Thanks for your thoughtful reply.....I am so surprised that no one took my angle with this post......by switching to I, 4 Conservatives would put McConnell with a 50-50 split in the Senate, with Biden as tie-breaker. It seems to me that this group of 4 would then have very much leverage with McConnell.
If this group of independents were yet another group of pigs trying to get an extra share out of the public trough, then they would indeed hold more leverage. However, everyone would know that they are principled, and therefore predictable. They couldn’t credibly offer/withhold support in the same way that an unprincipled cretin could, especially given that they would be surrounded by the twin pillars of liberalism (the D and R parties), which would be proffering legislation that, by and large, would be wholly unacceptable to anyone with either principles or common sense.
Basically, I don’t think that they would be kingmakers, but rather doormats. The good news is that they wouldn’t lose any influence. The bad news is that it is because they don’t have any to lose.
Or McConnell writes them off and picks a few Democrats he can work with.
You can't make a major break from a party and assume the party system and party loyalties will work in the same way as before.