Yes, GOP affiliated voters are down, but so is the Dem count. Yes ‘independent’ registrations are up, but two things about that. Independent voters are often in jobs where they would not prosper if they were registered GOP, and second, they vote GOP - when the GOP has a true conservative candidate.
The problem with these graphs is that, in terms of the two-party system, the word “independent” has no real meaning. In the end, given the terminology of polling and pollsters, it’s just a way of dodging the issue. People say “I’m independent” as a way of saying nothing. Instead of presenting them with “nothing” as an alternative to something, the pollsters give them a way of saying nothing and then call it a “trend.”
In short, no matter what you or I might think, I promise you that most people who say “independent” have no clear idea of what they mean when they say it. In fact, they say it BECAUSE they are clueless.
Those trends will be like a stock market. In 2 years, the two parties will even out. I personally don’t feel like a republican, but given conservatism is much closer to the GOP...I feel it’s the closest alternative.