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# Independent nation, partisan government
- URL: https://ivn.us/independent-nation-partisan-government/
- Published: 2010-05-26T17:19:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-22T19:15:54.000Z
- Author: Ryan Jaroncyk
- Tags: News

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dc/be/dcbe1ac4-146f-43be-92a6-ea84728d86a6/content/images/2026/02/Reps-Dems.jpg "Independent nation, partisan government")](https://ivn.us/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Reps-Dems.jpg)

Of the 535 members of Congress, only 2 are Independents. This represents a meager 0.4%, while polls continue to reveal that 35-40% of Americans consider themselves to be Independents, unaffiliated with either major party.

Over the last thirty years, a time period in which Republicans and Democrats have added about [$12 trillion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United%5FStates%5Fpublic%5Fdebt?ref=ivn.us) to the national debt, there have only been two Independent presidential candidates. And since 1980, independent, third party presidential candidates have only been allowed to participate in 23% of the debates, despite the rising percentage of Independent voters.

So, despite $12 trillion of additional debt, 4 recessions, and a balanced budget only about 15% of the time over the last three decades, Republicans and Democrats maintain a stranglehold on U.S. politics. As Americans have shifted toward a [less partisan](http://caivn.org/article/2010/04/20/good-bye-republicans-and-democrats-independent-revolution-underway?ref=ivn.us) political make-up, Presidential administrations and Congress have shifted toward a more hyper-partisan make-up.

Who's to blame then? Ballot laws? The two major parties? The media? The American people?

And what solutions would you propose to rectify this glaring discrepancy?