The American Public and Extreme Policy Positions- gallup.com (HRC GP)

[Her Sister]

Comparing Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz:

Both of these polar opposite convictions are decidedly out of sync with public opinion. That may not matter to Sanders and Cruz, who -- like many revolutionaries -- are convinced that they know best, even if the people don't yet recognize it. But that assumption dismisses the collective wisdom of the people who in the long run control a democracy. Better to pay close attention to what the public is telling us, and fashion policy around that wisdom -- rather than operating with blind insistence that one has the received truth.

When given a choice, about a third of Americans say government should take active steps in every area it can to improve the lives of its citizens, presumably a position that Sanders thinks reflects most Americans' opinions. And about a third say government should do only the things necessary to provide basic government functions, Cruz's core philosophical position. The rest are somewhere in the middle.

Government is a complex sociological entity, based on a pooling of individual resources and a ceding of individual power to a collective, under an assumption that this collective entity can better handle the challenges facing individuals than any alternative.
What results is a challenging relationship between a country's citizens and their government -- one of the most intricate of any sociological relationship in modern society. Americans remain torn about what the federal government should or should not be doing. The public eschews simple, sweeping and unrealistic proposals for the way government should work, and recognizes that hard work and slogging compromise are necessary. More than anything else, the public points to the value of a focused and robust debate about the role of government in Americans' daily lives. The Founding Fathers would probably recognize this as a continuing and inevitable part of the philosophical issues with which they wrestled, and would be sympathetic to the dilemma that still exists today.

So where does that leave candidates at the edges of the ideological spectrum like Sanders and Cruz? They can argue that their more extreme positions on the role of government help frame the debate. That may be so. But in terms of actual policy, assumptions that the collective government is evil and should be cut back do not embrace this complexity, nor do simplistic assumptions that the nation would be on board with a major ramp-up of the collective government's power and reach.

More in link... http://www.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/191069/american-public-extreme-policy-positions.aspx?g_source=POLITICS&g_medium=topic&g_campaign=tiles

[Her Sister]

1. Repeated evidence shows that Americans' main recommendation for fixing Congress is that its members

Repeated evidence shows that Americans' main recommendation for fixing Congress is that its members should compromise and cooperate more in order to get something done. That, in turn, means Americans in the end want leaders to figure out some middle ground on government.

http://www.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/191069/american-public-extreme-policy-positions.aspx?g_source=POLITICS&g_medium=topic&g_campaign=tiles

[riversedge]

2. Sanders does fit into that definition of always thinking he knows Best: The FATHER KNOW BEST

image has faded for many--but not for Sanders

[SharonClark]

3. My take is most Americans want fairness and opportunity for all

But they vote based on how those goals are twisted by those who the respect and listen to.