What is an anti–Donald Trump Republican to do? For Steve Schmidt — a top campaign aide to President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign, Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential run and other top Republicans’ races — the answer was to quit the party and become an independent. While the decision to become an independent in these circumstances might make sense for a veteran Republican operative, it is the rise of independent voters among the general public that has contributed to some of the very problems independents often speak out against.