Be careful what you wish for

The latest fad in American politics is candidates who claim to be independent of political parties.

Conjuring images of potbellied, cigar-smoking party bosses from the late 19th century, these candidates proclaim that their only interest is in the welfare of the “average, everyday voter.” In truth, their only accountability is to the donors who pay their bills.

On the national level, more than 200 independents are running for the U.S. House and Senate, a record number. Even those of us who have been engaged in politics for years are sick of the bickering and badgering that have taken over our political system. The toxic influence of money has turned our political system into a hotbed of crony capitalism and cynical manipulation of public opinion.

While it appears that this surge of independent candidates is spontaneous, plenty of people in politics understand the potential power of a bloc of votes in Congress that does not align itself with either major political party. Many of those people are working to advance what has become known as the “fulcrum strategy.” The idea is that a small, disciplined bloc of independent or third-party legislators can control policy outcomes by tipping the balance of power between the political parties. It’s simple and potentially effective.

Probably the most prominent group supporting this strategy has been the Forward Party, founded in 2021 by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, and businessman Michael Willner.  On Sept. 23 to 25, the Independent National Convention was held in Washington D.C. Montana’s two independent candidates, Seth Bodnar and Micheal Eisenhauer attended.

In this election cycle, others have joined the movement to promote independent candidates.

Among those is former Senator Joe Manchin and the Independent Leadership Council which has been pouring money into Bodnar’s race.

Before jumping on the independent bandwagon there are a few things to consider. First among them is this: How accountable to the “average, everyday voter” is an independent candidate?

The truth is that running for office, particularly federal office, is extremely expensive. The unprecedented maneuvering in our Senate race has been driven by money from political action committees and other “dark money” groups. Some of these groups are aligned with traditional partisan interests, while others represent players who are relatively new to politics. But all of these donors expect something in return for their investment in candidates. That is true of independents, Republicans, and Democrats alike.

No matter what you think about our major political parties, they provide mechanisms for holding candidates and officeholders accountable beyond the cold, hard cash. Both parties have local central committees populated by volunteers who live in the communities they represent. These local organizations often provide many of the volunteers who form the backbone of local and statewide campaigns.

Both parties have written rules and by-laws which govern their activities. They hold conventions to elect officers and develop positions on issues they care about. These conventions are open to party members. Both parties also develop platforms of positions on various issues at member conventions that are available to the public. None of this exists for independent candidates or officeholders.

It’s worth noting that the current controversy within the Montana Democratic Party is not unique to Democrats. Republicans are mired in an internal blood feud that has been going on for years and virtually paralyzed the last legislature. Despite Republicans’ electoral success in Montana, they are failing to govern effectively.

I’m not blind to the problems with our two-party system. The United States Supreme Court dealt a death blow to our political system with the Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates to a torrent of dirty money flowing into elections. The reality is that we now do our political work under an authoritarian regime run for and by oligarchs.

The next two elections may be our last chance to change what looks like a very dark future.

And our Democratic leaders, people rank and file Montana Democrats have supported for years, blew it in this election.

Hopefully, the rest of the country can do better.

The solution is not to create a cabal of nonaligned “independent” players who broker political deals with relatively little public engagement. Far better to strengthen and unify the traditional system, which has worked imperfectly for decades, and to get the massive amounts of money out of our political process.

Ken Toole served in the Montana Senate with Jon Tester.  He worked for Nancy Keenan when she was Superintendent of Public Instruction.   He was the Vice Chair and Chair of the Lewis and Clark Central Committee. He was elected as the Western District Chair’s Representative on the State Democratic Party Executive Board. He was elected twice to the Montana Senate and once to the Montana Public Service Commission.