The Independent View: Man in the Middle

During a presidential race there is always the talk about a third party candidate. But if you want to talk about changing the two-party system, we need to remove the majority in Congress of the two major parties. And for me, that is more independents.

The beginning became possible when Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, who used the intense partisanship of the Senate from running for a fourth term, when she announced her retirement.

The front-runner to replace her, Angus King, is not just an independent, but one who seems to take positive glee in bucking America’s two-party system. Mr King refuses to say whether he would caucus with Democrats or Republicans if elected. His vote could swing control of the finely divided chamber from one party to another. And the price of his support, he says, could be the adoption of reforms intended to reduce the Senate’s partisan gridlock.

Overhauling government, he argues, is even more important than repairing the economy, since an ineffectual Congress cannot craft effective economic policies. To that end, he supports some rather obscure changes to the procedures of the Senate: timelier votes on the president’s nominees to judgeships and other senior posts, fewer filibusters, more scope for the minority to offer amendments, and so on. He speaks of creating a centrist caucus, of campaigning for independent candidates in other states, of becoming “the tip of the spear” for America’s neglected moderates.

Voters in Maine seem to like the idea of transcending partisan politics. Both Mrs Snowe and the state’s other current senator, Susan Collins, are similarly independent-minded. Mr King himself got elected governor as an independent twice in the 1990s. Mr King looks likely to romp home this year: he is polling at 50% or more in a three-way race.

Getting elected will be the easy part. New senators often seem shocked at their impotence. The chamber’s impenetrable procedures tend to deflect even the sharpest of spears. Mr King will have influence only if he ends up holding the balance of power. That, in turn, depends on the two parties splitting the remaining seats 49-50, with the vice-president (who casts the deciding vote in the case of a 50-50 tie) coming from the minority party. Such a scenario is perfectly possible.

Moreover, even as kingmaker, it is not at all clear that Mr King could bring about the change he seeks. The Senate’s insufferable procedures, which can usually be changed only by a two-thirds majority, would again be an obstacle. More important, as Mrs Snowe lamented, the chamber is becoming ever more polarised. The coming elections are likely to thin the ranks of centrist Democrats even further, and may also pick off Scott Brown of Massachusetts, one of the few remaining moderate Republicans. Even if the rules were to change, the duelling mindset instilled by Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, the leaders of the two parties in the Senate, would not.

Mr King’s success stems from unusual circumstances. He had both money to mount his first campaign for governor, from his business, and name recognition, from a stint as the host of a local television show. Better still, Maine is a small state, where assiduous retail politics can overcome some of the parties’ advantages in terms of organization and fund-raising. Mr King, who has raised only about $1m so far, still fears that shady electioneering outfits will throw a few million dollars’ worth of attacks ads at him before election day, just to see if they stick. Even when you are high in the polls, it seems, it is not easy being an independent.

So we need more Angus King's.