Independents Failing to Discipline Both Parties

Jonah Goldberg: “In recent years, two kinds of independents have emerged: Call them insurgents and moderates. The insurgents identify as independents, but 3 out of 4 tend to be reliable Democrat or Republican voters.”

“Whether or not they are nominally independents, the insurgents chase moderates out of the party. Some will defect to the other party — as happened in 2020 — but many of them still opt to vote for the perceived lesser of two evils come Election Day. This means the party in question never pays much of a price for catering to the crazies, and it lacks meaningful incentives to change that.”