1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,280 Speaker 1: There's a new Gallup poll that came out and it 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: is about young Americans. Forty five percent of US adults 3 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:11,719 Speaker 1: now identify as political independents. Two decades ago, it was 4 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: about a third, and now you've got forty five percent saying, yeah, 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: I'm independent, I don't identify with either political party. 6 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 2: Yeah. This is part of a long term trend that 7 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 2: we've seen taken place in politics where people it was 8 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 2: much more common to be a proud Republican or a 9 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 2: proud Democrat, and then we saw people shift and they 10 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,880 Speaker 2: were like, well, I'm more of a conservatives, which means I'm, 11 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 2: you know, have my core values, but I may not 12 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:38,639 Speaker 2: support the Republican Party all the time. And then near 13 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 2: seeing people that are just like, now, I think both 14 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 2: of these parties are absolute idiots, and I'm going to 15 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,239 Speaker 2: call myself an independent, and this kind of tracks. I mean, 16 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:48,559 Speaker 2: we've saw a lot of polling data that shows, you know, 17 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 2: the Republicans don't have the greatest approval rating when you 18 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 2: ask a general, generic nationwide question, and the Democrats have 19 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 2: an even worse approval rating, oh when you ask a generic, 20 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 2: general nationwide question. And so we've seen that data there 21 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 2: for a long time, and those numbers trending lower and lower, 22 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 2: and so it makes common sense to say, Okay, the 23 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 2: next logical step is people just you know, publicly saying 24 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 2: I'm not a Democrat, I'm not a Republican. I think 25 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 2: both of these groups are idiots. I'm going to, you know, 26 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 2: consider myself an independent. And we're bumping up on now 27 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 2: almost half of the entire country. 28 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: So the trend, it's driven by obvious discontent with a 29 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: party in power, not just lasting loyalty. And it's more 30 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: so with Gen Z and millennials, they are the biggest 31 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: independent group. Over fifty percent identify as independent. Older generations, 32 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 1: they remain a little bit more likely to affiliate to 33 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,760 Speaker 1: a major party. But nearly half of these independents forty 34 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: seven percent also describe themselves as moderates. So and that 35 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: it's hard right down the middle. 36 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 2: And it used to be for generations. In generations it 37 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 2: was you know, my mom and dad voted for FDR, 38 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 2: so I'm a Democrat, or my mom and dad voted 39 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 2: for Reagan and so I'm a Republican. And those traditional 40 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 2: norms that have existed for generations, you know, continuing to 41 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 2: go away. And so it makes sense that the younger 42 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:09,959 Speaker 2: generation is going to be the one to break those 43 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 2: norms and the older generation still clinging to the concept 44 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 2: of a you know, there's two parties. I'm either a 45 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 2: Democrat or a Republican. 46 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: Well, it also means that you're going to have more 47 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: political swings that could become more frequent if they're rejecting 48 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: traditional political labels. They're just going to go whichever way 49 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: the wind blows. 50 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,359 Speaker 2: Yeah, and the parties, as it really secure politics and 51 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 2: running elections, have obviously figured this out. You know, it 52 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 2: used to be I need to make an argument so 53 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 2: I can convince the Democrats to vote for me a Republican, 54 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 2: and then it moved to, well, I need to get 55 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 2: my base out. That's how I'm going to win this. 56 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:49,639 Speaker 2: Just get more Republicans or more Democrats out, and that's 57 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 2: how I'm going to win this. And now it's come 58 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 2: down to there's this chunk that sit in the middle, 59 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 2: and sometimes they're going to vote with Democrats and sometimes 60 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 2: they're going to vote for Republicans. And it's my job 61 00:02:58,080 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 2: to get that chunk in the middle to break my 62 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 2: and not my opponents. 63 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: And you got to wonder, is that going to mean 64 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: that politicians are going to start watering down their message 65 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:09,799 Speaker 1: to try to appeal to that moderate, independent middle group. 66 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 2: I think actually what you'll see is probably and I 67 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 2: think we've seen this a little bit, you actually probably 68 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 2: see the opposite, because you're going to need to get 69 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 2: those people's attention. That's what it comes down to. I 70 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 2: think a lot of those people that identify as independence 71 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 2: have kind of been so disgusted with politics as usual 72 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 2: that they've self checked out and aren't paying nearly as 73 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 2: much attention to it as they might have normally. And 74 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 2: if that's the case for independence, then you're going to 75 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 2: have to come out with more and more extreme positions 76 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 2: to be able to get them to even pay attention 77 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 2: to you and engage with what you're doing.