EDITORIAL: Mr. and Mrs. In-Between hold the balance in elections, Democrats should take notice

A few of you old-timers probably remember Johnny Mercer’s lyrics to the 1944 song “Accentuate the Positive,” about latching on to the affirmative and not messing with Mr. and Mrs. In-Between. Well, it’s a song that the Democratic Party should adopt as it attempts to close the fissure that splits the party’s insurgents from the establishment.

Unlike the lyrics, the party, to some degree, has to mess with Mr. and Mrs. In-Between, that is, the independents who have yet to decide how to mark their ballots. They may be undecided, but they are becoming increasingly influential in a political landscape that is currently as polarized as it has ever been.

According to one poll, approximately 40% of registered voters identify as independents. This dissatisfaction with either of the major parties — coupled with a rise in progressives on the left — would appear to be a fresh crop of voters for the Democrats to harvest. One example of consideration for independents, particularly in deep-red Senate seats, is for Democratic candidates to step aside to give an edge to the more promising independent candidates, but there is a general reluctance for this gambit to gain any real traction.

When the question is posed to several pundits as to the best strategy to win over the fence-sitting voters or independents, they suggest avoiding ideological solutions but to focus on living and quality-of-life issues. Such a move would set aside the concerns raised by the Trump administration about the insurgent socialists being characterized as communists.

In other words, don’t get trapped in complex discussions about ideological differences; keep to the stuff on the kitchen table, cost of living, and the gas pump. We are betting that Mr. and Mrs. In-Between are more in tune with these matters, and as the recent elections indicate, they are ready to make a difference like never before.