Independents the spice of any election. That little bit of something no one can quite put their finger on in a recipe.

The elections in this country are won and lost on the votes of the Independents, no really they are.  How funny that is as most independents don't actually spend that much time on politics.  Some independents don't even no, that as independents, they have that power.  True independents have a great deal of my respect, the ones that are truly independent.  The false independents don't and are probably as false in the rest of either lives as they are with their politics.  You know the ones that claim to be independent but are really democrats or republican that instead of saying I Decline to state, they claim to be independent, if you are something stand up and say it, own it.  Green or Libertarian my hats off to you, you go for it.  Own your choice don't hide and be subversive, or are you just lying to yourself? or don't have a clue that you are or what you are?  If you are really the Unaffiliated, own it and be proud. 

What percentage of Americans are politically independent? 24%, including those that are Unaffiliated, Declined to State, Green Party and Libertarian Party.  These are the people that really decide our elections, well maybe not the delined's.  This is why there has, off and on, been some that have tried to change the election of our president from electoral college to the popular vote.  That is a debate I am not going to continue in this blog but of some interest as the government changes with age. I think it is really ironic that the independents have so much power and care so little about that power.  Independents are like the spice in a good recipe.  You taste the recipe and you know there is something in it but you can't quite put your finger on it.  It is something different and exciting, something that makes you say "that adds to the mix."  Independents give us moments of thought about the mundane.  They can be such thought provoking individuals.  A real independent is a true addition to the conversation, and not a divisive impostor. 

The truly independent are a wondrous breed of people they have such interesting views.  No, I am not talking about the young people that don't claim their real beliefs, and just because they don't like to call it being a democrat or being a republican it doesn't make them not one.  Really, if you are for bigger government, abortions at any stage of pregnancy, you are for marriage for any combination of  couples, you want more entitlements, or you are for socialization of our country and numerous other democrat views, no, you are not an independent so stand up and own it, you are a democrat.  And again really, if you are for individual rights, smaller government, pro-life, restricting immigration rights, less entitlements, a stronger republic you are a republican, again not an independent, stand up and own it as well.  I get so tired of hearing young people saying they are an independent then they rave about the Occupy Wall Street movement, scream pro-abortion rhetoric and whine about animals being killed (still don't understand how an unborn puppy is more important than and unborn baby, and don't think God does either so watch out for the consequence of that choice) but smile and tell you they are independent, not.  They either can't read, or haven't read the democrat planks of the democrat platform, do they even know there are planks?  Same with a mouthy "independent" that quotes the tea party platform then wants you to belief they are independents, guess what they aren't part of the spice of politic no matter who they try and fool.  Their vote doesn't count any more in the grand scope of things than any other democrat or republicans that own their beliefs and voted their convictions, the statistics already knew them as democrats or republican.  You can't pretend your way into being an independent.  And don't get me started on the false independents that run for office just to get more votes.  If you run as an independent actually be one.

Real independents don't have a platform, most fly by the seat of their pants and decide at the last minute, they let the input be undecided right  up to the last and then they make a choice on who they like, and why they want or don't want that person leading them, because of a mixture of various reasons with an open mind.  I think why I have respect for a real independents is that they don't have preconceived cubby holes that they put the candidates into and they actually listen to what the candidate wants to do and accomplish for us..... tomorrow.