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There's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos, said Texas politician Jim Hightower. His comment is humorous, and may be accurate as far as Texas highways are concerned, but it misses the mark when it comes to American politics.

In truth, the middle of the road or political center, if you will is where people come together to get things done. Its where deadlocks are broken.

Centrists once determined the fate of big issues. Ronald Reagan inspired Republicans with his conservative principles, but also made deals with Democrats to get his programs passed. More Republicans than Democrats voted for the 1964 Civil Rights bill proposed by Democratic President Lyndon Johnson.

Today, few members of Congress operate from the middle. If more did, its likely reasonable compromises could be reached on numerous issues such as infrastructure and immigration.

The partisan gap is widening and each side is increasingly militant. Instant communications, social media, 24/7 news and uninformed punditry, together with a deluge of organized money, deepens the divide. Campaign cash isnt raised online by talking about common ground, its raised by painting the opposition as evil.

There is nothing wrong with Democrats and Republicans battling over legitimate policy differences thats the way democracy works. But each side now makes eradication of the other its priority. When individuals in Congress work with colleagues from across the aisle to find practical solutions, theyre attacked as sellouts, fundraising spigots are cut off to them and primary election challenges are threatened.

Though middle ground is hard to find in Washington, its alive and well among voters across the nation. A recent poll for The Economist finds that 28% of voters consider themselves independents thats equivalent to 45 million votes, a healthy chunk of the American electorate thats not aligned with either party.

Voters are tired of polarized politics. They want an alternative vision. A Gallup poll, conducted earlier this year, showed that 62% of the nations voters think the two major parties do such a poor job that a third party is needed. Thats a stinging rebuke.

Both parties have become reliant on base turnout to win elections, and that makes campaigns less about persuading undecided and cross-pressured voters and more about pushing reliable partisans to the polls. Some analysts and consultants have concluded that voters in the middle dont much matter. The truth is that they do matter; independents, in fact, elected the last two presidents.

In 2020, Joe Biden and Donald Trump each received near-unanimous support (94%) from their partys voters. But, according to exit polling, independents went for Biden by a wide 54-41% margin. In the critical state of Georgia, for example, Biden won by a mere two-tenths of a point and did it by carrying independents by nine points.

In 2016, independents went for Trump by four points over Hillary Clinton. Trump won the critical state of Michigan that year by only two-tenths of a point and did it by carrying independents by 16 points.

In 1992, Ross Perot was one of the few independent candidates in history to run a presidential campaign from the center. Though he lost, he received an impressive 19% of the vote. Whats forgotten is that his voters didnt go away, they became the swing vote in the next midterm election; they handed control of Congress to the GOP in an upset of historic magnitude.

Political labels independent, centrist and moderate are often used interchangeably and incorrectly. Technically, theyre neither the same nor mutually exclusive. Independent is a partisan position and centrist is an ideological position. Moderation is a temperament; politicians are usually viewed as moderates because of their tone, not their voting records.

Regardless of labels, which are built on shifting sands anyway, most voters are not rigid ideologues or lockstep partisans. Theyre cross-pressured. They dont follow a party line on issues and are sometimes more motivated by candidate qualifications and personalities. In 2016, for instance, 18% disliked both Trump and Clinton. They were cross-pressured and they broke for Trump in the end.

While tens of millions of voters still stand in the middle of the political spectrum, there are fewer leaders in the halls of Congress who represent them. Thats a bigger problem than dead armadillos.

Ron Faucheux is a nonpartisan political analyst and publisher of LunchtimePolitics.com, a newsletter on polls. He lives in New Orleans.

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Ron Faucheux: The death of the political center in America is exaggerated - The Advocate