27% of Americans are self-identified Republican, 31% Democrats. That leaves 44% of Americans in the middle. I guarantee you there are very very few Americans who are against the parties because they are not extreme enough. So what do the parties do?
While Elizabeth Warren called murder a "vague moral objection*" Hillary says her favorite book is the bible. The tea party ousts any republican candidate that can't pass the lunacy test. So who is the independent voter going to vote for? The answer is the democrats.
Most voters would rather be thought of as stupid rather than unamerican. It's that simple folks.
You can have your ideological purity your House of Representatives and your pride OR you can think about being a party that gives a shit about the 44% who have no voice: the hawks who are *pro-choice; the people who are against gun control AND the death penalty; the folks who support tougher borders AND immigration reform; who want equal rights for gays AND Christians (like prayer in schools.)
But noooo the tea party finds those voters suspect. Is the Democratic Party going to compromise on any of those things? No. Are they going to get those votes? Yes. Because they tell these folks their opinion is stupid, self-defeating or ignorant whereas the right will tell them they are in a cultural war where any deviation of opinion marks defeat.
THAT is the left's best weapon.
