If we are wrong, good for America. But if Congress and the White House fail our test — if they cannot pass two substantively defensible policies, one endorsed by both presidential candidates and the other by nearly all serious policy analysts across the political spectrum — then it is time to begin dismantling the two-party duopoly.

Like any successful duopoly, the Republicans and Democrats have done an excellent job of entrenching themselves by rigging the rules of the game. Roughly 40 percent of Americans describe themselves as independent — a bigger bloc than either party — yet there are only two independents in the U.S. Senate and none in the House.

Those numbers are hard to justify when the two parties are systematically failing at the basic tasks of governance.

We can reverse course. First, credible independents need to step forward and run on centrist platforms that transcend Republican or Democratic dogma. The process of identifying a different kind of candidate — someone willing to put country before team — must begin right now.

It needs to happen at every level of government. Today’s state representatives are tomorrow’s U.S. senators. Most state legislatures could use a dose of independent centrism, too.

Second, those of us with an historical allegiance to one political party or the other must have the courage to leave the tribe and support those independents. Political insanity is expecting the parties that created our current impasse to solve it.

A small bloc of independents, even three or four respected senators, could stand apart from the tribalism, almost like mediators, free to support the ideas from each party that are strongest substantively and most likely to garner mainstream support.

Any idea that comes out of the Democrat or Republican caucus is currently dead on arrival. But something that gets floated by the “centrist caucus” — well, that is neutral territory. When it comes to tough budget decisions, for example, centrist independents would be free from unrealistic promises (e.g., no changes to entitlements or no tax increases) that make a Simpson-Bowles type compromise impossible.

Third, we must systematically reform an electoral process that has been designed by the two parties for self-preservation. Across the country, good things are happening on this front already: independent redistricting commissions to preclude gerrymandering; open primaries to give more moderate candidates a chance to make the general election ballot; ranked-choice voting to give small parties and independents a fairer shot at winning.

Americans keep looking for the same system to produce better results. It is not going to happen. We have no reason to believe that the 2018 or 2020 elections will produce more inspiring candidates or better governance if the two parties maintain their stranglehold on the system.

The awful Trump-Clinton campaign was a symptom of political dysfunction, not a cause. The most important thing we can do now is to strengthen the system by moving beyond the parties. It is our best hope for better governance.