Why Independent Voters Will Propel Bernie Sanders to the White House
This is a response to the thread posted here
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511488187
Indy's decide elections and despite Hillary leading *among* Democrats, there is no path to the White House with only Dem support. Hillary basically has no crossover support and this is why she loses a General Election. Bernie on the other hand does and why he wins a General Election. When you look at open primary states, who wins? Bernie.
http://usuncut.com/politics/independent-voters-bernie/
Independent voters are the largest political force in the US. And in this election cycle, anyone who wants to win the presidency has to win their support. Likewise, any candidate who doesn’t poll well with independents has statistical chance of becoming president.
For several years now, the numbers of voters who identify themselves as independent of either the Democrats or Republicans has been steadily rising, while the numbers of self-identifying Democrats and Republicans are at historic lows.
By 2015, only 30 percent of voters called themselves Democrats, and only 26 percent identified as Republican. By January 2016, only 29 percent of voters allied with the Democratic Party. Those who call themselves independents now make up 42 to 43 percent of the electorate. Indeed, if there was an Independent Party that grouped in all of these voters under one umbrella, that party would be unstoppable.
= new reply since forum marked as read
of what you say ...later
The electorate has been shifting over the past few years and the goofy polls do not reflect it. I got banned from all the Hillary group's threads on my second or third post on DU because I was new and didn't understand the 'group' did not permit historical information regarding how the Clintons ran on the left to get to the GE then swung so far to the right in the GE that it made heads spin and predicted that would not change. Oh well. I am concerned if Hillary actually wins the primary she will be CRUSHED in the GE for a couple of reasons. She is not attracting new voters. Her base in the democratic party is diminishing daily as Bernie becomes better known. She loses big time to Bernie when it comes to open primary states where Independents can vote. I have concerns the millennials will not turn out to vote for her in the GE. The RNC has been 'loaded for bear' for her for years and some of the disgusting videos out there about her 'record' are undoubtedly created by republicans.
That's an exercise in futility.
We're supposedly nominating someone FOR the General, and yet we strongly tend to nominate someone who can't win it (because of party influence and front-loading the Southern states). Really brilliant. 
and have had it with holding my nose in the GE. I could not agree with you more. Thanks.
