The best?  The BEST?  I challenge you to consider Joe Lieberman and then make the same claim.

The best...too many people vote based on the bible or some preconceived political ideology, which gives rise to weak presidents like George W. bush.

The "Independent" Party is not to be confused with being independent as a voter.  The more appropriate term for one who does not subscribe to any politcal party is "non-affiliated", which I consider myself to be ( . . . I find the two major parties to be lacking, but the third parties typically are just plain insane.  I'd rather vote on the individual, not that letter that's next to their name on the ballot).

Guess I am part of the "illierati".  My allegience is to the United States Constitution. I have spent years listening to the two major parties refer to each other as (name a pejorative). I have never found blind party loyalty to be beneficial to anyone.

A place for the political illiterati.   No, I don't mean Illuminati

Sounds good to me. Independent thinking.

I wish a third party would make a bigger splash and try to force some real change. . .I think I'm more likely to turn into a Chinese waiter. . .

I don't think Independent is a party at all. There is an American Indepentent Party which has very few members. I think most of the people who register as indepentent mean they are indepentent of any party. How can one give a high rating to a "party" that doesn't exist. I think many of the non-affiliated just don't know what to think.

This is where the party replacing today's Democrat Party will originate. These people are generally paying just enough attention to need an air-sickness bag, but not enough to accept the lesser of two evils. Democrats who can't stomach defecting all the way to the right could land here, republicans disenchanted (or my favorite word: disenfranchised) but unable to join the left-wing nuts (Dems) could also tend to land here. But the party needs to identify more clearly how they differ with each ideology and soften down some of their rebellious and less-than-clear positions. They should be working on developing something on the order of FoxNews, and can probably do it much more quickly than could the republicans. Moderates defecting from both sides need a place to land which does not really exist today, but as the Republican Party meanders further right and the Democrats topple further left, their opportunity becomes greater and greater. I'll never quite understand a previous poster's (TB 303) point, though, about the philosophical contradiction in supporting the execution of a hardened criminal, convicted by a jury of peers, surmounting a very formidable appeal process, and being against the execution (by their considered opinion) of an innocent baby for the convenience of the mother, then going so far as to call that her right. In their minds, the baby has rights. I just don't see a contradiction there.

Why is it that your a fence sitter if your an independent. Thats the stupidest thing to say and people like you are brainwashed to believe you have to take one side or the other. Example would be that most Republicans believe in the death penalty but democrats don't. But then again democrats believe in the right to abortion and republicans don't. Does that make any sense at all. A two party system is screwing this country up and tearing it apart. We should all be Americans and quit making people take sides on key issues. Whats wrong with thinking for yourself and not just following blindly with every issue a party takes even though you may not agree with it.

I have been disgusted by politicians in both parties. Many Republicans are blatant corporate stooges. The same with Democrats (but we rarely hear about it), some of whom are frankly far left wing loons (as much as there are some far right wing loons among the Republicans). No, I will go for whoever has the best plan for America, Republican or Democrat, or Independent. I used to consider myself a Republican, but now I realize as to just how much much they have to change to be acceptable to me as a party. The same with the Democrats.

A bunch of fence sitters who can't decide on which side to jump.

Do i need to comment

The closest thing to intelligence.

99% of independents simply attach that label to themselves in order to feel like they're above politics. In other words, they are too cowardly to call themselves Republicans.

Independent/Non-partisan is the way to go. It proves that you won't blindly follow the ways of any party until you analyze them and realize that you are of one party or you are not of one party. The candidates themselves can range anywhere on the political spectrum, but being an Independent, you vote for who YOU want to vote for, not for what your party (which is none) tells you to vote for.

Voting for an independent candiate is like flushing you vote for the most part. There are some exceptions but they are few and far between. If you really want to take some steam out of the two main partys is to get a lot of people to support a third party. Independents are usually just distractions.

I'm currently a registered Republican who's considering re-registering as an Independent. I did so to support John McCain in the 2000 primaries and never bothered to change. I don't understand how ideologues on Crossfire can blindy support the party line while shouting BUSH IS RIGHT or BUSH IS A HALLIBURTON CRONY. It makes for bad television, and unfortunately, it's the reason that political discourse has deteriorated in recent years. While I agree with Republicans on most things, Democrats do bring some good ideas to the table, namely on the issues of health care and alternative fuels. Politics shouldn't be about selecting a party or a person and blindly supporting everything they do. It's about forming individual assessments on a wide array of issues, some of which the government can play a role while others the government should stand pat, and voting for the person who most reflects your views.

