Inside this poll of most "conservative" and most "liberal" states you'll find this interesting observation:
"You'll notice that despite Democratic control of Congress and the presidency, there is generally a higher percentage of self-identified conservatives than self-identified liberals. Americans have been far less likely to identify as liberal than conservative going back to at least 1992, and the trend has been toward self-identified conservatism in recent years."It seems as the American public is more outwardly desirous of being free from the paternalistic arms of big government, leadership in the parties leans or lunges in the other direction. Bush and a Republican Congress vastly expanded the scope of government in our lives and greatly increased the deficit, setting the stage for the current hyper power grab and government growth sponsored brought to you by the Democrats.
What's with this representational dislocation?
In Federalist #37, James Madison observed:
"The genius of republican liberty seems to demand on one side, not only that all power should be derived from the people, but that those entrusted with it should be kept in dependence on the people, by a short duration of their appointments; and that even during this short period the trust should be placed not in a few, but a number of hands."Contrary to establishment assumptions, politicians and their parties are dependent upon us; the constitutional circumstance is not the other way around. Accepting their view would make us We the Sheeple, not We the People. So long as politicians have to come grovelling for our votes and sell themselves, we hold the power.
The key, then, would be to continue to demand a better product, as the ongoing Tea Party movement is demanding.
Otherwise, we are not buying.
