong on a bunch of things. And the other party tries to outdo them in being dead wrong in others. I was a Democrat way back when, then tried out the Republicans. So I have a clue about both parties. The Democrats changed for the worse. The Republicans have been all over the map but are currently owned by Donald Trump and I find that revolting.

I'm not centrist on everything, being free to be extreme on some things in a leftward direction and others rightward. Trying to stay studiously in the middle on every policy just doesn't fit me, but averaged out I am in the middle of the middle while the two big parties have spun out to the fringes.

 

[Yttrium]

I don't think I'm alone in that I've got that feeling in reading posts by some centrists.

The left gets shot at; the right gets shot at. Can centrists not take a bit of heat?

It's okay, it's okay. I'm not on anyone's side, because no one is on my side. Baroom.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I'll be the first to say this is an old poll and I am more than welcome to see new contradictory evidence if it can be presented but....
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/14/politics/independents-pew

I have never really met a self identified "Independent" who has had a truly centrist position (or; who argues "both sides" with equal vigor)

What do you all think of Independents? IF you are one, do you believe that you are an exception to that rule?

There's two different ways one can be "moderate".

They can either be in the center of the spectrum on most of the issues, or they can hold an eclectic set of viewpoints that average out to around "the middle".

For example, if you asked someone questions from the political compass tests (where the furthest left answer is a -5 and the furthest right answer is a +5)

If a person answers with a -1/+1 on every question
or
A person answers with a -4 on half of the questions, and a +4 on the other half

...both average out to about the same place in aggregate.


Finding someone who's "perfect middle" on everything is going to be nearly impossible.

But with regards to not encountering anyone who argues for/against both sides with equal vigor, that's not exactly an accurate indicator, as you'd have to negatively weight the topic(s) that are getting talked about the most.


Example:

If "Dan Smith" is right-wing on Immigration, but to the left on a myriad of other issues, but Immigration is virtually all that's being discussed on here round the clock, and none of those other issues get discussed regularly, then that's going leave some with the (incomplete/inaccurate) impression of "Well, Dan's just a right-wing person who feigning being a moderate for more credibility and to give his arguments the patina of objectivity"

 

[Yttrium]

I definitely don't think that independents are unbiased, if that is what you are asking.

Well, sure. I'm certainly biased towards political extremes. I don't like far left or far right positions. I usually favor politicians who take moderate stances on issues. It's worth noting that "moderate" in the US is to the right of some prominent US allies.

I can't really say I'm a liberal compared to Trump's policies. I'm not against Trump and MAGA because of their political positions. Yes, I'm biased against Trump and MAGA, but my biases against them aren't political in nature.