Originally Posted by dragonrider
I'm not sure if this part is true for the large majority of people. Most people I think are actually more in the middle and don't care for the extreme ideological positions staked out by the parties. But it is the "true believers" on both sides who are the most politically active in both parties. In order to win, candidates take posistions that appeal to the people who will do the hard work of campaigning --- raising the money, working the phones, going to the rallies, putting up the signs, going door to door, etc. The parties protect their bases by pandering to their most extreme elements just enough not to totally alienate the more moderate middle. They have both done such a good job of this wedge politics that they have both conrnered almost exactly half the population. It makes the country seem more divided than it really is. The truth is that most people are much closer to the middle than the two parties would make it seem, but you never get a candidate that falls very close to that middle ground. Moderate candidates tend not to make it through the primary process.