This is the best position you should take in the political spectrum. If you do decide to run for political office one day, I suggest that you join either the Republican and Democratic Parties. We can debate the influence of power and money in politics, but if you want to get elected, you have to join either team. Rarely do independents get elected to any office of high consequence. The major parties have the organization to turn out the vote for you. Under normal circumstances, you'll start out with 35% of the vote if you can lock down the party nomination. The rest is up to you to make the most of your political skills. But for normal citizens like us, we should make our decision based not on political party or ideology, but on whether the candidate in question would make a good office holder. I'm a registered Republican but I might very well vote Democratic in the next election. President Bush has fallen well beneath my expectations on a variety of fronts as I've pointed out in previous comments. I believe that we should register as a member of one of the two parties because party primaries determine who will be your choices in the general election. Your vote is worth more when you register as a member of a political party. Some people say that political parties are bad for the system; indeed President George Washington warned us in his final speech as President against forming political associations. But it is inevitable that people with similar beliefs will band together to form parties. There is little we can do about that system of picking candidates. Politicians are politicians and their quality isn't going to change by reforming the system. We can keep the heat on them however by staying involved and not letting extremists on either end of the political spectrum control the agenda. Ideologically thinking blurrs judgement; in my view, the candidate who can see both sides of an issue is probably the best to hold office. The ideologues and the partisans are usually incompetent. I rated independents so highly because they decide who wins elections. Pundits in 2004 say that the person who mobilizes the ideological base wins elections, but that is not the case. Elections are decided by people who carefully make a decision based on the merits of a candidacy and competence for office.

270,000,000 people... Billions of ideas, theories, and opinions.... And two. TWO parties through which they can express them. The math doesn't add up, people.

Voting based on ones informed oppinion is best.

No stand... No ideas...

I'm expecting to get a lot of flack for this, but there is no "middle of the road" when it comes to politics. You're either conservative or liberal. You can't say you're both.

Most people in this country do not fall in the democrat/republican categories. We need more parties that are tailored to our specific needs instead of compromising on issues to support one of the big 2 parties. Unfortunately, the money just isn't there for independent parties and that's all that matters in politics these days.

The name says it all, Independent. We vote for anybody we want. We have the opportunity to look at many different sides and then decide who has the best plan for us, wether it congressman/woman, senator,govenor or President. Independents want candidates who are going to make positive and progressive changes for the American people, not self-serving jerks who want to advance their careers. We want people who give a d**n.

I don't really think independant is a party, but it is the best. You can make up your own mind on different issues. The only bad thing is that you can't vote in the primaries.

I am not an independent, but I find it hard to say something badly about a party that is designed around non-partisanship and making a decision because it is what they believe in. Unfortunately, this type of ambiguity makes it difficult for an independent to land himself a political seat.

There is a huge excluded middle in the U.S. body politic, and perhaps the Dems and GOP should pay more attention to the needs and problems of that major constituency, not just pander to them for votes every four years. Independents are the true political soul of this nation in that they are not poisoned by ideology to the extent of the droolers on the right side and the wimps on the left. Perhaps Independents should bond together in a united front and put the two major political parties out of business once and for all. After all, the Dems and GOP don't give a rat's ass about the issues facing the commonweal: they're exclusively interested in sniping over minor hot-button issues while the major concerns go begging for decades, in mystifying and dumbing down the American public so the sheep will be easier to herd around, in raising dirty money to be applied to dirty ends, in getting re-elected so that they can line the pockets of the politically connected, and in perpetuating their mutant and out-of-touch ideologies. Independents Unite and Get Rid of the Rest of the Garbage!!!

Good idea, but I haven't found an independent that I like. Most don't understand that a government should only exsist to protect individual freedoms. When I find one that does understand that, I will consider that person. As it stands, the only party that even comes close is the Libertarian party.

I like some issues on both sides and since I'm fed-up with the Democrats lack of initiative, I'm strikin out and going solo. I also feel that many Republicans are nice and have a genuine interest in making our country better but I'm not happy with this ultra-patriotic, Bush-worshipping neo-conservativism sweeping the party. As Sting said, there isn't a monopoly of common sense on either side of the political fence, but until some of these conservatives calm down and stop yelling treason at anyone who disagrees with the White House, I'm inclined to believe that one side of the fence may be lacking a bit with common sense.

Vote for the person, not the party.

All Americans who are free-thinkers should be independent. It really bugs the hell out of me when I meet people in real life or on this website who vote for a Democratic candidate every single election just to get the Republican out of office. Why? Why must we all be party hacks who cannot see that once we step out of political party lines we may actually be able to get something more constructive done that will benefit all. As BigBaby said, we may lean more towards the Democratic (me) or Republican side, but we still should all develop our own beliefs. I can't tell you how many politicians have ruined their careers by going against their party's platforms... it is indeed becoming a dangerous country when you are penalized for being a free thinker.

The Weathervanes.

Obviously these are a group of Americans that feel it is very important to follow their consciences. The problem is when they run away from the parties, they lose the ability to change anything about the party. It's sort of like whites moving from the city to the suburbs. They run away from the problems of the city, but they lose the ability to vote for mayor. Sometimes it is best to change from within the system.

Hey, do us a favor: pick a dam* party, would you?

Free thought, free speech, and a mind of one's own. What a great concept! Nuff sed?

Because the two-party system isn't working!

I vote for the candidate and not the party.

I am so glad Rateitall took advantage of my suggestion and added this to the site! An independent is a wonderful thing to be. One reason for this is because no one can put us down for being "Democrat" or "Republican" or whatever it is they dislike. Sure, we may lean toward Democrat or lean toward Republican, but we are not either. And here comes the best part: we're free! Independents are not expected to vote for a certain candidate. We don't "have" to have any specific beliefs. We can't be "shunned" by our party for voting Democrat/Republican. We are more free than anyone else in the nation, because we are INDEPENDENT!!! Lyric(s) of the Day (haven't had one of these in quite a while): I want to break free, I want to break free, I want to break free from your lives, you're so self satisfied. I don't need you! Take care, everyone!