Political Independents Rule
Massachusetts didn’t elect a centerfold
because people became Republicans.
Only 25% were livid enough to trade six years
of potential progress for a bit of retribution.
Five out of ten didn’t care enough to vote.
Pundits will debate what issue caused the anger,
but it really doesn’t matter. Not many of us know
enough about any problem to be justly mad.
It’s hard to say what’s right when most information
comes from biased extremists.
Conventional wisdom says “get more facts,”
but that won’t happen. We should just pick a bias.
Issues come and go, but philosophies stay.
It’s easier to change a representative’s mind
than it is to find a better politician, but
candidates won’t become truly responsive
until primary elections are primary.
Political parties won’t moderate
until moderates become members. Until then,
independents will keep the extremists in charge.