The Myth of the Independent Voter [Paperback]

Bruce E. Keith (Author), David B. Magleby (Author), Candice J. Nelson (Author), Elizabeth Orr (Author), Mark C. Westlye (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520077202 | ISBN-13: 978-0520077201 | Publication Date: June 17, 1992 | Edition: First Printing

Few events in American politics over the past two decades have generated more attention than the increasing number of voters calling themselves Independent. By the early 1970s Independents outnumbered Republicans, according to many eminent experts on voting behavior. Yet the authors of this incisive new commentary on American politics claim that most of this widespread speculation on declining party affiliation is simply wrong. They contend that most so-called Independents lean strongly toward one of the two parties and resemble--in all important respects--either Democrats or Republicans. Contrary to expert opinion, only a small segment of voters are truly "independent" of either major party.
Based on the most up-to-date 1990 data, The Myth of the Independent Voter provides a roadmap of the political arena for the general reader and scholar alike. Debunking conventional wisdom about voting patterns and allaying recent concerns about electoral stability and possible third party movements, the authors uncover faulty polling practices that have resulted in a skewed sense of the American voting population.
Demonstrating that most of what has been written about Independents for more than thirty years is myth, this challenging book offers a trenchant new understanding of the party system, voting behavior, and public opinion.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Since the 1960s, political pundits have warned that the growing numbers of American voters who call themselves Independents portends a dramatic, potentially volatile political change. In a careful academic review of data from studies at the University of Michigan, Keith, an independent scholar, and his colleagues demolish that myth. Most Independents, they emphasize, are actually closet Republicans or Democrats; only a few are "pure" Independents. The authors acknowledge that the growth in Independents cannot be linked to any specific issue or to dissatisfaction with the party system or the parties' doctrinal vagueness. But pure Independents are more likely to be disenchanted with the political system as well as more politically uninformed and uninvolved than other Independents or those affiliated with a party. The authors end on a "doubly cheerful note": party identification remains important, and the increase in Independents does not suggest political decay. It might have been fruitful had they also noted how our electoral system, unlike those offering proportional representation, effectively shuts out third parties, making it virtually meaningless to stray from the two established ones.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In the tradition of the best social science survey research, typified by Angus Campbell and others' The American Voter (1966; Univ. of Chicago Pr., 1980. reprint), Keith and five other respected political scientists scrutinize nearly 40 years of data on individuals' psychological attachment to political parties. The result of their thorough and painstaking analysis is aptly summarized in the title of this compact volume. They concisely deflate accumulated conventional wisdom that party identification has lost importance as a predictor of voter behavior. Rather than the two-fifths of the electorate found by previous studies to be Independents, the authors convincingly demonstrate that only 11 percent of the electorate are genuine political neutrals. Succinct, lucid, and coherent, this volume deserves a place on every political science bookshelf. Highly recommended.
- Grace Franklin, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; First Printing edition (June 17, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520077202
• ISBN-13: 978-0520077201
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #755,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essential to Understanding "Independents", October 27, 2007

By 

Aufklarung "ajb" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Myth of the Independent Voter (Paperback)

Excellent. Essential reading if you want to understand the "independent voter" phenomenon -- what it is and what it isn't, and who these voters really are. Carefully researched, serious scholarship.

5 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Boy, were these guys off kilter or what?, June 1, 2005

By 

Jason D. Olson "Independent Political Organizer" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Myth of the Independent Voter (Paperback)

This book, published in June 1992 (five months before Ross Perot would rock the established political world by performing extremely well in the presidential debates and ultimately getting 20 million votes as an independent) could not have been more off if it tried.

If ever there was a case to be made that you cannot predict the future by simply looking at past trends, this is it. Looking back, it seems that perhaps the authors were simply caught in a moment of hisotry where anything could (and did) happen - the fall of the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, and the beginning of the independent political movement sprouting from the seeds sown in the 70s and 80s.

As the independent political movement grew into "third parties" in the 90s - particularly with the election of Jesse Ventura, the growth of the Reform Party, and ending with Ralph Nader's 2000 Green Party Presidential Candidacy (during which independent voters were decisive in the outcome) - this book became more and more a testimony to the disconnection of the political elites (in particular those who wrote it) than any true compass on the impact of the independent voter on the American political scene.

Since 2000, the independent movement has morphed again, moving from third party and independent candidate based efforts (often called "fringe") to a movement much more focused on organizing and empowering the independent voter (particularly the unaffiliated independent voter) - now the fastest growing political force in America. The "big" names of yesteryear - Ross Perot, Jesse Ventura, and Ralph Nader have given way to the grassroots organizers who continue to build the independent movement - the Jaqueline Salit's (editor of the Neo-Independent Magazine), Lenora Fulani's (leader of the very influential and often attacked Independence Party of New York), and Matt Gonzalez's (Independent and sometimes Green Party President of the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco).