h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ah but why do they pitch so precisely to that demographic slice that watches Lawerence Welk and pat robertson and wears pants that come up to their armpits?
Because those people vote!
Every single damn one of them, even the ones that complain incessently about the "gummamint" and haven't listened to a new idea since Eisenhower was in office. A far higher percentage of seniors vote in the U.S. than any other single group.
Hard core fundementalist evangelical Christians are also near the top of the list with the added benefit that they are more likely to vote for the person their pastor or some other religious figure tell them to vote for. That's why the religious right wield so much influence in Washington - they are organized and disciplined and vote as a block. The candidate willing to cozy up to that block and give it what it wants get all the votes in the block. When only 40 to 55 percent of the eligible votes bother to cast ballots, the 45 to 60 percent that don't vote, get the government they deserve.....