We need more Independent candidates for US Senate!

Yes, yes, I know, Independent candidates help the guy at the other end of the political spectrum get elected… but that’s for Presidential elections, where (in the absence of a Negative Vote option) we are locked into a two-party, two-candidate competition where (until we secure the right to a Negative Vote) we really have to vote “strategically”.

Our Representatives and Senators, on the other hand, are in principle free to vote their own conscience and judgement. That part of our government is not unlike a Parliamentary Democracy, which is slightly less prone to extreme polarization.

Take for example the Provincial government of British Columbia, which is presently under the nominal control of the NDP (a traditionally liberal, but very “political” party). However, the relatively conservative Liberals (don’t ask, it makes no sense to me either) have only one or two seats less than the NDP, which gives the three seats held by the Green party inordinate power. As a result, the NDP has lost the ability to ignore environmental issues in favor of more jobs, as is their wont.

If a few more Independents were elected to the US Senate, they would be able to prevent dictatorial rule by either majority party. They would not owe their seats to a monolithic (and frequently totalitarian) party infrastructure; they would be able to do the right thing regardless of whether it were a Blue or Red policy.

Surely that would be a big improvement?