The U.S. political system is currently experiencing previously unimaginable levels of partisan and ideological polarization. And at the same time, public disaffiliation with both major parties is reaching historic highs. Gallup has been conducting large-sample polls of partisan self-identification since the 1980s and now reports that a record 45 percent of Americans consider themselves political independents. Self-identified Democrats and Republicans each represent a dismal 27 percent.

As recently as 2004, Democrats and Republicans were both at 34 percent of Americans, with 31 percent self-identifying as independent. This seemed normal and sustainable at the time. A long period of ideological “sorting out” between the two major parties (with liberals and conservatives joining their “natural” party and straight-ticket voting on the rise) had left them roughly equal in strength. Relatively high independent self-identification was regarded as more than a bit misleading; as every bit of research showed, most independents were actually reliable voters for one party or the other but liked the idea of “independence” even if it didn’t manifest itself at the polls that often.

But now independent self-identification is reaching........

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