The Independent Movement Is Rising — In Arizona and Across America

A powerful opinion piece was published in The Hill this week that highlights something we see every day here in Arizona: Americans are tired of extremes dominating our politics.

Nancy Jacobson of No Labels describes a growing frustration with what she calls a “Burn-It-Down Coalition” — the loudest voices on the far left and far right pulling our country away from practical solutions and toward division. Meanwhile, millions of Americans in the middle want something different: responsible leadership, civil discourse, and real problem-solving.

That’s exactly why the Arizona Independent Party exists.

Here in our state, we are building a party rooted in the belief that everyday citizens deserve a real voice, that competition and equal access strengthen democracy, and that reform should be focused on helping citizens and not being used as political ammunition.

The independent surge Jacobson describes nationally is happening right here — in our neighborhoods, our communities, and our elections.

The time for Independents is now.

To learn more about how you can get involved. Contact us today!

Below is the full article, reprinted with credit.

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The Hill - Opinion - There is a new bipartisan coalition in town — just not the one we wanted

By Nancy Jacobson

Published: 2/21/2026

Look closely, and you’ll see a pattern emerging.

Whether in the showdown over Department of Homeland Security funding, the ongoing debate over striking Iran, or the endless fighting over the Epstein files, a strange new coalition is emerging between the extreme left and the extreme right. Call it the “Burn-It-Down Coalition.”

The two extremes want different things. They even hate each other. But that doesn’t stop them from agreeing more than they care to admit, or pursuing the same ends for our political system.

Listen to people like Nick Fuentes or Tucker Carlson on the far right, or leaders of the Democratic Socialists of America on the far left, and you will hear the echoes.

Both have espoused antisemitic views, are hostile to free speech, and are adverse to free enterprise. Both believe the U.S. is a malignant force in the world. Both encourage an endless cycle of politicized retribution and persecution.

Take America’s involvement in the Middle East. Tucker Carlson has railed repeatedly against “American empire,” particularly in regard to our defense of Israel, which he calls a “completely insignificant country.” Fuentes has asserted that “Neoconservatism is Jewish in nature.”

This tracks closely with the Democratic Socialists of America, who call Israel “an Outpost for American Empire” and lean on antisemitic dog whistles to label support of the Jewish state a matter of “apartheid” and “genocide.”

Similar rhetoric, similar goals.

Then there are the Epstein files. Both extremes eagerly leverage the story as proof that America’s institution and the elites who lead them are irredeemably corrupt and must be brought down.

Even when the goals of the two sides differ, the ends they drive us toward are often the same.

On America’s college campuses, the left excuses antisemitism and demands speech codes. The right punishes and suppresses the speech of institutions it views as hostile. Each claims to defend democratic ideals. Together, they erode them.

In the current Homeland Security funding standoff, the loudest voices on the right demand maximalist immigration measures. The loudest voices on the left reject enforcement provisions. Together, they suppress a bipartisan majority that favors reform over chaos.

Or take the national debt. Both extremes are paddling the same rowboat over the waterfall — spending more on their pet issues and dismissing the warnings as exaggerated.

Some call this phenomenon “horseshoe politics,” with the far ends of the political spectrum bending around back toward each other. The problem is obvious: most Americans are still at the top of the horseshoe, somewhere in the middle.

These everyday voters believe antisemitism has no place in our public life. They believe institutions should be reformed when they fail, not destroyed when they disappoint. They want secure borders and humane immigration reform. They want fiscal responsibility and economic growth. They want a politics that solves problems instead of manufacturing crises.

And yet, the ascendant forces in both parties are leaving these voters behind. And therein lies the final, most ominous similarity between these two extremist movements: their desire to conquer their respective parties.

Here is Nick Fuentes: “We have got to be on the right, dragging [Republicans] kicking and screaming into the future… into a truly reactionary party.”

Saikat Chakrabati is former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and current front runner to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in Congress. He wants to do to the Democratic Party what the tea party did to the Republican Party.

Put another way: The center isn’t leaving America. Rather, the parties are leaving the center.

In return, Americans are abandoning both parties in droves, with a record high 45 percent of voters now identifying as independent.

But that need not be the end of the story. Voters have the power to bend the horseshoe back.

The answer to the Burn-It-Down Coalition is a renewed commitment to pragmatic governance. We need a true bipartisan bloc in Congress, one united by the goal of reforming what is broken without demolishing what works. In an era of narrow congressional majorities, a small number of committed members can act as a powerful moderating force.

We also need a groundswell of voters, business leaders, and state and local officials committed to turning the tide. Those Americans are out there, particularly in our younger generations.

This year’s midterm elections will be a turning point, for better or worse. We will either reward the forces of anger and chaos with expanded power over our parties, or we will begin to bend our politics back in favor of the center.

America has renewed itself many times before — not by tearing down its foundations, but by strengthening them. That is the coalition we must build again, starting now.