In Federalist 10, James Madison says one of the great virtues of a republic, as opposed to the workings of a pure democracy, is representation of the people's interests and views in government by their elected representatives. Public opinion is thus "refined and enlarged" for broader and just national purposes and less likely to be used for narrow and destructive purposes.
The Tea Party represents a sustained and widespread opinion of We the People, an opinion decidedly in favor of returning the government back to the restraints of the Constitution that protect our freedom. Its momentum and message has now had success in Republican primaries.
Once such public opinion is carried into government after the general election, to whatever degree, the next step will be to "refine and enlarge" it into real policy, and curb the destructive short-sighted policies.
Go Joe Miller. (And all the rest.)
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