Another Kind of "Independent"
Much ado has been made about the "Independent" voter lately. You can't tune into any news channel without hearing a discussion about how both Democrats and Republicans need to garner a significant portion of these voters if they want to win the White House this year. Funny thing though. I think many of these media pundits and so-called "political insiders" have it all wrong about this demographic, especially those who believe Independents consist of only moderates and the conservative leaning. In fact, I get a bit annoyed every time I hear such assumptions. How come, do you ask? Well, because the Sauda Voice is an Independent. That's right! And believe me when I tell you that I am far, far, faaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr from conservative (politically anyway)! So much so that my tag line these days is "Registered Independent and Unapologetically Liberal!"
I didn't start out as an Independent. When I first became eligible to vote, I proudly registered as a Democrat. This was the party that most represented my ideals and, for the most part, still does. But then came the year 2001 and a man named George Bush, Jr. Something changed in me that year! I was both disgusted and disturbed by the level of identity politics being played by the Right. For me, the Republicans represented a modern-day "good 'ol boy" network, in which rich and well-connected whites maintained power and wealth by exploiting the fears and bigotries of poor and uneducated whites who repeatedly and unwittingly voted against their economic interests under the mistaken belief of shared "values."
In contrast, the Democratic party began to blatantly take the African-American vote for granted, its most loyal voting block for generations, to the point of being disrespectful! It had reached such an epidemic point, in my eyes, that it seemed like Democratic leaders no longer even attempted to hide their lack of concern for us. It was as if they were saying, "Where are you going to go? We're better than the alternative so be happy with what you have, however little." They stopped speaking to our issues and concerns and even stopped appearing at various African-American themed events. Our importance to Democrats had even rendered us undeserving of the traditional fake pandering. A very, very low point. In my opinion, we're still at this low point as proven by both the 2004 election season and recent betrayal by the Clintons this primary season. Switching my party affiliation to Independent soon became a no-brainer. If you wanted MY vote, you were going to have to work for it!
Little did I know that my simple and personal form of activism was being replicated by other young African-Americans across the country who held similar sentiments to mine. Attention to this trend began around 2003. This New York Times article discussed a few studies on the matter, noting the increase most prevalent among African-Americans ages 18 to 35, with 24% of black adults self-identifying as Independent - and this was back in 2003! I have a feeling that this percentage has increased significantly since then. One quote from the article expressed my feelings about the Democratic party perfectly:
''I question whether the party sees us at all. First they calculate who they do not want to alienate. Then they decide on acceptable losses. We seem to fall into the acceptable losses.''
Black Independent!
