1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910495953903321

Autore

Keith Bruce E

Titolo

The myth of the independent voter / / Bruce E. Keith, David B. Magleby, Candice J. Nelson, Elizabeth Orr, Mark C. Westlye, and Raymond E. Wolfinger

Pubbl/distr/stampa

[Place of publication not identified], : University of California Press, 1992

ISBN

0-520-91223-3

0-585-31000-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (244 p.)

Disciplina

324.973

Soggetti

Party affiliation - United States

Political parties - United States

Voting - United States

Political Rights - U.S

Government - U.S

Law, Politics & Government

United States Politics and government 1945-1989

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- Preface -- 1 Partisanship and Independence -- 2 Partisan Shifts among Blacks and Southerners -- 3 The Civic Virtue of Partisans and Independents -- 4 How Independents Vote -- 5 Partisans or Independents? -- 6 Age, Education, and Dealignment -- 7 Issues and Dealignment -- 8 Alienation and Independence -- 9 Alternatives -- 10 Conclusions -- Appendix: Items in the National Election Studies Alienation Indexes -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Few events in American politics over the past two decades have generated more attention than the increasing number of voters calling themselves Independent. By the early 1970s Independents outnumbered Republicans, according to many eminent experts on voting behavior. Yet the authors of this incisive new commentary on American politics claim that most of this widespread speculation on



declining party affiliation is simply wrong. They contend that most so-called Independents lean strongly toward one of the two parties and resemble-in all important respects-either Democrats or Republicans. Contrary to expert opinion, only a small segment of voters are truly "independent" of either major party.Based on the most up-to-date 1990 data, The Myth of the Independent Voter provides a roadmap of the political arena for the general reader and scholar alike. Debunking conventional wisdom about voting patterns and allaying recent concerns about electoral stability and possible third party movements, the authors uncover faulty polling practices that have resulted in a skewed sense of the American voting population.Demonstrating that most of what has been written about Independents for more than thirty years is myth, this challenging book offers a trenchant new understanding of the party system, voting behavior, and public opinion.