My distaste for the “populist angry in-your-face” Republicanism that has crashed the Idaho Republican Party is no secret. But do not mistake this dissatisfaction for abandonment, “sour grapes,” or a rush to favor independent runs for office.

No, I remain loyal to my party but perceive this new militancy comes at a cost to its effectiveness. It is a blessing handed down from America’s Founders that political success under our Constitution yields to persuasion, and not to more “forceful” collusion.

But that is me. And there are many of Idaho’s fiercely independent-minded voters who do not now nor have ever put “party first.” Roughly half of all Republicans say in recent polling that they will vote for an independent candidate who better addresses their concerns.

Couple this with the demise in favorability of political parties, and one might conclude that “independent candidacy” is clearly the winning formula. With the withdrawal of Democrat David Roth from this year’s race for the United States Senate, leaving it between Republican Jim Risch and Independent Todd Achilles, there is clearly now a vocal fan club for “let’s go, Independent.”

But I know Todd Achilles. He is an extremely likeable guy, with some really down-to-earth ideas that deserve hearing. He belongs right in the center of the Democratic Party, in which my father was active, and his public service as a Democrat in the past was both honorable and of value to the people of Idaho. He is not, nor should he try to pass himself off, as a Republican-lite.

In this era where the hallmarks of politics are name-calling and accusation, some will say Achilles’ run as an independent is a cynical ploy on the part of Democrats. Roth’s withdrawal from the race supports that perception. But the cynics miss this one by a mile.

Parties (both Democrat and Republican) hate independent candidates. Federal election law prohibits Idaho Democrats from converting their donor’s money into funding for an Independent. And Achilles fundraising will often come at a direct cost to checks supporting Idaho Democrats in general. Independent candidates hurt parties where it is painful: in their pocketbooks.

But they also harm parties in long-term structural ways. Parties rely on committed people, volunteers doing the grassroots work of influencing friends and getting politically allied neighbors to the polls. Political scientists call independent runs “strategic de-labeling.” And that it is: a vast dedication of time, money and energy poured into a single individual, with little or no spillover or name recognition accruing to a “label.” That undermines the party whose volunteers exist because they rallied to a label.

In a healthy political environment, Democrats and Republicans each reach for the middle, developing platforms that are principled, pointed, and moderated just enough to win a majority. When parties take the lazy path, they “play to their wings.” They pander to the harshest critics and most strident voices within their ranks. They abandon the high ground where “governing” occurs and, in doing so, no longer deserve to win.

It is the failure of parties that makes independent candidacy a personal choice, on the part of the candidate, and never a “ploy” by the party itself. Independent campaign worker recruitment is harder, fundraising is slower and earned media coverage is more difficult to attract. Nothing about independents makes theirs the “easy path.” It is a choice often made out of pure desperation.

There is no evidence in recent elections that Idaho is inclined to vote “independent.” The only successful independent candidates have been local, i.e., county commissioners and sheriffs who run on highly community-polarizing issues like building a jail or closing a landfill. There are currently no independents serving in either the Idaho House or Senate.

My prediction is this will not change. When parties fail... self-government fails because parties in America exist to fill a needed niche in self-government recognized only after the Constitution was adopted — the need to assemble and align voters into “majorities.”

Independent candidacy is a symptom of a failing political system... but it is not the cure.