Tyler Cowen on how democracy works

The general point is that if you are not a pivotal voter, announcing your true preferences and views does not necessarily help you get what you want.

Why might that be?

Are blogger attacks on the Republicans counterproductive at this point, at least from a "left" point of view? Is not the relevant signal telling Obama he can safely move to the center without losing much support? The blogger voices are in essence signaling that a broader public must stand behind these attacks, or that a broader public is being convinced by these attacks, and therefore that Obama need not fear defections and he can continue to ignore campaign promises.

Democracy remains probably "the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time," but it sure is hard to get things done right (example, example, example, of many others).