ABORTION AND OTHER ISSUES

The conservatives who want to eliminate abortion are a decided minority in America:

A 2009 poll by the Pew Research Center found that 46 percent of people say abortion should be legal in all or most cases; on the other side, 44 percent say abortion should always or mostly be illegal.

Even among those who'd like to see abortion restrictions tightened, a minority believe, like Akin, that the procedure should be illegal without exception. According to the same Pew poll, only 18 percent of Americans held that viewpoint. The numbers were unchanged from the previous year's survey, Pew reported.

The GOP panders to these freaks because it needs the votes but it can't afford to make their extremist views widely known. Few non-conservatives realize that many in this 18 percent, like Rick Santorum, would also like to prohibit all forms of contraception except for the rhythm method.

On economic issues, the conservatives don't fair much better. Most Americans think that the current wealth distribution in America is undesirable and would like a more progressive distribution. This is the opposite of Paul Ryan's plan, which would reduce Mitten$ tax rate to less than 1%.