"Republicans fear their base, Dems hate their base…" do we see this here?

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Kinda simplistic...

my committee has the problem of rarely agreeing on local issues. That's not entirely a bad thing, of course, but it dilutes a lot of our impact and gives us problems coming up with platforms.

The local Republicans pretty much just sign on to whatever they're given by the party leadership. Easy. And even easier because they almost never propose anything new.

Nationally? We have a Congressman, of course, and his district includes the wealthiest and poorest neighborhoods on Long Island. It's also always in play, with millions coming in from Republicans around the country-- the last election was a recount where he won by a handful of votes. So, who influences him? He's a reasonably progressive Democrat, but I get the emails from people who demand his ass over one vote.

The Republicans are held captive by the teabaggers for now, and I suspect most of our leaders, such as they are, look at that and are terrified by a group of leftist radicals taking over. Not that most ideas on the left don't have merit, unlike teabaggery, but a really radical faction running around closing coal mines and Wal-Marts can have consequences worse than the ills they are trying to fix.