Two articles of general Give Up interest should be studied to understand the coming elections.

The first is an article from the Washington Post describing a generalized anti-incumbent feeling among voters. This is of particular interest because again and again, when we discuss the inevitability of voter dissatisfaction with Republican incompetence, the response is that people end up voting for their local guy from the illogical belief that he/she is somehow different from all those other dirty Republicans/Democrats. Well, the anti-incumbent feeling isn't just restricted to Lieberman.

Most Americans describe themselves as being in an anti-incumbent mood heading into this fall's midterm congressional elections, and the percentage of people who approve of their own representative's performance is at the lowest level since 1994, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

As attention turns to Connecticut for Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman's Democratic primary showdown today, the poll found some of the same political currents that have buffeted his campaign flowing through the national electorate. The public has soured on politicians backing the Iraq war, which Democrats consider the most important issue of the election.
...
Especially worrisome for members of Congress is that the proportion of Americans who approve of their own representative's performance has fallen sharply. Traditionally, voters may express disapproval of Congress as a whole but still vote for their own member, even from the majority party. But 55 percent now approve of their lawmaker, a seven-percentage-point drop over three months and the lowest such finding since 1994, the last time control of the House switched parties.

Might be time for a revolution.

The second article is confirms a critical foundation of the Give Up hypothesis. That Republican wedge issues are not generalizable to any sustainable majority of people. That is, more people disagree with Republicans' radical ideas on abortion, gays, war, civil rights etc., it's just that the Republican base is more rabid, leading to an overrepresentation of their power among the electorate. Enter this Reuters article describing how the culture war is overblown. Americans simply aren't as conservative as the crazies that occupy right-wing radio are.

On five prominent social issues -- abortion rights, stem cell research, gay marriage, adoption of children by gay couples, and availability of the "morning-after" pill -- most Americans did not take consistent stances.

Just 12 percent took the conservative position on all five issues, while 22 percent took the opposite stance on all five. The bulk of Americans had mixed opinions.

On the subject of gay unions, 56 percent opposed giving gays the right to marry, but 53 percent favored allowing gays to enter into legal agreements that provide many of the same rights as married couples.

There has been an increase in recent years in the proportion of Americans who believe homosexuality is innate -- 36 percent, up from 30 percent in 2003. Similarly, 49 percent believed homosexuals cannot be changed to heterosexual, compared to 42 percent in 2003.

The poll's findings on stem cell research -- which preceded
President George W. Bush's veto of a bill to expand federal funding -- showed 56 percent favored the research even though human embryos would be destroyed, while 32 percent were opposed. Most of the gains in support of stem cell research occurred prior to 2004 and has been stable since.

The Democrat/progressive position tends to be the majority position in America, it's just hard to get moderates pissed. Well, that's what Give Up is all about. It takes someone like George Bush to get the moderates pissed, and that's what's happening. The proof? L-A-M-O-N-T.