If there's anything I want to be "independent" from, it's partisan tomfoolery. Unfortunately, I think this is more of a systemic problem, and has more to do with in-group mentality and human nature than the nuance of politics, as it were. If that's the case, then I'm completely screwed and I should give up on seeing things turn around. To comment on the part where you probably don't believe me, if you were going to put a gun to my head and make me fill out a ballot sheet, I will vote for the secular/populist/socially liberal candidate every time, regardless of which party they came from. This time, it's the Democrats by a slim margin (I could argue that both candidates are merchant class sellouts, but I digress). So I suppose you could say I'm a de-facto Democrat, but I still identify as Independent, since I vote according to whichever candidate represents me better, and not according to party affiliation. When people say they're independent, I think that's what they mean.