The Myth of the Moderate Majority
You are not in the middle. You are in front.
You have heard it before from every pundit, pollster, and party strategist who loves to talk about “the moderate middle”. That vague, quiet blob of voters stuck between red and blue. Politically bland. Afraid to rock the boat. The tie-breakers. The leftovers. They act like we are fence-sitters. Like we’re too indecisive to pick a side.
Let’s be real: That’s not us. That’s not you. That’s a myth.
Because the so-called “moderate majority” isn’t moderate. And it is not in the middle. It is the Independent movement—and we are out in front.
A Broken Frame
For decades, the two parties framed politics as a spectrum:
Left. Right. Center. That’s it. Pick your lane. Stay in it. Or shut up.
But reality broke that model a long time ago. We live in a world where:
You can believe in small business and universal healthcare.
You can support the Second Amendment and demand common-sense gun laws.
You can be pro-labor and pro-market innovation.
You can want border security and humane immigration.
Where do those views fit on a spectrum? They don’t. Because positions on policy are not always partisan, they’re human.
Americans do not fit into tidy boxes, we are multi-dimensional. And most of them are just trying to fix a broken system—not prop up a red or blue team that’s been selling them out for decades.
The Myth Keeps the Machine Running
Calling independents “moderates” is convenient for the parties. It’s how they minimize us. Box us in. Pretend we’re just undecided Democrats or Republicans in disguise.
But here’s what they refuse to admit:
More Americans now identify as Independents than with either party.
Independents aren’t undecided—they’re unconvinced.
We’re not looking for a compromise between two extremes.
We’re looking for a new direction entirely.
We don’t want a little less corruption or slightly better gridlock. We want structural reform. We want competence. We want leaders who serve people, not parties.
That’s not moderate, that’s common sense. Because being independent isn’t about playing it safe. It’s about breaking free.
We are not afraid to challenge party lines. We don’t need approval from pundits or PACs. We are the vanguard of a political realignment, one that isn’t coming in 20 years. It’s already here.
The Independent movement is:
Demanding open primaries and fair access to ballots.
Supporting independent candidates who actually listen.
Electing local leaders who don’t wear party labels like armor.
Building coalitions across issue lines, not party lines.
We’re not waiting for the old system to collapse. We’re replacing it as we speak.
The Future Isn’t Moderate—It’s Bold, Thoughtful, and Free
So the next time someone calls you a “moderate,” correct them.
Tell them you’re not in the middle, but that you are part of the most dynamic force in American politics. Tell them the future doesn’t belong to parties, it belongs to people bold enough to think independently.
We are not the moderate majority.
We are the majority.
And we are just getting started.
Written by,
Austen Campbell
Founder | Independent National Coalition
Your argument for both/and versus the typical partisan either/or is right on. It's sad that mentality is so rare in our hyper partisan world. One of the hills to climb.
I would suggest another point for your list: There are times when compromise is worthwhile and there are times when only a clear change in direction must be demanded.
The movement for rights for non-partisan voters has been underway nationally for over 30 years; 25 years here in Arizona, where I live. It has made some breakthroughs and they are significant. It has had some failures and they are significant. One of our challenges is that Independent Voter turnout is extremely low. The challenge is connecting with this massive voter pool to motivate them to cast a ballot. They all vote now; it's just that most stay home and vote for the winner, whoever that is. We need to start talking about casting a ballot:active voting instead of passive voting. And that's a whole new ballgame. Even where party constructed obstacles have yet to be erected, the vast majority of Independent Voters are passive; they just don't cast ballot--and ballots are what determine election outcomes.
There's a lot of work to be done and much of it is (and has been for some time) underway. A major question: how can we coalesce those endeavors to yield real results? What can happen in 2026 to show progress?
I will be in touch with some ideas.